The Northwestern University network
Schools grow as cells. Cells that beat your school in the same ways clump into colonies.
IL
4 colleges with a similar mix of majors, each also teaching engineering, social sciences, and communication & journalism, are the same or better on all of yield, graduation rate, cost. That's fewer than 20: few schools like this one beat it on every count.
See it as a table
| College | Size | Yield | Graduation rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern University (your pick) | 9,399 | 55% | 95% | $91,290 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 11,4781.2× as many undergrads | 68%better | 97%same | $89,028same |
| Cornell University | 16,1281.7× as many undergrads | 64%better | 95%same | $88,140same |
| Stanford University | 7,90484% as many undergrads | 82%better | 92%same | $87,833same |
| Vanderbilt University | 7,22177% as many undergrads | 61%better | 94%same | $89,590same |
From IPEDS, academic year 2024-25 (sticker prices from the year before where this year's are not out yet). “Similar mix of majors” means close on the degrees students finish, subject by subject, and on how many. Only colleges a student choosing Northwestern University would also weigh are counted: each must award at least 1% of its bachelor's degrees in every one of Northwestern University's 3 largest subjects; a special-focus school (a conservatory, art school, seminary, or the like) is compared only with schools of the same focus; and colleges with a strong religious mission are compared only with each other. Yield and graduation rate count as the same when they are less than 4 points apart; sticker price when it is within 10%. Better cost means cheaper. Sticker price is before financial aid, and for public colleges is the average of the in-state and out-of-state prices.