Northland College vs Ferris State

Northland College and Ferris State University, while both offering unique educational experiences, present distinct differences in their academic offerings, student demographics, and campus environments. Northland College, a private liberal arts college in Ashland, Wisconsin, boasts a small, close-knit community with an acceptance rate of 75% and a focus on environmental studies, outdoor recreation, and sustainability. Ferris State University, a public university in Big Rapids, Michigan, offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, including engineering, business, and health sciences, with an acceptance rate of 85%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to delve into further distinctions between these two institutions, including popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Ferris State University	Northland College
Overview
Location	Big Rapids, Michigan	Ashland, Wisconsin
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	77.0%	73.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation		Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	84.8%	57.7%
Application fees
SAT range	930 - 1150	1010 - 1160
ACT range	19 - 26	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	66.0%	17.0%
Students submitting ACT score	5.0%	50.0%
Total number of applicants	10,480	1,436
Total number of admissions given out	8,884	828
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,405	124
Yield rate	15.8%	15.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$24,285	$53,032
Average net price	$13,624	$22,994
Tuition	$12,740	$38,376
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,450 Meal plan: $4,678	Room/dormitory: $4,470 Meal plan: $6,104
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	90.0% Average amount $10,575	100.0% Average amount $28,740
Students receiving federal student loan	54.0% Average amount $5,319	69.0% Average amount $5,173
Students taking out private loans	10.0% Average amount $12,922	13.0% Average amount $13,657

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	9,248 Men 47.2% Women 52.8%	531 Men 46.9% Women 53.1%
Graduate students	1,113 Men 34.2% Women 65.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	6.6%	67.5%
International students	1.4%	6.8%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	3,312	500
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Michigan Illinois Florida Indiana Wisconsin	Wisconsin Minnesota Illinois Michigan Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Engineering Technologies Law Enforcement and Firefighting Visual & Performing Arts	Physical Science Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Business
Students to faculty ratio	15:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	47.7%	58.3%
Dropout rate	39.2%	25.2%
Transferred out	10.5%	16.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,849 Year 2: $123,608 Year 3: $124,236 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $93,610 Year 2: $97,071 Year 3: $107,632 Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,938 Year 2: $74,122 Year 3: $77,998 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $65,051 Year 2: $81,498 Year 3: $77,389 Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $75,822 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $82,062 Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: $75,775 Construction Management (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,334 Year 2: $64,837 Year 3: $75,354 Electrical Engineering Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,507 Year 2: $67,240 Year 3: $71,530 Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,480 Year 2: $69,535 Year 3: $70,863 Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,397 Year 2: $65,905 Year 3: $70,419	Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,122 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Natural Resources and Conservation, Other (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,937 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,854 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,129 Year 2: $25,194 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.

Ferris State

Ball State University