Northern Illinois University (NIU) was founded in 1895 as the Northern Illinois State Normal School. The purpose of the school was to prepare teachers for the state’s growing population of rural schools. It was located in DeKalb, Illinois, about 65 miles west of Chicago, and it had an initial enrollment of 167 students. In 1921, the school changed its name to Northern Illinois State Teachers College and began offering four-year bachelor’s degrees. In 1949, it became a university and adopted its current name: Northern Illinois University.

During this time period, NIU experienced a rapid expansion in terms of both enrollment and physical size. By 1956, enrollment had grown to over 4500 students and the campus had expanded from 5 buildings to over 30 buildings. During the 1960s and 1970s, NIU continued to grow both academically and physically. The university added numerous academic programs including doctoral degrees in various disciplines such as Education, Psychology, Sociology, Business Administration, Computer Science and Nursing. The physical campus also grew significantly with additional residence halls being built along with new athletic facilities such as Huskie Stadium which opened in 1965. Check Microedu for a list of community colleges in Hawaii.

Northern Illinois University, as one of the top colleges ranked by major educational institutions, has impressed us by its high selectivity and student friendly application process during admissions. The following tables detail 2018 class profile, including total applications received, average high school GPA, SAT scores/ACT scores, and acceptance rates of Northern Illinois University. To learn more about GPA, SAT and ACT scores information, please follow the links below. If you want to find even more about Northern Illinois University, such as tuition fees and scholarships, you can click the link after tables to visit the school’s official website.

University acronym: https://www.abbreviationfinder.org/acronyms/niu_northern-illinois-university.html

Admissions Stats

Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a large public university located in DeKalb, Illinois. It has an enrollment of over 21,000 students. In terms of admissions statistics, NIU is moderately selective with an acceptance rate of approximately 77%. The average GPA for accepted students is 3.26 and the average SAT score is 1075. The most popular majors at NIU are Business Administration and Management, Education, Psychology, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and Communication Disorders Sciences and Services.

NIU offers a variety of scholarship opportunities to both incoming freshmen and current students. Merit scholarships are awarded to incoming freshmen based on academic achievement as measured by GPA and test scores; need-based grants are also available for those with demonstrated financial need. Additionally, NIU provides several special scholarships such as the Huskie Commitment Scholarship which awards $3,000 to high achieving students from underrepresented backgrounds. For continuing students, there are numerous opportunities for scholarships through individual colleges or departments as well as through external organizations like the National Merit Scholarship Program or the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Fall 2022 Selectivity

Selectivity	selective
Fall 2022 acceptance rate	54%
Early decision acceptance rate	N/A
Early action acceptance rate	N/A
Acceptance rate (excluding early action and early decision students)	54%

Fall 2022 Applications, Acceptances & Enrollments

Applicants	19,025
Female applicants	10,539
Male applicants	8,486
Applicants accepted	10,338
Female applicants accepted	5,663
Male applicants accepted	4,675
Freshman enrollment	2,705
Female freshman enrollment	1,361
Male freshman enrollment	1,344
Early decision applicants	N/A
Early decision applicants accepted	N/A
Early decision applicants enrolled	N/A
Early action applicants	N/A
Early action applicants accepted	N/A
Early action applicants enrolled	N/A
Total enrolled incoming freshmen who were accepted under early acceptance or early action	N/A

Fall 2022 Wait List

School has a wait list	Yes
Applicants placed on wait list	N/A
Students accepting place on wait list	N/A
Students accepted from wait list	N/A

Fall 2022 High School Rank

Freshman students submitting high school class standing	85%
Class standing breakdown
Freshmen in top 10 percent of high school class 9% Freshmen in top 25 percent of high school class 31% Freshmen in top 50 percent of high school class 70% Freshmen in bottom 25 percent of high school class N/A

Fall 2022 High School GPA

Freshman students submitting high school GPA	N/A
Average high school GPA	N/A
High school GPA 25th-75th percentile range	N/A

Fall 2022 Freshman SAT Scores

Freshman students submitting SAT scores	4%
SAT Critical Reading average score	N/A
SAT Critical Reading 25th-75th percentile range	450-555
SAT Critical Reading score breakdown	N/A
SAT Math average score	N/A
SAT Math 25th-75th percentile range:	450-570
SAT Math score breakdown	N/A
SAT Writing average score	N/A
SAT Writing 25th-75th percentile range	N/A
SAT Essay 25th-75th percentile range	N/A

Fall 2022 Freshman ACT Scores

Freshman students submitting ACT scores	98%
Average ACT Composite score	22
ACT Composite 25th-75th percentile range	19-24
ACT English 25th-75th percentile range	N/A
ACT Math 25th-75th percentile range	N/A