Student Status

Classification of Students

Class Units Completed
Senior 33+ units complete
Junior 22 - 32.99 units complete (Engineering Co-Op students are considered preseniors when they have completed 32 units and seniors when they have completed 40 units)
Sophomore 11 - 21.99 units complete
First-year student less than 11 units complete
  • Graduate student: has a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and has been admitted to a graduate program
  • Special student: is not working toward a degree at Northwestern but is working for credit

Student Status for Financial Aid & Enrollment Verification

Financial Aid Status Units
Full Time 3.00+
Half-time 2.00-2.99
Less than Half Time or Part Time Less than 2.00

Class Rank

Northwestern University does not rank its students.

Inter-School Transfers

Undergraduate students who wish to transfer from one school or college of the University to another must have an inter-school transfer approved by the dean’s office of  the school to which they wish to transfer. A return to the original school must be approved in the same way. Approval of an inter-school transfer is usually contingent on satisfactory performance in the original school. The policy concerning inter-school transfer and application deadlines can be found at www.registrar.northwestern.edu/forms/interschool_transfer.html.

Auditors

Auditors are persons whose engagement in a course is limited to observation and listening only; they are not permitted to enroll, participate in class discussion, submit written or oral assignments, or take examinations.  They do not receive academic credit. Auditing is not permitted for undergraduate classes.