Northwestern University
What Northwestern says
Exact quotes from Northwestern’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
Students who intend to take the following quarter (or more) off should submit the online Term Withdrawal Request (Undergraduate) form to inform the Dean's Office of their plans.
— weinberg.northwestern.edu ↗If the request is submitted before the term begins (i.e. the first day of classes), registration is cancelled and removed from the student's record entirely.
— catalogs.northwestern.edu ↗Students wishing to return from time away from the University must file an Application for Former Student Re-Entry, also called a FRET form.
— registrar.northwestern.edu ↗The College has no formal policy concerning the granting of leaves of absence, and you do not have to provide a reason for taking time off.
— weinberg.northwestern.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Northwestern appears to use an online Term Withdrawal Request for undergrads.
- Submitting before the first day of classes seems to remove the registration from your record.
- Returning looks like it needs a Former Student Re-Entry application.
- Reasons accepted: no leave request needed (Weinberg; file Term Withdrawal Request to inform).
- Time away allowed: not stated on public pages.
- Classes start Jan 4.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
Student founder community
- EPIC ↗Entrepreneurial interest group for undergrads and grads (listed on McCormick ME student-org page); activity level not confirmed.
Entrepreneurship center
Hard-tech team
- NUSTARS (Space Technology and Rocketry Society) ↗50+ member rocketry and space group; NASA Student Launch, IREC 10K and a CubeSat payload for 2026-27.
- NUsolar (Solar Car Team) ↗Undergraduates design and race solar-powered cars.
- Northwestern Formula Racing ↗Formula SAE team (founded 2006) designing and racing a custom open-wheel car.
Why 75
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Source pages look current for 2026–27. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.