Mount Mercy University vs Northwestern College

Mount Mercy University and Northwestern College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Mount Mercy, a private Catholic university, boasts a higher acceptance rate (85%) compared to Northwestern's selective admissions (68%). While Mount Mercy's student body is predominantly female (63%), Northwestern's gender distribution is more balanced. Both universities excel in different areas; Mount Mercy is known for its nursing and health professions programs, while Northwestern shines in business and engineering. With Mount Mercy's higher graduation rate (62%) and Northwestern's lower student-faculty ratio (13:1), prospective students are encouraged to explore the detailed comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with their academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Mount Mercy University	Northwestern College
Overview
Location	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Orange City, Iowa
Campus setting	City: Midsize	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	4-1-4	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	78.0%	83.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	81.0%	83.0%
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	940 - 1240
ACT range	N/A	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		8.0%
Students submitting ACT score		82.0%
Total number of applicants	1,278	1,172
Total number of admissions given out	1,035	973
Admitted students who chose to enroll	222	268
Yield rate	21.4%	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	$53,992	$47,650
Average net price	$25,345	$24,848
Tuition	$35,540	$33,350
Room & board	$10,428	$10,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $24,399	100.0% Average amount $21,873
Students receiving federal student loan	75.0% Average amount $8,519	69.0% Average amount $5,257
Students taking out private loans	15.0% Average amount $13,309	21.0% Average amount $10,813

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,290 Men 34.4% Women 65.6%	1,053 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	290 Men 34.1% Women 65.9%	460 Men 24.3% Women 75.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	14.0%	N/A
International students	4.8%	2.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	561	995
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Iowa Illinois Arizona Minnesota Wisconsin	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Health Professions Education Law Enforcement and Firefighting Public Administration and Social Service	Education Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	14:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	59.9%	70.8%
Dropout rate	39.2%	6.5%
Transferred out	N/A	22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,108 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $71,895 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,297 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $68,063 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,444 Year 2: $52,822 Year 3: $63,134 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,232 Year 2: $58,402 Year 3: $60,703 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $57,547 Year 2: $56,847 Year 3: $56,894 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,894 Year 2: $47,846 Year 3: $56,288 Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,879 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $46,541 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,384 Year 2: $41,689 Year 3: $44,808 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,591 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $41,729 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,647 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $40,888	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

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Mount Mercy University vs Northwestern College

Mount Mercy University

Northwestern College

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Admission

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Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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