Northwestern College Data & Information Overview
Want the scoop on Northwestern College? We've put together a comprehensive report on the school that covers what majors NWC offers, how the school ranks, how diverse it is, and much more. If you're interested in learning more about a particular stat, just click on its tile to go to a new page that covers the topic more in-depth. Also, you can jump to any section of this page by clicking one of the links below.- Rankings
- Admission and Acceptance
- Faculty
- Retention and Graduation Rates
- Diversity
- Cost
- Student Debt
- Average Earnings
- Location
- Majors
- Online Learning
- Related Schools
How Well Is Northwestern College Ranked?
2022 Rankings
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Northwestern College was awarded 86 badges in the 2022 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is general educational leadership and administration.
Overall Quality
NWC is ranked #265 out of 2,576 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual's 2022 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. This is an improvement over the previous year, when NWC held the #465 spot on the Best Overall Colleges list.
NWC also holds the #6 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.
See all of the rankings for Northwestern College.
Is It Hard to Get Into NWC?
Acceptance Rate
Northwestern College has an acceptance rate of 68%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for NWC.
Average Test Scores
About 12% of students accepted to NWC submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 490 and 600. Math scores were between 505 and 635.
Learn more about Northwestern College admissions.
Northwestern College Faculty
Student to Faculty Ratio
At NWC, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 10 to 1. That's much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunites to work closely with their professors and classmates.
Percent of Full-Time Faculty
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Northwestern College is 99%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Retention and Graduation Rates at Northwestern College
Freshmen Retention Rate
The freshmen retention rate of 76% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Northwestern College enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That's certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Graduation Rate
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor's degree is typically four years. This rate at NWC for first-time, full-time students is 57%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Northwestern College.
Northwestern College Undergraduate Student Diversity
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 1,061 undergraduates at NWC with 968 being full-time and 93 being part-time.
How Much Does Northwestern College Cost?
The overall average net price of NWC is $22,968. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.Net Price by Income Group for NWC
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,581 | $20,977 | $20,364 | $24,115 | $25,776 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.Note that the net price is typically less than the published for a school. For more information on the sticker price of NWC, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At NWC, approximately 71% of students took out student loans averaging $8,116 a year. That adds up to $32,464 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at NWC is 2.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Get more details about paying for Northwestern College.
How Much Money Do NWC Graduates Make?
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor's degree from NWC make about $38,400 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate's salary of $39,802 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Northwestern College make the most money.
Location of Northwestern College
Northwestern College is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Orange City, Iowa. Orange City is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life.Get more details about the location of Northwestern College.
Contact details for NWC are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 101 Seventh St Sw, Orange City, IA 51041 |
| Phone: | 712-707-7000 |
| Website: | https://www.nwciowa.edu/ |
| Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/NWCIowaAlum |
| Twitter: | https://twitter.com/nwciowa |
Northwestern College Majors
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 43 majors graduated from Northwestern College. Of these students, 260 received undergraduate degrees and 100 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.| Most Popular Majors | Bachelor’s Degrees | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 48 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 38 | NA |
| Nursing | 24 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 21 | NA |
| General Biology | 18 | NA |
| Accounting | 13 | NA |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 10 | NA |
| Social Work | 10 | NA |
| Public Relations & Advertising | 10 | NA |
| General Psychology | 9 | NA |
Online Learning at NWC
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
In 2018-2019, 518 students took at least one online class at Northwestern College. This is an increase from the 510 students who took online classes the previous year.
| Year | Took at Least One Online Class | Took All Classes Online |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | 518 | 425 |
| 2017-2018 | 510 | 338 |
| 2016-2017 | 435 | 223 |
| 2015-2016 | 351 | 176 |
| 2013-2014 | 176 | 66 |
Learn more about online learning at Northwestern College.
Find Out More About Northwestern College
Related Schools
If you’re considering Northwestern College, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.
Curious on how these schools stack up against NWC? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college on the features that matter most to you!
Notes and References
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
- National Center for Education Statistics
- College Scorecard
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
- Image Credit: By Lawrence Albert Johnston under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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