Academics
Iowa’s Northwestern College is a small Christian school of around 1,000 undergraduates associated with the Reformed Church in America, offering “spectacular academics,” an “authentic staff,” and “a lot of different traditions that combine to create many activities that are extremely fun.” Academics are “tough, but in the best way possible.” The curriculum “encourages us to pursue our faith through our academics,” and classwork often asks that students reflect on how their Christian faith is “connecting with literature, translation ethics, evolution, rhetoric, social justice issues.” Students also cite the resources available to them across campus, including “an incredible student tutoring program” wherein those individuals “who succeed in classes are selected as tutors and assist other students in their coursework.”
Going along with that are the “helpful, understanding, positive, cheerful, and informative” professors at Northwestern. Students say professors “are committed to learning how their students learn best and take the time to help each student get the most out of their courses.” Classes incorporate numerous teaching materials, including “film, literature, or hands-on learning,” and some even end up “using the outdoors as an extension of the classroom.” Several others “merge different subject areas together to make a new way to think of things.” The school “does a wonderful job at offering a variety of opportunities for spiritual and faith development,” and many courses “integrate case studies to encourage students to apply what they are learning to real-life situations that could occur in their future profession.”