Northwestern College vs. Rockhurst

Northwestern College vs. Rockhurst University comparison

	Northwestern College	Rockhurst University	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
Location	Orange City, IA	Kansas City, MO
Setting	Distant Town	Large City
Enrollment	1,651	3,405
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#638	#285
Religious Affiliation	Reformed Church in America	Roman Catholic	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	nwciowa.edu	rockhurst.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
Tuition (In State)	$34,000	$40,700
Tuition (Out of State)	$34,000	$40,700
Room & Board	$10,200	$10,280
Avg Net Price	$25,198	$22,994
Avg Grant Aid	$22,228	$32,842
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	100%

Admission	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,105	3,154
Admitted	965	2,096
Acceptance Rate	87.3%	66.5%
Enrolled %	29.8%	13.7%
Avg High School GPA	3.57	3.62
Typical High School Grades	B+	B+
Admissions Standards	Average	Average
Applicant Competition		Low
ACT Range	20/27	19/26
SAT Range	940/1240	1083/1288
Submit Test Scores	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline		Jun 30, 2025

Academics	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
Student to Faculty Ratio	15:1	13:1
Popular Majors	Business (17%) Education (15%) Health Professions (10%) Biology (9%) Visual and Performing Arts (8%)	Health Professions (31%) Business (20%) Psychology (8%) Social Sciences (8%) Biology (7%)
Outcomes	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
Graduation Rate	66%	74%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$38,400	$53,500
Making Student Loan Payments	85%	74%
Median Student Loan Debt	$25,092	$20,500
Median Loan Payment	$259	$211

Diversity	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
% Men	39%	35%
% Women	61%	65%
Racial Diversity	Very Low	Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	83%	72%
% Black	2%	4%
% Hispanic	5%	7%
% Native American	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	2%	3%
% International	3%	2%
% Unknown Race	4%	8%

Students	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
% In-State	55%	58%
% Out-of-State	42%	39%
Campus	Northwestern College	Rockhurst
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	Yes
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Rockhurst University is larger than than Northwestern College based on total student enrollment (3,405 students vs. 1,651 students)

Northwestern College vs. Rockhurst Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Northwestern College or Rockhurst?

• Rockhurst University is 19.7% more expensive to attend than Northwestern College for in-state tuition ($40,700.00 vs. $34,000.00)
• Out of state tuition is 19.7% higher at Rockhurst than Northwestern College ($40,700.00 vs. $34,000.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Rockhurst University than Northwestern College ($22,994 vs. $25,198)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Northwestern College are 0.8% lower than costs at Rockhurst University ($10,200 vs. $10,280)
• The same percent of students receive financial grant aid at Northwestern College as Rockhurst University (100% vs. 100%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Rockhurst University students is 47.8% larger than aid received Northwestern College ($32,842 vs. $22,228)

Northwestern College vs. Rockhurst Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Northwestern College or Rockhurst? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Rockhurst or Northwestern College .

• The average SAT score at Rockhurst University (1162) is 21 points higher than at Northwestern College (1141)
• Incoming Rockhurst students have a 1 point higher average ACT score (26) than students at Northwestern College (25)
• Accepted freshman Rockhurst students have a 0.05 point higher average high school GPA (3.62) than students at Northwestern College (3.57)
• Northwestern College has a higher acceptance rate (87.3%) than Rockhurst (66.5%)

Northwestern College vs. Rockhurst Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Northwestern College or Rockhurst? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Rockhurst and Northwestern College.

• The graduation rate at Rockhurst is higher than Northwestern College (74% vs. 66%)
• Graduates from Rockhurst University earn on average $15,100 more per year than Northwestern College graduates after ten years. ($53,500 vs. $38,400)
• Rockhurst University students graduate with a $4,592 lower median federal student loan debt than Northwestern College graduates. ($20,500 vs. $25,092)
• Rockhurst graduates are paying $48 less per month on federal student loans than Northwestern College graduates. ($211 vs. $259)
• More Northwestern College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Rockhurst students, three years after graduation. (85% vs. 74%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/