A Small-Town University, Built for Degree Programs, Not for Living There
Northwestern State University of Louisiana is in Natchitoches, Louisiana, within Natchitoches Parish. The area around the campus is a remote town, not a large city. That matters before anything else: if your family does not live nearby, you will have to calculate separately where your child would live and how your child would get to campus, because the data only identify the school’s address, not yours or the commute.
It is a public four-year institution, and the Carnegie system—the way the United States classifies its universities—categorizes it as a master’s university with larger programs. IPEDS, the Department of Education’s official database, records the doctorate as the highest level it reports offering, although that is a general institutional fact: it does not tell you whether a doctorate exists in the field that interests your child. Verify the specific program before assuming anything.
Here is something that catches many families off guard: Carnegie classifies it as primarily nonresidential. That means that, when that measurement was taken, either fewer than one in four undergraduate students lived on campus or fewer than half studied full time. The data do not say which of the two conditions applied, and they also do not mean that there are no residence halls—in fact, there are, and we will discuss them later. But if you were picturing a campus where “everyone lives there,” adjust that picture. If your child will commute, what you need to budget for is the bus, gasoline, and hours on the road.
Carnegie also places it among institutions that enroll many transfer students. If your child plans to come here after studying somewhere else, ask in writing, starting now, which courses will count and which will not. That label does not tell you how many credits people bring with them or how many are lost in the transition; you find that out yourself, directly from the school.
One note worth clarifying right away: Northwestern State University of Louisiana has none of three specific federal designations—it is not a historically Black university, it is not a tribal university, and it is not a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in the census we used for this article, 138 do have at least one of those three designations. The fact that this one does not have them says nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly which cultural centers and student organizations exist today.
A Midsize Community, With Few Latino Students and More Women Than Men
In the fall of 2023, Northwestern State University of Louisiana had 8,847 students enrolled. It is neither a small school nor a giant one: it falls squarely within the most common size band among public four-year universities like it with selective admission in the census we used. Of that total, 7,898 were undergraduates and 949 were graduate students—in other words, this is primarily an undergraduate school, not a graduate school.
Here is a number I want you to look at directly because it changes how you plan schedules: many people there study part time. The total enrollment does not tell you how many people are in a classroom at once or what times courses are offered. Before assuming a typical full-time college schedule, ask directly when courses in the field that interests your child are offered.
As for who makes up that community: out of every 100 undergraduate students, 5 are Hispanic or Latino. That is a small minority. Compared with the 519 public four-year schools with selective admission in this census that reported the data, it ranks in the bottom quarter—in other words, three out of four similar schools reported a larger share of Latino students.
I want to be clear with you here, because it is easy to misread this number in either direction: having few Latino students does not make the school bad, and having many would not make it good. It is simply a count of who is enrolled. If your child will be one of the few, the right question is not “Should I go?” but “What groups and support are there for me?”—and that question should be asked of a student who is already on campus, not of a table.
There are also more women than men among undergraduates: 69 out of every 100 students are women. And out of every 100 students, 22 are between 25 and 64 years old—in other words, this is not a campus made up only of teenagers fresh out of high school; there is a real mix of ages.
How the Academic Year Works and What Prior Credit They Accept
The calendar follows semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. That is standard at most US universities, with consistent dates for all students.
Now, something that can save you time and money if you handle it well: the university reported that it accepts credit for AP exams, as well as what IPEDS calls “credit for life experiences”—learning acquired through independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, previous licenses or certifications, or military or professional opportunities. It also reports accepting credit for military training. And it enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth that I do not want to soften: the school’s statement that it accepts AP does not mean it will award credit for every exam. The report does not say what scores are required or how many credits are awarded, or whether those credits will count specifically toward your child’s degree program. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not subtract those “savings” from the budget until you have it in hand.
What Students Study There and How Broadly the Offerings Are Distributed
Between July of 2022 and June of 2023, the university awarded 1,282 bachelor’s degrees across 19 families of academic programs. The family awarding the most degrees was health professions, with 29 out of every 100 degrees that year—no other area surpassed it, but it did not account for a majority either. The offerings are broad, not concentrated in a single field.
Nineteen families appearing in the report do not mean nineteen exact majors or guarantee that the one that interests your child is active today: an academic “family” groups several programs, and a row may report no degrees for that year. Verify the exact program in the current catalog.
As for class size, the university reports 16 full-time students for each full-time-equivalent faculty member. Compared with similar schools, it falls right in the middle—neither among the most crowded nor among the least crowded. But be careful: this institutional ratio does not tell you the actual size of a first-year classroom. It is a school-wide average, not a direct measure of your child’s experience.
The institution also reports specific structured opportunities: study abroad, undergraduate research as a co-curricular activity, and preparation and certification programs for those who want to become teachers.
Admission Here Is Likely—but Some Requirements Do Matter
Let us get to the heart of what probably brought you to this article: how difficult is it to get in, and what do they require?
Northwestern State University of Louisiana does not have open admission. It reviews specific components before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations measured by this report, it marked four as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, completion of the college-preparatory coursework the university requires, and an English-proficiency exam when applicable to the applicant.
The list of what it does not consider is longer: your child’s class rank, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, and whether a relative studied there. Even if submitted, the report says they do not factor into the admission decision.
If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, make a note of this now: the English-proficiency exam is marked as required when applicable. Ask today what provides an exemption—it is one of those things people discover late that complicates everything when left until the end.
The published application fee is $20.
Now for the most reassuring figure: in the 2023 cycle, the university received 3,194 first-time applications and offered admission to 2,994. That is 94 out of every 100 applicants accepted. Compared with similar public schools, it is on the more accessible side—seven out of ten similar universities accepted an equal or smaller percentage. Only 200 of those 3,194 applicants did not receive an offer.
Simply put, this is one of the schools that does accept students. But being easy to enter does not make what follows easy. That percentage does not tell you how much it will cost, how many students finish their degrees, or whether the specific program your child wants has its own internal screening process. Those three questions must be asked separately.
Here is a fact worth sitting down to consider: out of every 100 students admitted for the first year of 2023, only 35 actually enrolled there. The other 65 had an acceptance letter in hand and did not use it. It is not that someone else rejected them—they decided to go elsewhere. Receiving a “yes” is not the same as deciding to attend. When your child’s letters arrive, put them side by side and compare net price, degree program, and distance before the deposit deadline. That enrollment percentage does not measure quality or prestige; it only counts how many said yes after receiving a yes.
As for standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application proceeds normally. In practice, almost no one submits them: only 3 out of every 100 enrolled students submitted SAT scores, and that group was so small—28 students—that any range shown for it should not be treated as a reliable threshold or a guarantee.
One final point in this section: in the fall of 2023, 426 undergraduate students arrived at this university for the first time after studying at another institution. This is a count of people, not a proportion, and it places the school in the lower half among similar universities in terms of incoming transfer volume. What we do not know—because the school did not report it—is how many students leave here for other institutions. That field is blank. It does not prove that no one transfers; the information simply is not there.
The Sticker Price: Two Figures, Depending on Where You Live
At Northwestern State University of Louisiana, among 289 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and had EFC records showing family income below $30,000, the average net price was $12,129. Among 104 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $14,216; among 86 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $18,107. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $5,978 between the average for the lowest-income band (289 students) and the average for the highest-income band (86 students). Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $13,156.
$12,129 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 decide whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
Aid and Loans: Who Receives What
Out of every 100 degree-seeking students at this university, 80 received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. The average amount of that aid, counting only those who received it, was $9,766 per year. And 47 out of every 100 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income families.
Keep something important in mind: the percentage and the average do not share the same basis of calculation. One is calculated across all students; the other, only across those who received aid. Do not multiply them together to draw a new conclusion.
As for loans, 37 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in the 2022-23 school year. Among those who borrowed, each borrowed an average of $6,920 that year. This proportion falls in the middle of the pack compared with similar schools—neither among those generating the most debt nor among those generating the least.
Here is a truth I do not intend to soften: that 37 percent refers to other families, not yours. The amount your child specifically would have to borrow comes only from your child’s own financial aid letter. Wait for that letter before ruling out the school and before committing to it. And that average of $6,920 represents only one year of federal loans in the student’s name—it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit card debt, and it is not the total debt with which someone graduates.
The university also reports offering an installment tuition payment plan as a way to manage the cost.
Housing, ROTC, Sports, Online Study, and the Library
The university does have its own housing. It does not require all full-time, first-time students to live there—that rules out a general requirement but does not mean that no program has one. The reported maximum capacity of institution-controlled housing is 1,492 students. It also offers meal plans with a fixed number of weekly meals in its largest plan. The existence of the option does not guarantee you an available bed or a fixed cost: ask in writing for this year’s rate, the housing application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or there is a waiting list.
As for ROTC, the university indicated that it does offer this opportunity, with the Army branch confirmed. Navy and Air Force are not marked in the report. Not confirmed is not the same as impossible—it is an open question that should be asked directly, including whether the program is taken on this campus or another one.
In sports, the university competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA. It reports membership for football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. If your child wants to play, that membership belongs to the school and is not an individual guarantee—write directly to the coach of the sport that interests your child and ask about roster openings, division, and whether athletic scholarships are available.
Here is something worth knowing if you were picturing a completely in-person campus: 53 out of every 100 undergraduate students were taking all of their classes remotely in the fall count. That places this university in the highest quarter of its type by share of fully online students. We do not know how often those students physically visit campus or whether your child’s specific degree program is offered that way—turn it into a direct question, not an assumption.
The library operates with employed staff and exceeded the government’s annual spending threshold of $100,000. It has physical and digital materials, and it offers interlibrary loans.
Finally, the university reports that the following support is available: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for graduates, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, and a disability-services webpage.
What Happens After Enrollment: Retention and Graduation
Now we come to the part that, honestly, should matter most to you, because getting in is not enough—what happens afterward matters.
Of the first-time, full-time students who entered in the fall of 2022 (879 people), 70 out of every 100 were still enrolled there or had already graduated one year later. That is the official retention criterion. Compared with similar schools, it ranks toward the bottom—seven out of ten similar universities retained a larger share of their cohort.
Among part-time students that same fall, retention was only 33 out of every 100—but these are different groups with different circumstances, and one proves nothing about the other. If your child will enroll part time, that is the applicable number, not the full-time figure.
As for graduation, here is the central fact stated plainly: of the 1,233 first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in 2017, 547 had earned a degree from this school six years later. That is 44 out of every 100. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 32 out of every 100. Compared with similar public schools, it ranks below the midpoint of the group—more than half of those universities graduated a larger share of their students.
It is almost half and half, and I will not soften it for you: after six years, slightly more than half of that cohort did not have a degree from this school. The report does not say why—it does not distinguish between someone who left for another university, someone who stopped for financial reasons, or someone who simply took longer. Before deciding, ask the school directly what specific support it offers to help students finish and how long, on average, the particular degree program that interests your child takes.
Expanding the window to eight years and also counting part-time students and students with prior experience—a cohort of 3,206 people who entered between 2015 and 2016—46 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school by August of 2023. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 44 out of every 100—just 3 points below the group without Pell Grants. Compared with similar schools, this eight-year rate ranks in the bottom quarter.
25 out of every 100 members of that cohort had an “unknown” enrollment status at the cutoff—that means the report was unable to determine whether they were still enrolled anywhere. Unknown is not the same as having dropped out, and it does not explain the reason.
What Is Up to You, What Is Up to Your Child, and What Is Up to the School
You have now seen the complete picture: who gets in, how much it costs, how much aid is available, and how likely students are to finish. The university is responsible for admitting students, charging what it charges, and offering the support it reports—no more and no less than these figures show. Your child is responsible for studying, getting involved, using the resources, and choosing a degree program. Your responsibility is different: understand the family’s finances, request the financial aid letter before ruling out or accepting anything, verify in writing what these figures leave as open questions—AP credits, residency rate, housing availability, ROTC branch—and support the decision without carrying it alone or leaving your child to carry it alone.
You now thoroughly understand one of the three pieces you need to decide: what this university actually is and offers. You still have to combine it with what your child wants to study and has already accomplished, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. No figure in this article makes that decision for you. The plan grows from that combination, made at home with the actual letters in hand.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and reports that universities submit to the US Department of Education, primarily covering the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Northwestern State University of Louisiana or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data to help you understand it.