NWC named best value by Money magazine

Northwestern College is ranked as one of the “25 Best Private Colleges for Merit Aid” and included in a select group of best-value institutions in Money magazine’s college rankings for 2015–16.

Northwestern joins such institutions as Saint John’s University of Minnesota, the University of Portland and Baylor University on Money’s “25 Best Private Colleges for Merit Aid” list. Each of the ranked colleges is generous with scholarships based on academic merit, a group the magazine describes as places “where smart students can earn the most financial assistance.”

The merit aid list was based on Money’s complete rankings, which include 736 schools the magazine says “deliver the most value—that is, a great education, at an affordable price, that helps students launch promising careers.” Northwestern is ranked 361st and is the seventh-highest rated Iowa college. The rankings are based on multiple factors, such as graduation rates, early alumni earnings and affordability—including net price of a degree and the amount of loans taken out by students and parents.

The magazine gave Northwestern a B+ in its value-added category, which considers how well students at each school did versus what would be expected given their economic and academic backgrounds and the institution’s mix of majors.

Jeffrey Selingo, a former editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote in the Washington Post that “Money tries to crack the code on answering the ROI (return on investment) question, and of all the rankings out there, comes the closest.”

Mark Bloemendaal, Northwestern’s dean of enrollment and marketing, says the Money best-value ranking is one of several the college has received in the past year, including “50 Best Value Christian Colleges and Universities” by ChristianUniversitiesOnline.org  and “50 Great Affordable Colleges in the Midwest” by GreatValueColleges.net. “We are pleased to see another high ranking based on data that shows Northwestern is affordable and offers a strong return on investment,” says Bloemendaal. “Students and their families can be confident that Northwestern College offers an outstanding education at a reasonable price and that our graduates get great jobs.”

Money magazine selected only 18 Iowa colleges and universities for its Best Colleges list. They include Grinnell, 127; Mt. Mercy; 147; Iowa State, 157; Northern Iowa, 167; Luther, 307; Iowa, 318; Northwestern College, 361; Central, 367; Clarke and Drake, 412; Dordt, 437; Coe, 483; St. Ambrose, 499; Simpson, 525; Wartburg, 577; Cornell College, 585; Loras, 625; and Morningside, 633.

Money’s rankings can be viewed at https://best-colleges.time.com/money/more-rankings/the-25-best-private-colleges-for-merit-aid#/list and https://best-colleges.time.com/money/full-ranking#/list.