North Central vs Grinnell College

North Central College and Grinnell College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. North Central, a private liberal arts college in Naperville, Illinois, boasts a higher acceptance rate (75%) compared to Grinnell's selective admissions (19%). With a larger student body, North Central fosters a diverse community, while Grinnell's smaller size cultivates a close-knit atmosphere. While both colleges excel in liberal arts education, Grinnell's focus on social justice and environmental sustainability sets it apart. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details on acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, graduation rates, and more, helping you make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.
Grinnell College logo

Grinnell College

North Central College logo

North Central College

Overview

Location Grinnell, Iowa Naperville, Illinois
Campus setting Town: Remote City: Midsize
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 93.0% 77.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Methodism

Admission

Acceptance rate 10.5% 68.4%
Application fees $25
SAT range 1370 - 1530 1030 - 1230
ACT range 30 - 34 22 - 28
Students submitting SAT score 29.0% 43.0%
Students submitting ACT score 33.0% 17.0%
Total number of applicants 10,513 4,551
Total number of admissions given out 1,108 3,113
Admitted students who chose to enroll 471 512
Yield rate 42.5% 16.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Required
Recommendation letters Required Not required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $76,098 $61,098
Average net price $37,423 $26,207
Tuition $58,156 $42,026
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $6,779

Meal plan: $7,572
Room/dormitory: $7,998

Meal plan: $3,890
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $35,821
100.0%
Average amount $28,670
Students receiving federal student loan 36.0%
Average amount $3,952
60.0%
Average amount $5,156
Students taking out private loans 12.0%
Average amount $5,903
25.0%
Average amount $6,992

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,748
Men 47.5% Women 52.5%
2,404
Men 48.4% Women 51.6%
Graduate students N/A 324
Men 29.3% Women 70.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Low
Out-of-state students 91.5% 26.8%
International students 19.4% 3.7%
Campus local/setting Town: Remote City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity 1,450 1,333
First year students are required to live on campus? Yes No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from California Illinois Iowa Minnesota Texas Illinois Wisconsin Indiana Ohio Michigan

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Social Sciences
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Physical Science
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Business
  • Education
  • Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
  • Health Professions
  • Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio 9:1 13:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 86.9% 64.4%
Dropout rate 12.9% 35.1%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $56,661
  • Year 2: $52,941
  • Year 3: $55,487
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,893
  • Year 2: $34,704
  • Year 3: $49,481
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $20,499
  • Year 2: $29,141
  • Year 3: $41,882
Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $27,517
  • Year 2: $33,993
  • Year 3: $40,572
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,353
  • Year 3: $37,882
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $21,508
  • Year 3: $37,613
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $23,718
  • Year 2: $19,227
  • Year 3: $29,237
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $28,680
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $70,658
  • Year 2: $91,744
  • Year 3: N/A
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $29,239
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $52,561
  • Year 2: $63,501
  • Year 3: $74,669
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,155
  • Year 2: $62,260
  • Year 3: $71,061
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $43,815
  • Year 2: $58,921
  • Year 3: $66,245
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $54,117
  • Year 2: $46,478
  • Year 3: $64,795
Human Resources Management and Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $39,621
  • Year 2: $45,305
  • Year 3: $51,292
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $44,923
  • Year 2: $43,240
  • Year 3: $50,109
Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,795
  • Year 2: $43,000
  • Year 3: $49,516
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $42,391
  • Year 2: $42,682
  • Year 3: $47,721
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $41,154
  • Year 2: $45,584
  • Year 3: $46,743
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $41,411
  • Year 2: $40,441
  • Year 3: $44,647

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