Northwestern University · 11 hours ago
Associate Director, Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid
Evanston, IL
Part-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$78K/yr - $88K/yr
3+ years expNorthwestern University is seeking an Associate Director for Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid in the Medill School of Journalism. The role involves overseeing financial aid processes, developing student financial wellness programs, and implementing data-driven recruitment strategies.
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Responsibilities
Determines and tracks grant and scholarship awards for admitted students in Medill graduate programs to accomplish institutional enrollment goals
Oversees the processing and management of federal financial aid for all Medill graduate students including managing financial aid communication for all programs. Manages the storage of confidential financial aid records and assessment for financial aid process
Ensures compliance with all applicable institutional, state and federal financial aid regulations
Facilitates the awarding of Medill program-specific grants and stipends to students, in collaboration with other offices
Provides financial aid counseling for prospective and current students
Develops strategic programming and communication plans to support financial wellness for current Medill graduate students. Manages assessment of programming and communication
Provides training for other department staff to answer general financial aid questions from students
Creates the annual Cost of Attendance budgets for admitted students to all programs, collaborating with offices across Northwestern to determine budget costs, and provides financial aid needs analyses to administrators
Works with NU’s SES-IT office to make annual updates to the financial aid process, including Aid Year Activation, Financial Aid Term, budgets and review of the online application
Resolves federal loan and private loan issues for students
Certifies private loans and manages enrollment data for students enrolled in the part-time programs
Analyzes and reports on Medill’s recruitment and admissions efforts. Produces ad hoc reports when requested
Assists with managing Medill’s admissions and CRM systems including but not limited to; Apply Yourself and Hobson’s Connect, and financial aid systems including SES. Troubleshoots the systems as needed
Counsels and supports prospective MSJ and IMC graduate students throughout the admissions process
Assists with developing recruitment, messaging and admissions strategies
Schedules and conducts admissions interviews, completing department interview reports to evaluate students based on admissions criteria
Reads application files, providing an admissions decision recommendation based on assessment
Represents Medill at professional conferences, graduate school fairs and other recruitment efforts, including presenting during information sessions, Orientation and admitted student events
Builds strategic relationships with deans, faculty and staff at colleges/university for graduate recruitment
Writes, edits, designs and schedules program- and event-specific messaging. Uses the CRM system to create and send messages, track messages and manage admissions events. Manages one-on-one communication with prospective students while always maintaining the highest level of customer service
Assists with scheduling student events and processing admissions applications
Supervises 1 Program Assistant
Collaborates with colleagues across the school to help advance Medill’s strategic goals and improve the educational experience of our students
Performs other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree
3-5 years' experience working in admissions at a college/university
Excellent customer service skills, with a student-centered approach to admissions and financial aid work
Strong analytical and organizational skills
Keen attention to detail and accuracy
Excellent counseling and interpersonal skills
Supervisory experience and ability to effectively oversee staff who must maintain a high level of accuracy
Experience working with graduate/professional students
Strong written and oral communication skills
Comfort working with data as well as admissions and financial aid systems
Must be able to work with a group and/or complete solo projects
Upholds diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the school and larger Northwestern University community
Ability to relate effectively to prospective and admitted students as it relates to sensitive issues surrounding diversity and inclusion throughout the recruitment process
Ability to travel domestically and abroad and on weekends when directed
Ability to relate effectively with students, faculty, administrators, staff, and the public
Ability to carry and move boxes of material weighing up to 50 pounds
Passion for team based work with dedication to fostering positive, collegial relationships
Comfortable speaking and presenting to large groups and virtually
Benefits
Meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans
Retirement benefits
Tuition discounts
Comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities
Flexible work arrangements
Programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care
Employee career development
Tools and resources for developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education
Company
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university that offers academic programs across various fields of study. It is a sub-organization of Northwestern Athletics.
5001-10000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern University has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (325)
2024 (308)
2023 (280)
2022 (282)
2021 (184)
2020 (155)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$98.02MKey Investors
National Peanut BoardAdvanced Research Projects Agency for HealthGRAMMY Museum
2024-10-30Grant
2024-10-04Grant· $34M
2023-11-28Grant· $0.02M
Leadership Team
Diego Klabjan
Professor
Henry Bienen
Interim President
Recent News
2026-01-11
Digital Journal
2026-01-11
2026-01-09
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