Who this school is and where it is located
Carnegie, the system that organizes colleges and universities in the United States according to what they do, classifies Northwest University as a master’s university with medium-sized programs. Data from 2019-20 describe it as a small, highly residential four-year school: at that time, at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in housing owned, controlled, or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time.
Highly residential does not mean inexpensive. Living on campus is an experience; room and board are charged separately, and you will see that number later.
Carnegie also places it, using data from 2021, among institutions attended by many transfer students, and classifies it as a research doctoral institution based on its history of graduate degrees. That last piece of information is historical: it does not tell you what the university offers today. If your child is considering coming here after studying elsewhere, the “many transfer students” label does not tell you how many credits students bring in or how many fall away along the way. Ask about that in writing before enrolling.
Geographically, Northwest University is in Kirkland, King County, within the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area. That does not mean the campus is in downtown Seattle. Its census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area but outside the principal city. If your child is considering living at home and commuting, the only way to know whether that is feasible is to drive the route on a weekday at the actual time of the classes. The map almost never tells the truth about traffic.
It is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. IPEDS lists the doctorate as the highest degree level it reports offering and classifies it as an institution primarily offering bachelor’s degrees or higher. Neither label tells you whether the specific program your child is interested in exists or whether it connects undergraduate and graduate study. That, again, must be verified program by program.
And one thing worth clarifying from the outset: Northwest University is not designated as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; this one is not among them. That does not tell you which communities it serves or how your child would feel there. You investigate that by speaking with someone who already studies on campus.
A small community, and what comes with that size
Northwest University had 999 students enrolled in the most recent official fall count, placing it in the band below 1,000. Compared with the 941 selective-admission, private four-year schools in this census that report the figure, it is on the small side: seven out of ten of those schools, or more, have more students.
Within that total of 999, the breakdown matters: 679 are undergraduate students and 320 are graduate students. If your child is entering a bachelor’s degree program, the number that matters to your family is 679, not the total. The larger total includes people who have already completed a degree and are pursuing graduate study, which can be misleading if you do not separate them.
Among undergraduates, 13 out of every 100 students are Hispanic or Latino: a small minority, although slightly above the midpoint of its comparable schools. There are more women than men—62 out of every 100—and few adult students: only 8 out of every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old. IPEDS does not report where incoming students came from in this cycle, so that information simply is not available.
If there are few Latino students on this campus, that alone does not disqualify the school, but it does warrant a direct question during the visit: what currently exists for Latino students, whether there is a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the office who speaks Spanish. And keep in mind that this comparison among schools is constructed by institutional type and control, not by state or field of study: it does not account for Washington being a particular part of the country.
How the academic year is organized, and how flexible entry is
The calendar here is semester-based: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. It is a standard calendar, with no surprises.
The university reported accepting prior credit through two routes: AP examinations and what IPEDS calls credit for life experience—learning acquired through independent study, adult courses, work experience, a portfolio, licenses, certifications, or military or professional opportunities. It also reports accepting credit for military training. Reporting that it accepts such credit does not mean your child will receive it automatically. Ask for the transfer-credit evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not calculate any savings until you have it in hand.
According to its own report, this school does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit.
As for its degree offerings: in the most recent year, it awarded 190 bachelor’s degrees across 14 fields of study. No single field accounted for the bulk of them: the field with the most degrees was health professions, with 23 out of every 100, and no other field reached even 30 out of every 100. It has a broad offering rather than being a school built around one dominant field. But with numbers this small, a single year’s count can shift considerably from one period to another. If your child has a field of study in mind, ask for the last three years of data for that specific field, not a snapshot of a single year.
The reported student-to-faculty ratio is 9 to 1, among the lowest of its peers—it falls in the lowest quarter of 941 comparable schools. It is a striking number, but by itself it does not measure actual faculty availability, class size, or individual attention. A low ratio does not guarantee small classes: the figure relates full-time equivalents rather than counting seats in a classroom. Ask directly how many students are in first-year classes.
The academic pathways it reports offering
Northwest University reports offering study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, teacher certification preparation below the postsecondary level, and state approval of its initial teacher certification program. These are structured pathways that exist on paper at the institution; if your child is interested in any of them, it is worth asking how they work in practice, how often they are used, and what is required to participate.
How it admits students and how likely admission is
Here we reach a central point: Northwest University does not have open admissions. It reviews application components before saying yes. Of nine possible admissions considerations, excluding standardized tests and legacy status, it marks three as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, and an English proficiency examination for those to whom it applies. Other components are not required but are considered if submitted: completion of the requested college-preparatory curriculum, the personal essay, and letters of recommendation.
If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, this directly concerns you: ask now whether the English proficiency examination applies and what would qualify your child for an exemption. This is the kind of thing families discover too late if they do not ask in time. The undergraduate application fee is $30.
Now, the figure you are probably most interested in: out of every 100 people who applied for admission in the most recent cycle, 88 received an offer of admission. That places it on the more accessible side among 942 comparable selective private schools—seven out of ten, or more, of that group accept a smaller percentage of applicants. In that sense, Northwest University is among the schools that do say yes.
But likely admission does not make what follows easy. That 88 out of every 100 applies to the entire school and to a single cycle. It does not say how much attendance will cost, how many students complete their programs, or whether the specific program your child wants has its own separate screening process. Those three questions must be asked separately.
Here is a figure worth examining carefully: out of every 100 students Northwest University admitted, only 29 ultimately enrolled there. The other 71 had an admission letter in hand and chose to go elsewhere. This is a relatively high enrollment rate compared with its peers—at most of those schools, a smaller share of admitted students enroll—but this figure does not measure quality or prestige. It only counts other families’ decisions. When your child’s letters arrive, that percentage does not decide anything: place the admission letters side by side and compare net price, field of study, and distance before the deposit deadline.
As for standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required here. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Of the students who enrolled, only 19 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and the available percentiles were calculated from fewer than 30 students: the middle half scored between 520 and 660 in reading and writing and between 520 and 665 in mathematics. With such a small sample, this is neither a threshold nor a guarantee of anything. It is only what that small group reported.
Regarding transfers: in the most recent count, 65 undergraduate students entered Northwest University for the first time after studying at another institution. Compared with similar schools, that number is on the low side, although it depends on the school’s size, not just its policy. What is not reported here is the transfer-out rate—how many first-time students transferred elsewhere. That gap in the data does not prove that no one transfers; the figure simply is not reported.
What it costs, in numbers that matter
At Northwest University, among 8 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $14,935. Among 10 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $19,757; among 31 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $31,535. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $16,600 between the average for the lowest-income band, which included 8 students, and the average for the highest-income band, which included 31 students. These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $25,917.
$14,935 was the average net price for families in the lowest-income band in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
Because the price varies so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours is the first step. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The financial aid letter you receive is what matters.
How it is paid for: grants, loans, and what that means
Almost everyone here receives something: 99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students receive some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. The average among recipients is $22,434 per year. That is a large figure, but an average is not your offer: it includes people who received much more and people who received much less. What matters is not the size of the discount but the number left afterward—the net price your family would see in its own letter.
The federal Pell Grant—for students with demonstrated financial need—went to 25 out of every 100 students.
As for loans, 73 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in the most recent year, with an average of $5,014 among borrowers. Compared with similar schools, this one is on the high side: financing with federal debt is more common here than at most of its peers. If your child borrowed a similar amount each year for four years, the total would be around $20,056, excluding interest. Make that calculation before the first signature, not afterward.
It is worth being clear about what this figure does not include: it does not count Parent PLUS loans signed by parents, debt from banks or credit cards, or the total debt a student has upon graduation—that would require adding all four years, and that information is not in this report. The fact that borrowing is common here also does not determine whether your child will need it. That comes from the individual financial aid letter.
The institution also reports an installment tuition payment plan as an available way to manage the cost.
Campus life, athletics, and available support
Northwest University has its own housing and does not require all first-time students to live there—although that does not rule out a requirement for a specific program. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of weekly meals in its largest plan. Its reported maximum housing capacity is 672 students. The availability of housing does not guarantee a bed for your child: ask for this year’s rate, the application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or your child would join a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, the university did not mark any opportunity in its report—neither the general category nor any of the three military branches. Of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 marked an opportunity; this one is not among them. That does not prove that there is no nearby pathway, only that none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling it out.
It does compete in intercollegiate athletics, affiliated with the NAIA rather than the NCAA, with reported membership in basketball and cross-country or track and field. This affiliation belongs to the school, not to your child: if your child is interested in competing, write directly to the coach and ask whether there is a place on the team, in which division the sport competes, and whether it offers athletic scholarships.
Regarding instructional mode, it does offer distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but only 1 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all of their classes at a distance—the other 99 take at least one class in person. The university reported that it does not offer any program that can be completed entirely at a distance. If instructional mode matters to your family, confirm the exact level and program.
The library operates with paid staff, and its annual spending exceeds the threshold of $100,000 recorded by the federal government. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not tell you whether it has databases specific to your child’s field of study—ask about those by the name of the field.
Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, and a published web address for disability services. Their being reported does not tell you how accessible or effective they are in practice—verify that by speaking with the appropriate office.
What happens to students who have already enrolled
Here is one of the most important figures, and I want to give it to you without embellishment. In the cohort of first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 104 people started in a recent fall. One year later, 73 out of every 100 were still enrolled there or had already graduated. That is slightly below the midpoint of its comparable schools. The figure does not distinguish students who were still studying from those who had already graduated, and it does not explain what happened to the rest: not returning is not the same as dropping out, because a student who transferred to another university and continued studying there is counted the same as one who left education entirely.
Regarding graduation, of the 188 first-time, full-time students who began a bachelor’s degree here in 2017, 118 had graduated from this school within six years. That is 63 out of every 100. At four years, the figure was already 58 out of every 100—only 5 points lower, which indicates that a large share of those who graduate do so within the expected time. Compared with 920 similar schools, half of that group, or more, reported an equal or lower share of graduates. This is a result above the median of its peers.
But keep in mind whom this count follows: only first-time, full-time students. It does not include transfer students or those who started part time. And the available data do not allow a complete reconstruction of what happened to the 37 out of every 100 who do not appear as having graduated here—an absent row does not automatically become a dropout.
There is a third measure, at eight years, using a broader cohort that includes full-time and part-time students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016: as of August 2023, 64 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. The same calculation performed separately for students with Pell Grants yields exactly the same figure—64 out of every 100—although that does not mean the path was identical for both groups. Compared with 935 similar schools, it is above the median.
Of the remainder of that cohort, 23 out of every 100 appear in the “still enrolled somewhere” indicator, although the definition contains an internal contradiction that prevents a precise statement of how many were still enrolled as of the reporting date. And 13 out of every 100—47 people out of 366—appear with unknown enrollment status. Unknown does not mean that they did not continue studying elsewhere; it only means that the report was unable to determine their status.
What each person needs to do
None of these numbers decides for you or your child. Your child needs to research the exact program of interest, ask about first-year classes, write to the coach if athletics matter, and submit a complete application on time. The university’s role is to admit, deny, and offer aid—and you have already seen that it admits relatively generously, although only three out of ten admitted students ultimately enroll.
Your role is different: understand your family’s actual finances, request the financial aid letter in writing, compare net price—not list price or the size of the scholarship—among the schools your child is considering, and ask the questions that official data cannot answer: how many students are in a first-year classroom, what currently exists for Latino students on this campus, whether there is a place on the team your child is interested in, and which credits would be recognized if your child transfers in.
You now know in detail one of the pieces you need to decide. Combine it with what your child wants to study, with what your child has already built in high school, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. The plan comes from that combination, not from a single number.
Source note: the data in this article come from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Northwest University or any government agency; this article is an independent explanation of public data.