Physical Therapy Program
Below you will see an overview of the financial aid application process for incoming Physical Therapy students.
Note this information applies to domestic students only. View application instructions for international students.
Suggested Receipt Date
Return all completed application materials by May 1, 2025 to ensure the aid process can be completed in time for disbursement for your first term of enrollment.
Importance of meeting deadlines
Meeting the financial aid application deadlines listed above ensures that students will receive their financial aid package, can complete all required loan documentation, and have their funds disburse by the first day of classes. Students who may be admitted after the application deadline are still eligible to apply for and receive financial aid, but they must submit their financial aid application materials within two weeks of when they were admitted.
Students who apply for financial aid after the deadline cannot be guaranteed that financial aid funds will disburse by the first day of class. Applications received after the deadline will be processed in the order in which they were received.
Financial aid applications may not be processed once a term has ended (in other words, students may not be eligible to receive funds for the Fall term if they apply for those funds during the Winter term).
Application Steps
1. Complete the FAFSA
Suggested Receipt Date: May 1, 2025
- Visit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) website and complete the online 2025-26 form. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you will need to set one up before completing the FAFSA. This FSA ID will be used for many Department of Education websites.
- Designate Northwestern University - Evanston as the recipient of the information; our federal school code is 001739. Any other Northwestern University codes (001740, school-specific codes beginning with an "E") should not be used.
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Please note that although the FAFSA for 2025-26 is available to complete now, due to system and processing delays your FAFSA application may not be marked as complete until sometime in February or upon receipt from the Department of Education. We apologize for any inconvenience.
- After the FAFSA is processed, you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, summarizing your information. Resolve any incorrect information via the FAFSA web site or by returning the corrected and signed FAFSA Submission Summary. If you do not receive your FAFSA Submission Summary within four weeks, or if you need to request a duplicate, call 800-433-3243.
2. Complete the University Aid Application
Suggested Receipt Date: May 1, 2025
- Admitted students with access to CAESAR will be able to view the electronic University Aid Application on their Task list in CAESAR by mid-March, 2025. Your To-Do List can be reviewed in CAESAR through either the "Tasks" tile on the homepage, or by clicking on the "Financial Aid" tile from the homepage and then selecting "To-Do List" from the left-hand navigation.
- International students who wish to apply for private student loan funding are not required to complete the FAFSA and are only required to complete the University Aid Application.
3. Accept or decline your financial aid package
Deadline: As soon as possible after you receive financial aid notification
- After you submit all application materials, Northwestern will determine your aid package. Learn more about how aid is determined.
- Next, our office will begin sending financial aid decision emails to your Northwestern email address on a rolling basis beginning April 1, or once we have received the official tuition rates for the upcoming academic year, whichever is later.
- Student must accept or decline their financial aid package via CAESAR. Learn more about the steps to accept or decline.
Suggested Receipt Date
Return all completed application materials by May 1, 2024 to ensure the aid process can be completed in time for disbursement for your first term of enrollment.
Importance of meeting deadlines
Meeting the financial aid application deadlines listed above ensures that students will receive their financial aid package, can complete all required loan documentation, and have their funds disburse by the first day of classes. Students who may be admitted after the application deadline are still eligible to apply for and receive financial aid, but they must submit their financial aid application materials within two weeks of when they were admitted.
Students who apply for financial aid after the deadline cannot be guaranteed that financial aid funds will disburse by the first day of class. Applications received after the deadline will be processed in the order in which they were received.
Financial aid applications may not be processed once a term has ended (in other words, students may not be eligible to receive funds for the Fall term if they apply for those funds during the Winter term).
Application Steps
1. Complete the FAFSA
Suggested Receipt Date: May 1, 2024
- Visit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) website and complete the online 2024-25 form once it becomes available (anticipated December 31 2023). If you do not already have an FSA ID, you will need to set one up before completing the FAFSA. This FSA ID will be used for many Department of Education websites.
- Designate Northwestern University - Evanston as the recipient of the information; our federal school code is 001739. Any other Northwestern University codes (001740, school-specific codes beginning with an "E") should not be used.
- Please note that due to the late release of the FAFSA for 2024-2025, the US Department of Education has notified schools that we will not start to receive FAFSA data until March and so your FAFSA application may not be marked as received until sometime in April. We apologize for any inconvenience.
- After the FAFSA is processed, you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, summarizing your information. Resolve any incorrect information via the FAFSA web site or by returning the corrected and signed FAFSA Submission Summary. If you do not receive your FAFSA Submission Summary within four weeks, or if you need to request a duplicate, call 800-433-3243.
2. Complete the University Aid Application
Suggested Receipt Date: May 1, 2024
- Admitted students with access to CAESAR will be able to view the electronic University Aid Application on their Task list in CAESAR by mid-March, 2024. Your To-Do List can be reviewed in CAESAR through either the "Tasks" tile on the homepage, or by clicking on the "Financial Aid" tile from the homepage and then selecting "To-Do List" from the left-hand navigation.
- International students who wish to apply for private student loan funding are not required to complete the FAFSA and are only required to complete the University Aid Application.
3. Accept or decline your financial aid package
Deadline: As soon as possible after you receive financial aid notification
- After you submit all application materials, Northwestern will determine your aid package. Learn more about how aid is determined.
- Next, our office will begin sending financial aid decision emails to your Northwestern email address on a rolling basis beginning April 1, or once we have received the official tuition rates for the upcoming academic year, whichever is later.
- Student must accept or decline their financial aid package via CAESAR. Learn more about the steps to accept or decline.