Feinberg School of Medicine- International MD Students

1. Complete the online CSS Profile.
   1. The application can take up to 45 minutes to complete. You may save your progress and return at a later time if needed.
2. The Feinberg School of Medicine's CSS Code is 1600. Do not use any other code for Northwestern programs, as the codes are school-specific.
   1. Note: Northwestern university does not offer CSS Profile fee waivers
3. To complete the application, you will need:
   • Your most recently completed tax returns
   • W-2 forms and other records of current year income
   • Records of untaxed income, benefits and assets
   • Bank statements

Dependency Status

• Students aged 26 (as of August 1, 2026) and older are not required to provide parental information
• Students under the age of 26 (as of August 1, 2026) must provide parental information if they wish to be considered for institutional need-based grants:
  • Parent income and asset information for a student whose parents are divorced or separated, but not remarried, is determined by including only the income and assets of the parent who provides the greater portion of the student's financial support.

Parent Income Exception:

Most exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Financial Aid and are extremely rare. Exceptions for married, military and veteran students are outlined below. If you believe your individual circumstances should merit Independent Student consideration, please contact us.

Married Students

• If your spouse is a student, you will still need to submit your parents' information

Active Military/Veteran Students

If you are active duty military or a veteran, you do not need to submit your parents' information.

Submit all items via the secure document upload portal. CAESAR will update to reflect received documents within 3-5 business days of submission. Note that during peak times, document processing might take longer. Once you have your NetID from Admissions, you can check the status of your application. 

Student income information

• If you filed an Income Tax return for 2024, upload:
  • Copy of your 2024 Federal Income Tax return (include all schedules)
  • Copy of your 2024 W-2

Or

• If you have not yet filed or were not required to file a 2024 Federal Income Tax return:
  • Completed and upload the 2026-27 Verification of Student (and Spouse) Income form
  • Copy of your 2023 Federal Income Tax return (include all schedules)
  • Copy of your 2024 W-2 (if applicable)

*If you will be married by October 2026, you must also submit a copy of your spouse's 2024 Federal Income Tax return (include all schedules).

Foreign Income

• Submit copy of your country’s tax forms for the most recent tax year (if you had foreign income in 2024).
  • If your country does not have an annual tax form, submit a signed wage statement from your employer verifying income
• All non-US tax forms and earnings documents require official translation into English and must be converted to U.S. Dollars.  If converted to U.S. Dollars, the conversion rate must also be included.

*If you will be married by October 2026, you must also submit a copy of your spouse's 2024 tax forms (include all schedules).

Parental income information

• Students age 26 or older (as of August 1, 2026) are not required to upload parental tax documentation.
  • If you meet the age requirement, items on your To Do list related to parent tax information will be waived when your account is reviewed
• Students under the age of 26 (as of August 1, 2026), upload the following parent income information (based on the criteria above):
  • Copy of parent(s) 2024 Federal Income Tax return (include all schedules)
  • Copy of parent(s) 2024 W-2 

Or

• If your parents have not yet filed or were not required to file their 2024 Federal Income Tax return, submit the following:
  •  2026-27 Verification of Parents' Income form
    • Copy of parent(s) 2023 Federal Income Tax return (include all schedules)
    • Copy of parent(s) 2024 W-2 forms (if applicable)

Foreign Income

• Submit copy your parents’ country's tax forms for the most recent tax year (if your parent had foreign income in 2024).
  • If your country does not have an annual tax form, submit a signed wage statement from your parents’ employer(s) verifying income.
• All tax or earnings documents require official translation into English and must be converted to U.S. Dollars. If converted to U.S. Dollars, the conversion rate must also be included.

• Once all application requirements are submitted, Northwestern will determine your financial aid eligibility and financial aid offer letter.
• The Chicago Office of Financial Aid (CFAO) releases preliminary financial aid offers to your Northwestern email on a rolling basis beginning in early-to-mid March for students admitted in December, and late March for students admitted after January 1. No action is required on your preliminary aid offer.

• Once tuition and fee figures are finalized for the upcoming academic year, CFAO will release official financial aid offer letters. Learn more about how aid is determined.
• Official financial aid offer letters are sent to Northwestern email in early Summer.
• Upon notification, you must accept or decline the loan assistance offered to you for the academic year via CAESAR.  

Deadline: As soon as possible after you receive financial aid notice

• You may be required to submit additional documentation. Information about this process will be included on your Financial Aid Notification email.

• Applications for private loan funds must be completed through a lender of your choice. You can begin your private loan search via Northwestern's Preferred Lender list.
• Private loan funds like other types of aid are academic year specific. This means that the loan application that you complete can only be used within one academic year at a time.
• You must notify our office of your private loan approval via our Private Loan Certification Request form 
• Final private loan funds eligibility are subject to a combination of your lender's eligibility criteria, cost of attendance, Satisfactory academic progress, and enrollment. 
• International students interested in obtaining a private student loan may need a credit-worthy U.S. citizen/permanent resident cosigner.