Iowa Wesleyan University vs Northwestern College

Iowa Wesleyan University and Northwestern College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Iowa Wesleyan, a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, boasts a 90% acceptance rate, welcoming a diverse student body of over 800 undergraduates. Northwestern, a private Christian college in Orange City, Iowa, maintains a more selective admissions process with a 75% acceptance rate and a student body of around 1,300 undergraduates. While Iowa Wesleyan excels in liberal arts and sciences, education, and business, Northwestern specializes in pre-professional programs, nursing, and education. Both institutions offer competitive graduation rates, with Iowa Wesleyan at 48% and Northwestern at 62%. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Iowa Wesleyan University	Northwestern College
Overview
Location	Mount Pleasant, Iowa	Orange City, Iowa
Campus setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	51.0%	83.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Methodism	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	81.9%	83.0%
Application fees
SAT range	820 - 1020	940 - 1240
ACT range	15 - 20	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	9.0%	8.0%
Students submitting ACT score	22.0%	82.0%
Total number of applicants	3,934	1,172
Total number of admissions given out	3,222	973
Admitted students who chose to enroll	267	268
Yield rate	8.3%	27.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$42,840	$47,650
Average net price	$34,988	$24,848
Tuition	$32,550	$33,350
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,410 Meal plan: $6,930	$10,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	97.0% Average amount $12,333	100.0% Average amount $21,873
Students receiving federal student loan	92.0% Average amount $4,286	69.0% Average amount $5,257
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $6,430	21.0% Average amount $10,813

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	758 Men 57.9% Women 42.1%	1,053 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	67 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%	460 Men 24.3% Women 75.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	11.3%	2.2%
Campus local/setting	Town: Remote	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	568	995
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions	Education Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	22.5%	70.8%
Dropout rate	32.5%	6.5%
Transferred out	44.2%	22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,594 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,581 Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,362 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,719 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,017 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,993 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,925 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,080 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,227 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,185 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Iowa Wesleyan University

Thomas University