NorthWestern vs Fordham

Northwestern University and Fordham University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Northwestern, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 9.1%. Fordham, a Jesuit university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, offers a more accessible admissions process with an acceptance rate of 48%. While Northwestern's student body is predominantly undergraduate, Fordham has a larger graduate student population. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors including business, engineering, and social sciences at Northwestern and business, communications, and nursing at Fordham. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover more about these universities' acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, graduation rates, and other key differences to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.
Fordham University logo

Fordham University

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University

Overview

Location Bronx, New York Evanston, Illinois
Campus setting City: Large City: Small
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Quarter
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 88.0% 99.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation Catholic

Admission

Acceptance rate 58.3% 7.0%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $70

Graduate: $70
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $95
SAT range 1300 - 1480 1470 - 1570
ACT range 30 - 33 34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 26.0% 43.0%
Students submitting ACT score 11.0% 39.0%
Total number of applicants 46,275 47,636
Total number of admissions given out 26,980 3,321
Admitted students who chose to enroll 2,879 2,086
Yield rate 10.7% 62.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Required Not required
Recommendation letters Required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $72,559 $83,838
Average net price $37,583 $29,999
Tuition $54,730 $60,276
Room & board $21,035
Room/dormitory: $11,271

Meal plan: $6,993
Available payment plans
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

94.0%
Average amount $34,114
57.0%
Average amount $51,087
Students receiving federal student loan 52.0%
Average amount $5,280
23.0%
Average amount $4,625
Students taking out private loans 6.0%
Average amount $26,677
2.0%
Average amount $38,595

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 9,904
Men 40.8% Women 59.2%
8,847
Men 46.1% Women 53.9%
Graduate students 7,082
Men 34.3% Women 65.7%
14,562
Men 47.3% Women 52.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Moderate
Out-of-state students 60.9% N/A
International students 10.2% 17.8%
Campus local/setting City: Large City: Small
Dormitory capacity 4,749 4,409
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from New York New Jersey California Mississippi Connecticut N/A

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Public Administration and Social Service
  • Legal Profession
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Education
  • Business
  • Communication and Journalism
  • Engineering
  • Health Professions
  • Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio 14:1 6:1
Institutional accreditation Middle States Commission on Higher Education Higher Learning Commission

Outcome

Graduation rate 83.2% 95.2%
Dropout rate 6.7% 4.2%
Transferred out 9.9% N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $146,081
  • Year 2: $100,690
  • Year 3: $124,166
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $101,577
  • Year 2: $113,850
  • Year 3: $121,893
Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $86,586
  • Year 2: $85,538
  • Year 3: $98,267
Taxation (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $75,240
  • Year 2: $81,702
  • Year 3: $96,920
Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $103,078
  • Year 3: $95,156
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $70,465
  • Year 2: $73,195
  • Year 3: $87,850
Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $68,578
  • Year 2: $71,575
  • Year 3: $87,004
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $68,968
  • Year 2: $71,351
  • Year 3: $82,005
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $58,702
  • Year 2: $79,081
  • Year 3: $81,526
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $63,805
  • Year 2: $58,673
  • Year 3: $73,993
Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $150,242
  • Year 2: $188,472
  • Year 3: $221,242
Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $188,472
  • Year 3: $216,176
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $187,194
  • Year 2: $170,971
  • Year 3: $206,288
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $120,709
  • Year 2: $189,565
  • Year 3: $194,961
Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $162,478
  • Year 2: $163,561
  • Year 3: $177,652
Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $111,200
  • Year 2: $157,779
  • Year 3: $159,304
Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $140,321
  • Year 2: $141,586
  • Year 3: $154,556
Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $88,288
  • Year 2: $118,465
  • Year 3: $132,325
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $118,780
  • Year 2: $111,323
  • Year 3: $130,124
Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $115,760
  • Year 2: $113,668
  • Year 3: $128,046

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.
Fordham University Fordham vs Chapman University Chapman University
Fordham University Fordham vs University of San Diego University of San Diego
Fordham University Fordham vs University of San Francisco University of San Francisco
Fordham University Fordham vs University of Denver University of Denver
Fordham University Fordham vs Fairfield University Fairfield University
Fordham University Fordham vs Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University
Fordham University Fordham vs Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University
Fordham University Fordham vs American University American University
Fordham University Fordham vs Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago
Fordham University Fordham vs Babson College Babson College
Fordham University Fordham vs Bentley University Bentley University
Fordham University Fordham vs Boston College Boston College
Fordham University Fordham vs Endicott College Endicott College
Fordham University Fordham vs Suffolk University Suffolk University
Fordham University Fordham vs Saint Louis University Saint Louis University
Fordham University Fordham vs Creighton University Creighton University
Fordham University Fordham vs Berkeley College-Woodland Park Berkeley College-Woodland Park
Fordham University Fordham vs Saint Peter's University Saint Peter's University
Fordham University Fordham vs Seton Hall University Seton Hall University
Fordham University Fordham vs Adelphi University Adelphi University
Fordham University Fordham vs Berkeley College-New York Berkeley College-New York
Fordham University Fordham vs Canisius College Canisius College
Fordham University Fordham vs Hofstra University Hofstra University
Fordham University Fordham vs Iona College Iona College
Fordham University Fordham vs Manhattan College Manhattan College
Fordham University Fordham vs The New School The New School
Fordham University Fordham vs Niagara University Niagara University
Fordham University Fordham vs St. John's University-New York St. John's University-New York
Fordham University Fordham vs Elon University Elon University
Fordham University Fordham vs University of Dayton University of Dayton
Fordham University Fordham vs Xavier University Xavier University
Fordham University Fordham vs Duquesne University Duquesne University
Fordham University Fordham vs Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University
Fordham University Fordham vs University of Rhode Island University of Rhode Island
Fordham University Fordham vs Salve Regina University Salve Regina University
Fordham University Fordham vs Belmont University Belmont University
Fordham University Fordham vs Baylor University Baylor University
Fordham University Fordham vs Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University
Fordham University Fordham vs Gonzaga University Gonzaga University
Fordham University Fordham vs Marquette University Marquette University
Fordham University Fordham vs The King's College The King's College
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs University of Delaware University of Delaware
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Georgetown University Georgetown University
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Nova Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Emory University Emory University
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs University of Georgia University of Georgia
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs University of Chicago University of Chicago
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Boston College Boston College
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Wellesley College Wellesley College
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Fordham University Fordham University
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Lehigh University Lehigh University
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Baylor University Baylor University
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs Northeastern University Professional Programs Northeastern University Professional Programs
Northwestern University NorthWestern vs The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University