Wartburg College vs Northwestern College

Wartburg College and Northwestern College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Wartburg, a private liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa, boasts a 98% acceptance rate and a diverse student body representing 30 states and 20 countries. With popular majors in business, education, and nursing, Wartburg fosters a close-knit community with a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Northwestern, a private Christian college in Orange City, Iowa, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 90% and a student body primarily from the Midwest. Known for its strong programs in business, education, and engineering, Northwestern emphasizes faith-based learning and offers a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about these two exceptional colleges and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Northwestern College	Wartburg College
Overview
Location	Orange City, Iowa	Waverly, Iowa
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	4-1-4
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	83.0%	74.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation	Protestant	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	83.0%	82.8%
Application fees
SAT range	940 - 1240	973 - 1198
ACT range	20 - 27	20 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	8.0%	8.0%
Students submitting ACT score	82.0%	49.0%
Total number of applicants	1,172	4,024
Total number of admissions given out	973	3,330
Admitted students who chose to enroll	268	413
Yield rate	27.5%	12.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$47,650	$59,890
Average net price	$24,848	$23,022
Tuition	$33,350	$45,200
Room & board	$10,000	Room/dormitory: $5,730 Meal plan: $4,260
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $21,873	95.0% Average amount $34,498
Students receiving federal student loan	69.0% Average amount $5,257	72.0% Average amount $5,442
Students taking out private loans	21.0% Average amount $10,813	13.0% Average amount $14,049

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,053 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%	1,516 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Graduate students	460 Men 24.3% Women 75.7%	25 Men 28.0% Women 72.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	27.7%
International students	2.2%	6.1%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	995	1,409
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Iowa Illinois Minnesota Wisconsin Colorado

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

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.8%	69.9%
Dropout rate	6.5%	29.8%
Transferred out	22.7%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	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	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $55,999 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $63,021 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $47,367 Year 2: $47,595 Year 3: $53,215 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,779 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: $44,236 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,368 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: $42,652 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,087 Year 2: $35,546 Year 3: $39,411 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $26,075 Year 2: $30,771 Year 3: $37,759 Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $26,121 Year 3: $33,732 Engineering Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,225 Year 2: $58,221 Year 3: N/A Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,030 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: N/A

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