Northwestern College vs Cornell

Northwestern College and Cornell University, two esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Northwestern College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Orange City, Iowa, boasts a tight-knit community and a focus on undergraduate teaching. Cornell University, an Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York, is renowned for its world-class faculty, extensive research opportunities, and diverse student body. With acceptance rates of 88% and 10%, respectively, these institutions cater to different applicant pools. While Northwestern College excels in popular majors like Business, Education, and Nursing, Cornell University offers a wider range of programs, including Engineering, Law, and Veterinary Medicine. Explore the comparison table to discover more about the student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences between these two exceptional institutions.
Cornell University logo

Cornell University

Northwestern College logo

Northwestern College

Overview

Location Ithaca, New York Orange City, Iowa
Campus setting City: Small 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 97.0% 83.0%
Common app member Yes No
Religious affiliation Protestant

Admission

Acceptance rate 8.7% 83.0%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $80

Graduate: $105
SAT range 1450 - 1560 940 - 1240
ACT range 33 - 35 20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score 41.0% 8.0%
Students submitting ACT score 20.0% 82.0%
Total number of applicants 67,380 1,172
Total number of admissions given out 5,852 973
Admitted students who chose to enroll 3,718 268
Yield rate 63.5% 27.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Not 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 $80,287 $47,650
Average net price $24,262 $24,848
Tuition $60,286 $33,350
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $9,962

Meal plan: $6,434
$10,000
Available payment plans
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

50.0%
Average amount $52,674
100.0%
Average amount $21,873
Students receiving federal student loan 26.0%
Average amount $3,924
69.0%
Average amount $5,257
Students taking out private loans 16.0%
Average amount $8,357
21.0%
Average amount $10,813

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 15,503
Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
1,053
Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students 10,079
Men 51.0% Women 49.0%
460
Men 24.3% Women 75.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Very Low
Out-of-state students 64.3% N/A
International students 24.4% 2.2%
Campus local/setting City: Small Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity 7,422 995
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from New York California New Jersey Florida Pennsylvania N/A

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Engineering
  • Agriculture
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Legal Profession
  • Education
  • Health Professions
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Business
  • Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio 9:1 12:1
Institutional accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 94.1% 70.8%
Dropout rate 5.2% 6.5%
Transferred out N/A 22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Law (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $185,154
  • Year 2: $172,867
  • Year 3: $207,272
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $150,786
  • Year 2: $145,332
  • Year 3: $167,695
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $127,764
  • Year 2: $122,485
  • Year 3: $158,076
Computer Science (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $147,241
  • Year 2: $127,397
  • Year 3: $155,653
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $114,311
  • Year 2: $111,926
  • Year 3: $126,082
Operations Research (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,067
  • Year 2: $109,763
  • Year 3: $124,590
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $88,459
  • Year 2: $92,277
  • Year 3: $109,597
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $105,672
  • Year 2: $97,071
  • Year 3: $109,553
Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $95,847
  • Year 2: $94,408
  • Year 3: $107,658
Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $101,072
  • Year 3: $106,693
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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