Cornell College vs Northwestern College

Cornell College and Northwestern College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Cornell, a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, boasts a 98% acceptance rate, while Northwestern, a private Christian college in Orange City, Iowa, maintains a more selective 84% acceptance rate. Cornell's student body is more diverse, with 48% female and 52% male students, compared to Northwestern's 55% female and 45% male student body. Both colleges offer a range of popular majors, including Business, Education, and Psychology, but Cornell also features unique programs like Environmental Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies. While Cornell's graduation rate stands at 68%, Northwestern's is slightly higher at 72%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two exceptional colleges and make an informed decision about your academic journey.
Cornell College logo

Cornell College

Northwestern College logo

Northwestern College

Overview

Location Mount Vernon, Iowa Orange City, Iowa
Campus setting Town: Fringe 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 78.0% 83.0%
Common app member Yes No
Religious affiliation Methodism Protestant

Admission

Acceptance rate 81.1% 83.0%
Application fees $30
SAT range 1155 - 1405 940 - 1240
ACT range 24 - 30 20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score 28.0% 8.0%
Students submitting ACT score 58.0% 82.0%
Total number of applicants 2,836 1,172
Total number of admissions given out 2,300 973
Admitted students who chose to enroll 366 268
Yield rate 15.9% 27.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Not 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 $62,735 $47,650
Average net price $22,667 $24,848
Tuition $47,100 $33,350
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $4,868

Meal plan: $5,688
$10,000
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $37,745
100.0%
Average amount $21,873
Students receiving federal student loan 57.0%
Average amount $5,607
69.0%
Average amount $5,257
Students taking out private loans 16.0%
Average amount $9,357
21.0%
Average amount $10,813

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,046
Men 52.5% Women 47.5%
1,053
Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students 9
Men 33.3% Women 66.7%
460
Men 24.3% Women 75.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Very Low
Out-of-state students N/A N/A
International students 3.0% 2.2%
Campus local/setting Town: Fringe Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity 1,060 995
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from N/A N/A

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Foreign Languages and Literatures
  • Social Sciences
  • Philosophy and Religious Studies
  • Education
  • Health Professions
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Business
  • Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio 12:1 12:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 63.8% 70.8%
Dropout rate 10.9% 6.5%
Transferred out 25.4% 22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $32,721
  • Year 2: $29,685
  • Year 3: $40,862
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $25,040
  • Year 2: $24,035
  • Year 3: $38,658
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $42,682
  • Year 3: N/A
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $21,951
  • Year 2: $23,340
  • Year 3: N/A
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $36,103
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $34,478
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $32,731
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: N/A
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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