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Accepting or Declining Your Financial Aid Offer

After our office processes your financial aid application materials, you will receive an email to your Northwestern email account on how to access your aid offer. This page provides more details to understanding your aid offer and how to complete the accept/decline process to confirm the aid you want to use for the period of enrollment. 

Understanding your Financial Aid Offer

The financial assistance offered to you will specify amounts for the following items:

Monthly Budget Allowances

A standard educational budget is used for all enrolled students covering the period of enrollment. The budget is a total based on:

  • The actual tuition rates for your program
  • Northwestern student health insurance plan (NU-SHIP) premium (if you indicated that you will use NU-SHIP)
  • Average costs for room and board, textbooks/supplies, personal expenses, transportation, and loan fees (loan fees and textbooks/supplies will vary among programs).
  • Entering PT and PO student budgets include an allowance to cover the required technology and/or lab fees.
  • Students in other programs may request up to an additional $2,000 for a computer allowance by completing the Computer Supplement Request Form (located on the Forms webpage).

Total Family Contribution

The family contribution is determined using your family's financial information as reported on the FAFSA and other application documents you submitted, as well as your period of enrollment.

Responding to your Financial Aid Offer

You will accept, reduce, or decline any loan assistance offered to you via your CAESAR portal. Typically, students complete the accept/decline process once during the start of the academic year, however any time you request or are offered additional aid, this process will need to be completed. 

  1. Log onto CAESAR using your Northwestern NetID and password.
    1. Note: Admitted students will receive this information from the applicable admissions office.
    2. If you have lost or forgotten your NetID information, you may contact the NUIT Information Center Help Desk at (847) 491-4357 for assistance.
  2. Click on "Financial Aid" and then select "Accept/Decline Financial Aid" from the left-hand navigation.
    1. Select the appropriate aid year.
    2. If you are completing this process on a mobile device, the left-hand navigation may be hidden. You will need to click on the double bar on the left to expand the left-hand navigation.
  3. Accept, reduce, or decline your loan offer.
    1. Scholarships and grants are automatically accepted.
    2. To reduce your loan offer, check the "Accept" button. You will then be able to type in the amount you want to accept in the "Accepted" box.
  4. When you submit your financial aid offer,  we recommend that you select "Yes" to the Statement of Authorization.(Statement of Authorization for details).
    1. Note: This may be rescinded at any time by contacting the Office of Student Finance.
  5. Check your "To-Do List" in CAESAR to determine which, if any, loan materials need to be completed.
    1. Navigate to: "Tasks" on the homepage, or click on "Financial Aid" from the home page -> "To-Do List" from the left-hand navigation of that page.
    2. Required loan materials may include: Master Promissory Note, Entrance Counseling. Note: Outstanding loan materials will affect the disbursement of your accepted loans. 
Statement of Authorization

Current federal regulations require that we obtain your authorization to use Title IV assistance (i.e., federal loans) to pay University charges other than tuition, fees, room and board. Such charges might include the student health plan, library fines, parking charges, room damage charges, and health service fees. Not providing the authorization means that you will have to make a payment for these charges yourself once you receive the refund of Title IV aid.

Changes in Circumstance

If your aid offer does not fully consider your individual circumstances, you can consider submitting an appeal.