Princton vs NorthWestern

Princeton University and Northwestern University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Princeton, an Ivy League university located in New Jersey, boasts a lower acceptance rate (6.1%) compared to Northwestern's 8.4%. Princeton's student body is slightly smaller, with an undergraduate enrollment of around 5,200 students, while Northwestern's is larger, with over 8,000 undergraduates. Both universities offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including engineering, economics, and computer science. However, Princeton has a higher graduation rate (97%) than Northwestern (93%). To help you make an informed decision about which university better aligns with your aspirations, we have compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these and other key differences in greater detail.

	Northwestern University	Princeton University
Overview
Location	Evanston, Illinois	Princeton, New Jersey
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Quarter	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	99.0%	96.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	7.0%	4.4%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $95	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1470 - 1570	1460 - 1570
ACT range	34 - 35	33 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	43.0%	56.0%
Students submitting ACT score	39.0%	35.0%
Total number of applicants	47,636	37,601
Total number of admissions given out	3,321	1,647
Admitted students who chose to enroll	2,086	1,290
Yield rate	62.8%	78.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$83,838	$78,490
Average net price	$29,999	$20,908
Tuition	$60,276	$56,010
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $11,271 Meal plan: $6,993	Room/dormitory: $10,690 Meal plan: $7,490
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	57.0% Average amount $51,087	65.0% Average amount $47,136
Students receiving federal student loan	23.0% Average amount $4,625	2.0% Average amount $5,278
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,595	2.0% Average amount $8,938

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,847 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	5,321 Men 50.3% Women 49.7%
Graduate students	14,562 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	3,157 Men 58.3% Women 41.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	82.6%
International students	17.8%	22.8%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	4,409	5,151
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	New Jersey California New York Pennsylvania Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Communication and Journalism Engineering Health Professions Legal Profession	Social Sciences Engineering Public Administration and Social Service Physical Science Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	5:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	95.2%	97.6%
Dropout rate	4.2%	1.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $150,242 Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $221,242 Business/Commerce, General (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $188,472 Year 3: $216,176 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $187,194 Year 2: $170,971 Year 3: $206,288 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $120,709 Year 2: $189,565 Year 3: $194,961 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $162,478 Year 2: $163,561 Year 3: $177,652 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $111,200 Year 2: $157,779 Year 3: $159,304 Engineering, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $140,321 Year 2: $141,586 Year 3: $154,556 Medical Illustration and Informatics (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $88,288 Year 2: $118,465 Year 3: $132,325 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $118,780 Year 2: $111,323 Year 3: $130,124 Community Organization and Advocacy (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $115,760 Year 2: $113,668 Year 3: $128,046	Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $122,809 Year 2: $103,078 Year 3: $181,687 Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $75,130 Year 2: $75,518 Year 3: $85,666 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,831 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: $66,134 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,473 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,463 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,879 Year 2: $47,260 Year 3: N/A Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $37,568 Year 3: N/A Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,447 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Chemistry (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $76,460 Year 3: N/A Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,198 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: N/A

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