Application instructions

For international students

Applicants are considered based on their probable success at Northwestern College as indicated primarily by high school grades, class rank and test scores. Once all the appropriate forms have been submitted, you can expect to hear from Northwestern regarding the status of your application within 2 weeks.

Applications should be submitted by May 15 for the following fall semester. However, to receive priority financial aid consideration, submit your materials by March 1.

Any forms referenced below that must be mailed should be sent to:

Steps to apply

1. Apply online for free

   Or, if you prefer to submit a paper copy, you can download the application or request one be mailed to you by the intercultural affairs office. The fee for submitting a paper copy is $25. Once completed, your application should be mailed to the Northwestern College Admissions Office.

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2. Arrange for official English-language copies of your high school and/or college transcript(s) to be sent to Northwestern College. These should include your graduation date, cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and class rank. They must include a signature and the official seal of the school sending them. Unofficial or scanned documents can be submitted prior to graduation, but admission will be conditional until we receive your official documents. (College credits earned elsewhere will need to be evaluated by AACRAO Foreign Education Credential Service. To initiate an evaluation, you must send Northwestern a) transcripts in both their original language and in a translator-signed, English-language translation, and b) funds to pay the AACRAO fee for evaluation [approx. $200]. Once we have received the transcripts and the fee, we will submit both to AACRAO; evaluation could take up to 6 mos., so start early.)

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3. For those international students whose native language is not English, you must provide us with your TOEFL (www.toefl.org; NWC code: 6490) or IELTS (www.ielts.org; NWC code: 8494). Northwestern’s English proficiency admission standards are:

   	Internet TOEFL	Paper TOEFL	IELTS
   Full Admit	79	550	6.5
   Provisional Admit	53	475	5
   ESL Certificate	32	400	3.5

   • If you achieve a Full Admit, no ESL course work will be required.
   • If you achieve a Provisional Admit, you’ll be admitted with the expectation that you take ESL courses and progress to degree course work within a year. (Up to one year of ESL course work can be counted toward graduation requirements.)
   • If your scores are at the ESL Certificate levels, you’re eligible for enrollment in the one-year ESL certificate program only.

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4. Provide us with your Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American College Test (ACT) scores. If you’ve already taken the test, your score may be printed on your high school transcript. If you’ve not taken either of these tests and don’t know whether you can, contact us to discuss alternatives.

Next steps …

Once you’ve applied and are accepted, you can begin thinking about how to pay for college. We believe international students make an important contribution to our campus, so we support your college goals by offering some financial aid—both need- and merit-based—to all international students. Visit our tuition and financial aid website for information.