Loras College vs Northwestern College

Loras College and Northwestern College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Loras, a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa, boasts a 90% acceptance rate and a student body of over 1,500 undergraduates. Northwestern, a private Christian college in Orange City, Iowa, has a slightly lower acceptance rate of 85% and a smaller student body of around 1,300 undergraduates. While both colleges offer a range of academic programs, Loras is known for its strong liberal arts and sciences curriculum, while Northwestern excels in business, education, and nursing. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more about the differences in tuition, graduation rates, student demographics, and popular majors, helping you make an informed decision about which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Loras College	Northwestern College
Overview
Location	Dubuque, Iowa	Orange City, Iowa
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	78.0%	83.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation	Catholic	Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	72.0%	83.0%
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	940 - 1240
ACT range	N/A	20 - 27
Students submitting SAT score		8.0%
Students submitting ACT score		82.0%
Total number of applicants	2,086	1,172
Total number of admissions given out	1,501	973
Admitted students who chose to enroll	296	268
Yield rate	19.7%	27.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$45,563	$47,650
Average net price	$20,068	$24,848
Tuition	$33,500	$33,350
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,000 Meal plan: $4,760	$10,000
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $26,765	100.0% Average amount $21,873
Students receiving federal student loan	64.0% Average amount $5,320	69.0% Average amount $5,257
Students taking out private loans	17.0% Average amount $8,551	21.0% Average amount $10,813

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,296 Men 57.3% Women 42.7%	1,053 Men 48.7% Women 51.3%
Graduate students	90 Men 28.9% Women 71.1%	460 Men 24.3% Women 75.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	69.3%	N/A
International students	2.0%	2.2%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Distant
Dormitory capacity	783	995
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Iowa Wisconsin Florida Missouri	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Business Psychology Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Communication and Journalism	Education Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Business Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	11:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	68.0%	70.8%
Dropout rate	31.5%	6.5%
Transferred out	N/A	22.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,323 Year 2: $51,607 Year 3: $59,244 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,102 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $58,312 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,391 Year 2: $32,925 Year 3: $47,841 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,509 Year 2: $43,240 Year 3: $46,795 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,865 Year 2: $36,437 Year 3: $45,484 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $35,504 Year 2: $34,847 Year 3: $32,931 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,403 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,258 Year 2: $40,188 Year 3: N/A Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A	Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,719 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,017 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,993 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,925 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $33,080 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,227 Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,185 Year 2: $41,193 Year 3: N/A

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Loras College vs Northwestern College

Loras College

Northwestern College

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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