College · Private nonprofit · Midland, MI · City
Northwood University
Midland, MI
Admit rate65%
6-yr median pay$54k
Net price / yr$27k
Undergrad size1,974
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $27k/yr for a shot at a $54k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 65% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
1,974 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $49k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $27k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$195k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$109k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$86k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $34.4k
- Room & board
- $13.1k
- Books & supplies
- $810
How students pay for it.
Pell grants26%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans45%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$21k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $13k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention79%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr63%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$54k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$63k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,974
- Location
- Midland, MI
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · Mixed
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- NU
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White72%
- Black9%
- Hispanic8%
- Unknown5%
- Two or more races3%
- International2%
- Asian1%
First-gen students40%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time32%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Veterans1%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$42k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 20
What you can study.