GradReady

As an NIU student, you have access to GradReady. It's an interactive website with tools and information to help you succeed, financially and in other areas of your life. You'll learn about paying for college, creating a budget, loan repayment and much more. As you learn, you'll keep track of your progress with badges.

Access GradReady

Create an Account

1. Visit GradReady and click Create an Account.
2. Provide the requested information.
3. Review and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy by clicking I Agree – Continue.
4. Check your inbox for an authentication email. Click the link in the email to log in to your account.

Choose a Path

There are several paths you can follow in GradReady:

• Paying for College
• Money Management
• Learning to Learn
• Life Skills for Success
• Real-world Finance

We recommend starting with Paying for College.

Take the Pre-course Assessment

When you start a path, the first thing you'll do is take a pre-course assessment to determine your knowledge of the topic. After you complete the assessment, you'll receive access to a dashboard where you'll complete lessons and quizzes.

Complete Lessons and Quizzes

The first tile in the dashboard contains a list of video-based lessons. Watch the videos and review the resources. You'll take a quiz for each lesson. You'll need to score at least 70%. Make sure you complete all the lessons and quizzes in the path.

Some paths have interactive tools to help you apply what you learn. Be sure to use each tool to its fullest extent.  

Take the Final Assessment

Go to My Account, located in the dropdown menu, and choose the final assessment in your path. You'll need to score 70% or higher. To see how much you learned, compare your final assessment score to your pre-course assessment score.

Track Your Progress with Badges

You'll receive badges as you complete paths. You'll get one each time you:

• Take a pre-course assessment.
• Score 70% or higher on a quiz.
• Use an interactive tool to its fullest extent.
• Score 70% or higher on a final assessment.

Go to MyAccount to see all your badges.