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Private College

Northwest University

Private College in Kirkland, WA. Six-year graduation rate 71%. Median 10-year earnings $54,914.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Northwest University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$54,914
Median debt at grad
$20,891
Graduation rate
70.8%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $54,914 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 71% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $20,891, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
83%
Applicants
625
Yield rate
30.8%

83% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool is small at 625, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. 31% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 15% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.

Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)

These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.

Test 25th–75th percentile Submitted
SAT Evidence-Based Reading 540–700 24 (15%)
SAT Math 500–650
ACT Composite 3 (2%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Northwest University →

Academics

Full-time retention
84%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
9:1

A 71% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 84% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 9:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$24,251
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
99%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
58%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 642 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $24,251 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $17,996 at $0–30k versus $28,570 at $110k+. Most students get help: 99% receive grants worth $24,096 on average. 58% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.

Entering first-year students

A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$26,017

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 149 students

Net price by family income

The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.

Family income band Average net price
$0–30k $17,996
$30–48k $14,384
$48–75k $17,840
$75–110k $22,644
$110k+ $28,570

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 374 of these 642 students, totalling $2,398,737 — an average of $6,414 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (King County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$2,074/mo
1 bedroom
$2,146/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$2,501/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
87
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Northwest University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Northwest University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →