National Louis University (NLU) vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

National Louis University and Northern Illinois University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Illinois, offer distinct educational experiences. National Louis University, a private institution, boasts a smaller student body and a higher acceptance rate compared to Northern Illinois University, a public research university. While both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate and graduate programs, National Louis University is known for its strong focus on education, nursing, and business, while Northern Illinois University excels in engineering, business, and the arts. Explore the detailed comparison table to delve into further differences, including student demographics, graduation rates, and additional program offerings, to determine which university best aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	National Louis University	Northern Illinois University
Overview
Location	Chicago, Illinois	Dekalb, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Large	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	61.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	97.0%	70.4%
Application fees		Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	1,518	22,602
Total number of admissions given out	1,473	15,922
Admitted students who chose to enroll	558	2,285
Yield rate	37.9%	14.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$32,325	$27,218
Average net price	$14,665	$13,265
Tuition	$10,755	$9,606
Room & board		$11,098
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	93.0% Average amount $8,931	98.0% Average amount $13,008
Students receiving federal student loan	14.0% Average amount $3,883	58.0% Average amount $5,313
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $19,696	5.0% Average amount $11,726

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,607 Men 25.8% Women 74.2%	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Graduate students	3,708 Men 17.5% Women 82.5%	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	2.9%	N/A
International students	1.3%	4.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	N/A	4,500
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Indiana Arizona California	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Psychology Family and Consumer Sciences Multidisciplinary Studies	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	33.8%	50.8%
Dropout rate	51.2%	46.9%
Transferred out	12.5%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $116,556 Year 2: $86,424 Year 3: $90,466 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,515 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $68,357 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $56,800 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $62,702 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,308 Year 2: $59,921 Year 3: $62,677 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,451 Year 2: $57,705 Year 3: $59,800 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $70,872 Year 2: $63,600 Year 3: $59,310 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,332 Year 2: $53,017 Year 3: $57,588 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,059 Year 2: $54,238 Year 3: $55,084 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $50,097 Year 2: $50,887 Year 3: $53,488 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $49,720 Year 2: $45,696 Year 3: $53,026	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760

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