Private (for-profit)

Northwestern College

Oak Lawn, Illinois·Private for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes
Acceptance
80.6%
+5.2pp vs peer
6-yr Graduation
34%
+14.0pp vs peer
Avg net price
$24,929
+$4.8k vs peer
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsCampus safetyFacultyPeersDocuments

About

Northwestern College is a private Christian college in Orange City, Iowa, United States, that is Reformed, evangelical and ecumenical. Established in 1882, it offers more than 135 academic programs and enrolls over 1,700 students in undergraduate, graduate and online programs.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
155
155 candidates competed
Admitted
125
80.6% acceptance rate
Enrolled
70
56.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
34%+14.0pp vs peer

Pell equity

8.7pp gap
Pell recipients
36%22 of 61
Non-Pell (all)
27%6 of 22
Subsidized loan, no Pell
83%5 of 6
No Federal Aid
6%1 of 16

Pell recipients here graduate at a 8.7-point higher rate than non-Pell students, unusual and worth a closer look.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2023 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 10 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 8 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
10
Passing
2
20.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

10programs
  • Passing2 · 20.0%
  • No Data8 · 80.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
2
No data
8

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

2
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+44.3%
$50,232 vs $34,808
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+113.4%
$74,284 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

4
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
40%
$29,500 debt · $74,284 earn
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
39%
$12,666 debt · $32,888 earn
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
33%
$12,667 debt · $37,887 earn
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Undergraduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
32%
$12,667 debt · $40,090 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 2003Next review Aug 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 7

  1. Nov 2024Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Other
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Oct 2024Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  3. Jun 2024Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Warning
    Higher Learning Commission
  4. Oct 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology · Radiologic Technology (RAD) - Programs for radiographers
  5. Jun 2022Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Probation
    Higher Learning Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$24,589
$30–48k$25,276
$48–75k$27,226
$75–110k—
$110k+—

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$24,929
+$4,771vs peer median $20,158
Federal loans
75.5%
In-state tuition
$18,475
Out-of-state
$18,475

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2023–24, 224 students received $946K in Pell grants, alongside $1.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
224
AY 2023–24
Pell disbursed
$946K
$945,574 total
Direct Loans
$1.2M
444 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
’19
1k
’20
1k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23

Loan volume by type · AY 2023–24

Subsidized$483K
220 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$690K
221 loan awards
Parent PLUS$15K
3 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 717 borrowers who entered repayment, 90 (12.5%) defaulted within three years — above the 7.0% national rate.

Default rate
12.5%
+5.5pp vs 7.0% national
Borrowers in repayment
717
Defaulted
90
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2014
17.9%
2015
19.1%
2016
19.4%
2017
20.6%
2018
12.5%
This institutionNational rate

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Northwestern College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs0
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 618 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    12.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    9

    Northwestern College vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Northwestern College selected for federal comparison reporting.

    IPEDS
    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectNorthwestern College
    		34%80.6%—$24,929—
    American InterContinental University System
    		6%—11,277$15,172Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Fox College
    		—70.2%200$13,109Community College
    Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park
    		——1,539$25,598Community College
    Midwestern Career College
    		——887$20,462Special Focus Two-Year: Health Professions
    Rasmussen University-Illinois
    		——1,145$19,854Baccalaureate
    Peer group median20%75.4%1,145$20,158

    Institutions like Northwestern College

    Explore the federal data for institutions in Northwestern College's comparison group.

    IPEDS

    Reports & documents (1)

    Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

    Frequently asked questions about Northwestern College

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Northwestern College.

    What is the acceptance rate at Northwestern College?

    Northwestern College's acceptance rate is 80.6% (125 admitted from 155 applicants), based on the latest IPEDS.

    What is the graduation rate at Northwestern College?

    Northwestern College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 34% per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Northwestern College?

    The average net price at Northwestern College is $24,929 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Northwestern College?

    Northwestern College's yield rate is 56.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Northwestern College located?

    Northwestern College is located in Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453.

    About the data on this page

    Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

    IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
    Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
    National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
    College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
    Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
    U.S. Department of Education
    FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
    Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
    U.S. Department of Education
    DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
    Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
    Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
    Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
    Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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