Northwestern College vs. Saint Benedict

Northwestern College vs. College of Saint Benedict comparison

	Northwestern College	College of Saint Benedict	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
Location	Saint Paul, MN	Saint Joseph, MN
Setting	Large Suburban	Small Suburban
Enrollment	3,253	1,470
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#554	#287
Religious Affiliation	Other Protestant	Roman Catholic	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	nwc.edu	csbsju.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
Tuition (In State)	$34,490	$50,950
Tuition (Out of State)	$34,490	$50,950
Room & Board	$10,644	$11,922
Avg Net Price	$25,704	$28,746
Avg Grant Aid	$20,487	$37,252
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	100%

Admission	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,349	1,689
Admitted	1,248	1,483
Acceptance Rate	92.5%	87.8%
Enrolled %	31.9%	21.8%
Avg High School GPA	3.58	3.72
Typical High School Grades	B+	A-
Admissions Standards	Challenging	Average
Applicant Competition
ACT Range	21/28	20/27
SAT Range	1015/1311	1055/1245
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Aug 1, 2025

Academics	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
Student to Faculty Ratio	15:1	11:1
Popular Majors	Theology and Religious Vvocations (22%) Business (18%) Education (11%) Psychology (10%) Communication (10%)	English and Literature (16%) Business (12%) Psychology (11%) Biology (10%) General Studies (10%)
Outcomes	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
Graduation Rate	64%	81%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$41,100	$53,700
Making Student Loan Payments	78%	92%
Median Student Loan Debt	$22,070	$26,343
Median Loan Payment	$228	$272

Diversity	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
% Men	39%	0%
% Women	61%	100%
Racial Diversity	Very Low	Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	84%	79%
% Black	3%	3%
% Hispanic	4%	6%
% Native American	0%	1%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	3%	1%
% International	1%	4%
% Unknown Race	1%	0%

Students	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
% In-State	77%	84%
% Out-of-State	22%	13%
Campus	Northwestern College	Saint Benedict
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Northwestern College is larger than than Saint Benedict based on total student enrollment (3,253 students vs. 1,470 students)

Northwestern College vs. Saint Benedict Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Northwestern College or Saint Benedict?

• College of Saint Benedict is 47.7% more expensive to attend than Northwestern College for in-state tuition ($50,950.00 vs. $34,490.00)
• Out of state tuition is 47.7% higher at Saint Benedict than Northwestern College ($50,950.00 vs. $34,490.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Northwestern College than Saint Benedict ($25,704 vs. $28,746)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Northwestern College are 12% lower than costs at College of Saint Benedict ($10,644 vs. $11,922)
• The same percent of students receive financial grant aid at Northwestern College as College of Saint Benedict (100% vs. 100%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by College of Saint Benedict students is 81.8% larger than aid received Northwestern College ($37,252 vs. $20,487)

Northwestern College vs. Saint Benedict Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at College of Saint Benedict (1118) is 16 points higher than at Northwestern College (1102)
• Incoming Saint Benedict students have a 1 point higher average ACT score (25) than students at Northwestern College (24)
• Accepted freshman Saint Benedict students have a 0.14 point higher average high school GPA (3.72) than students at Northwestern College (3.58)
• Northwestern College has a higher acceptance rate (92.5%) than Saint Benedict (87.8%)

Northwestern College vs. Saint Benedict Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Northwestern College or Saint Benedict? 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 Saint Benedict and Northwestern College.

• The graduation rate at Saint Benedict is higher than Northwestern College (81% vs. 64%)
• Graduates from College of Saint Benedict earn on average $12,600 more per year than Northwestern College graduates after ten years. ($53,700 vs. $41,100)
• Northwestern College students graduate with a $4,273 lower median federal student loan debt than Saint Benedict graduates. ($22,070 vs. $26,343)
• Northwestern College graduates are paying $44 less per month on federal student loans than Saint Benedict graduates. ($228 vs. $272)
• More Saint Benedict graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Northwestern College students, three years after graduation. (92% vs. 78%)

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