North Central College Overview

Located in Naperville, Illinois, North Central College is a private not-for-profit institution. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.

What Is North Central College Known For?

• The student loan default rate at North Central is 4%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
• The master's degree is the highest award offered at North Central.
• In 2017-2018, 50% of the faculty were full-time.
• After graduation, North Central bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $47,800 a year. That's about 17% more than their peers at other schools.
• The average North Central student graduates in 4.1 years. That's better than the national average of 4.4 years.

North Central College Rankings

We have ranked North Central as #409 out of 2,587 colleges and universities in the country in our 2022 Best Colleges list. North Central also holds the #13 spot on the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at North Central.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#27	Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#41	Best Curriculum & Instruction Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#59	Best Educational Administration Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#73	Best Teacher Education Subject Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#76	Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#79	Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#103	Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#115	Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#124	Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#144	Best Biological & Biomedical Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards North Central has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#54	Best Physical Education Teaching & Coaching Schools	College Factual
#66	Best Secondary Education Schools	College Factual
#120	Best Elementary Education Schools	College Factual
#130	Best Teaching Schools	Teaching Degree Search
#130	Best Teacher Education Subject Specific Schools	College Factual
#162	Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Schools	College Factual

Where Is North Central College?

Contact details for North Central are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	30 N Brainard St, Naperville, IL 60540
Phone:	630-637-5100
Facebook:	http://www.facebook.com/NorthCentralCollege
Twitter:	http://twitter.com/northcentralcol

How Do I Get Into North Central?

You can apply to North Central online at: https://northcentralcollege.edu/apply

Admission Requirements for North Central

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript	required
College Prep Program	required
Recommendations	recommended
SAT or ACT Scores	required
TOEFL	required

How Hard Is It To Get Into North Central?

With an acceptance rate of 53%, North Central does not let just anybody through their doors! Make sure you spend enough time polishing up your application so you will make a great impression.

Approximately 43% of accepted students are men and 57% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 54%, and the acceptance rate for women is 52%.

Average Test Scores

About 74% of students accepted to North Central submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 530 and 610. Math scores were between 520 and 620.

North Central received ACT scores from 43% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 21 and 28. Math scores were between 20 and 27. Composite scores were between 21 and 28.

Can I Afford North Central College?

The overall average net price of North Central is $33,016. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At North Central, approximately 68% of students took out student loans averaging $8,180 a year. That adds up to $32,720 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at North Central is 3.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

North Central College Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 2,475 undergraduate students at North Central, with 2,414 being full-time and 61 being part-time.

There are also 357 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 2,414 full-time undergraduates at North Central, 46% are male and 54% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of North Central College students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	84
Black or African American	108
Hispanic or Latino	381
White	1,581
International Students	81
Other Races/Ethnicities	179

Geographic Diversity

Illinois students aren't the only ones who study at North Central College. At this time, 18 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 44 countries are represented at North Central. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Japan, China, and Vietnam.

Online Learning at North Central College

In 2019-2020, 2,298 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at North Central has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 83rd most popular in Illinois for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

North Central College Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Bachelor’s	Master’s	TOTAL
General Psychology	95	0	95
Business Administration & Management	31	28	59
Health & Physical Education	55	0	55
Marketing	54	0	54
Teacher Education Grade Specific	45	0	45
Finance & Financial Management	39	0	39
Liberal Arts General Studies	8	30	38
Teacher Education Subject Specific	31	0	31
Economics	31	0	31
Sociology	28	0	28
Computer Science	26	0	26
Accounting	25	0	25
Neurobiology & Neurosciences	23	0	23
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	23	0	23
Design & Applied Arts	23	0	23
Human Resource Management	18	0	18
History	18	0	18
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	17	0	17
Health Sciences & Services	17	0	17
Political Science & Government	17	0	17
East Asian Languages	16	0	16
General Biology	15	0	15
Educational Administration	0	15	15
Drama & Theater Arts	15	0	15
Physics	14	0	14
General English Literature	13	0	13
Natural Resources Conservation	12	0	12
Public Relations & Advertising	10	0	10
International Business	9	0	9
Journalism	9	0	9
Entrepreneurial Studies	8	0	8
Curriculum & Instruction	0	8	8
Romance Languages	8	0	8
Allied Health Professions	8	0	8
Music	8	0	8
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	7	0	7
Writing Studies	7	0	7
Philosophy	7	0	7
Mathematics	6	0	6
Fine & Studio Arts	6	0	6
International Studies	5	0	5
Chemistry	5	0	5
Communication & Media Studies	4	0	4
Graphic Communications	3	0	3
Area Studies	3	0	3
Germanic Languages	3	0	3
Anthropology	3	0	3
Applied Mathematics	2	0	2
Classical Languages & Literature	1	0	1
Management Information Systems	0	0	0
Computer Software & Applications	0	0	0
Biological & Physical Science	0	0	0
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	0	0	0
Religious Studies	0	0	0
General Social Sciences	0	0	0
Other Social Sciences	0	0	0
TOTAL	831	81	912

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By Quadrahex under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.