Wartburg College vs. Northwestern College

Wartburg College vs. Northwestern College comparison

	Wartburg College	Northwestern College	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
Location	Waverly, IA	Saint Paul, MN
Setting	Distant Town	Large Suburban
Enrollment	1,472	3,262
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking	#577	#551
Religious Affiliation	Evangelical Lutheran Church	Other Protestant	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	wartburg.edu	nwc.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
Tuition (In State)	$48,490	$35,970
Tuition (Out of State)	$48,490	$35,970
Room & Board	$11,062	$11,148
Avg Net Price	$23,321	$26,779
Avg Grant Aid	$38,519	$21,360
% Receiving Grant Aid	97%	100%

Admission	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	2,543	1,194
Admitted	2,528	1,097
Acceptance Rate	99.4%	91.9%
Enrolled %	16.8%	33.2%
Avg High School GPA	3.48	3.58
Typical High School Grades	B+	B+
Admissions Standards	Average	Challenging
Applicant Competition
ACT Range	19/27	22/29
SAT Range	978/1235	981/1293
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	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
Student to Faculty Ratio	13:1	15:1
Popular Majors	Business (21%) Education (15%) Biology (15%) Communication (9%) Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies (5%)	Theology and Religious Vvocations (22%) Business (18%) Education (11%) Psychology (10%) Communication (10%)
Outcomes	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
Graduation Rate	63%	64%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$48,100	$41,100
Making Student Loan Payments	81%	78%
Median Student Loan Debt	$27,000	$22,070
Median Loan Payment	$279	$228

Diversity	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
% Men	0%	1%
% Women	1%	1%
Racial Diversity	Low	Very Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	77%	84%
% Black	5%	3%
% Hispanic	3%	4%
% Native American	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	2%	3%
% International	8%	1%
% Unknown Race	4%	1%

Students	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
% In-State	66%	74%
% Out-of-State	29%	26%
Campus	Wartburg College	Northwestern College
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 Wartburg College based on total student enrollment (3,262 students vs. 1,472 students)

Wartburg College vs. Northwestern College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Wartburg College or Northwestern College?

• Wartburg College is 34.8% more expensive to attend than Northwestern College for in-state tuition ($48,490.00 vs. $35,970.00)
• Out of state tuition is 34.8% higher at Wartburg College than Northwestern College ($48,490.00 vs. $35,970.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Wartburg College than Northwestern College ($23,321 vs. $26,779)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Wartburg College are 0.8% lower than costs at Northwestern College ($11,062 vs. $11,148)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Northwestern College than Wartburg College (100% vs. 97%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Wartburg College students is 80.3% larger than aid received Northwestern College ($38,519 vs. $21,360)

Wartburg College vs. Northwestern College Admissions Difficulty Comparison

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

• The average SAT score at Wartburg College (1105) is 3 points higher than at Northwestern College (1102)
• Incoming Wartburg College students have at the same average ACT score (24) as students at Northwestern College (24)
• Accepted freshman Northwestern College students have a 0.1 point higher average high school GPA (3.58) than students at Wartburg College (3.48)
• Wartburg College has a higher acceptance rate (99.4%) than Northwestern College (91.9%)

Wartburg College vs. Northwestern College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Wartburg College or Northwestern College? 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 Northwestern College and Wartburg College.

• The graduation rate at Northwestern College is higher than Wartburg College (64% vs. 63%)
• Graduates from Wartburg College earn on average $7,000 more per year than Northwestern College graduates after ten years. ($48,100 vs. $41,100)
• Northwestern College students graduate with a $4,930 lower median federal student loan debt than Wartburg College graduates. ($22,070 vs. $27,000)
• Northwestern College graduates are paying $51 less per month on federal student loans than Wartburg College graduates. ($228 vs. $279)
• More Wartburg College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Northwestern College students, three years after graduation. (81% vs. 78%)

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