You can apply online for admission to Northwest University by visiting our web site at apply.northwestu.edu, or you can request that an application be mailed to you by calling our admissions office at 1.800.669.3781.
Please complete and submit the Northwest University Application for Financial Aid (included in the Application for Admission) before the following dates:
Students must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submit it to the federal processor (not directly to Northwest University). Please allow at least 2 – 3 weeks for your application to be processed and the results sent to Northwest University.
For more information about financial aid, please visit www.northwestu.edu/financialaid.
Credit transfer is the process of receiving advanced standing toward a degree program at Northwest University based upon college/university work completed elsewhere. Students are eligible to transfer credits to Northwest in accordance with the regulations contained in this Guide. Additional credit transfer information can be found in Northwest University’s catalog at www.northwestu.edu/catalog.
To receive an unofficial review of your credits toward a degree at Northwest University, e-mail your unofficial transcript to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Please include with your transcript your name, address, city, state, zip code, year of high school graduation, and major of interest at Northwest University.
You can make an appointment to visit our campus and meet with an admissions counselor by calling Admissions at 1.800.669.3781.
Prospective students are required to submit official transcripts to the Admissions Office as part of the application process. When approval is granted to the student’s Application for Admission, his/her transcripts are sent to the Transcript Analyst in the Registrar’s Office where an official evaluation of all college and university coursework is completed and a Transcript Review Report is issued. This report becomes a part of the student’s permanent academic record at Northwest University. The initial transcript review is produced based on the major indicated in the student’s Application for Admission.
A transcript is official if it bears the authorizing signature and official seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts must be sent directly to the Northwest University Office of Admissions by the issuing institution or hand-delivered in a sealed envelope to Admissions by the student. If the envelope is opened, the transcript is no longer official.
For non-enrolled students, the Office of Admissions will keep any transcripts or other credentials it receives for one calendar year.
Prospective students receive the results of their transcript reviews by e-mail to the address reported in the Application for Admission. If the student prefers, a hard copy can be sent to his/her mailing address. If the student is attending another college or university at the time of application for admission, a second transcript must be sent to Northwest upon completion of the classes/degree.
All credits accepted by Northwest University are transposed into and reported in semester credit hours. One quarter credit is two-thirds of a semester credit. Semester credits are calculated by dividing the total number of quarter credits by 1.5.
The number of accepted credits applicable to the student’s academic program determines class standing. The breakdown is as follows:
| Class Standing | Semester Credits |
|---|---|
| Freshman | 0 – 29.9 |
| Sophomore | 30 – 59.9 |
| Junior | 60 – 89.9 |
| Senior | 90+ |
Courses are accepted from institutions that are accredited by one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States (e.g., Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, etc.) and/or the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC).
Classes from institutions not accredited by a regional accrediting association or by the ABHE are considered on an individual basis depending on the institution’s general reputation, known academic strengths, academic format, academic qualifications of the instructors, and on the individual performance of the transferring student. The student is asked to validate transfer credit from such sources by completing two full-time semesters or 30 semester credits at Northwest University with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C average) or better. A maximum of 30 semester credits may be accepted from non-regionally/non-ABHE-accredited sources.
Courses must be graded a C- or better to transfer. Courses graded as Pass and Satisfactory need to be determined to have been at a C- level or higher in order for them to transfer. Some academic departments require higher grades than a C- to transfer.
Courses must be considered by the original institution to be college-level. Older transcripts may contain courses in disciplines now considered college preparatory or remedial. These courses are not eligible for transfer.
Courses considered for transfer must possess content that comes reasonably close to the content of courses offered at Northwest University. Only courses satisfying a specific degree requirement are accepted. Classes that are technical in nature or that do not fall under the umbrella of subject matter taught by Northwest University faculty may be accepted on a course-by-course basis if they are determined to be college-level. If acceptable, they are limited to a maximum of 15 semester credits.
Information about other alternative ways to earn college credit, such as CLEP, D.S.S.T., military training, and Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), can be found in the Credit Transfer Guide.
Northwest University accepts Running Start and college credits earned in high school provided that the courses appear on an accredited college/university transcript as college-level work with grades of C- or better.
Students must submit official college/university transcripts for this type of work regardless of whether the courses appear on a high school transcript.
Academic course work from foreign institutions is also considered. An official transcript is required, or a certified copy if only one original is available to the student. The amount of credit acceptable in transfer is determined by the academic caliber of the institution. Many foreign universities use a different system for assessing learning than is practiced in the United States. In such cases, the student’s performance in courses must be comparable to C- level work in the American system. Universities using different calendar systems than a standard American quarter or semester system have their clock hours converted to semester hours based on the duration of class time at the foreign institution.
A transcript in a foreign language must be translated into English and be accompanied by the original transcript in the native language. If a translation is needed, please inquire at the issuing institution or consult a translation service, such as University Language Services. In some cases, Northwest may require a professional course by course evaluation from an agency specializing in the evaluation of international credentials. A list of agencies can be found at www.naces.org/members.htm.
Transfer students seeking to earn a second bachelor’s degree at Northwest University have special consideration given to their transfer credit. Each case is examined on an individual basis to determine whether the previous program’s general education is sufficiently equivalent to Northwest University’s to warrant automatic exemption from General Education Requirements. If it is determined to be adequate, the baccalaureate degree is accepted as a transfer A.A. with regards to General Education and General Electives.
Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited institution and wish to pursue Washington State teacher certification at Northwest may be eligible to be admitted as Certification-Only students. Those students interested in this special status should contact the School of Education at Northwest University at 425.889.5299 for a transcript review and additional eligibility requirements.
Northwest also offers a Masters in Teaching program that provides teacher certification. This may be the best option for those who qualify. Contact the School of Education for more details.
Students have the right to appeal decisions made by the Registrar’s Office with regard to their transfer credit to the Provost. It is recommended that the student direct questions and concerns to the Registrar’s Office for guidance as to how to best present his/her request for reconsideration.
There are 30 community colleges in Washington with direct transfer degrees that meet the ICRC Guidelines. The names of the colleges and their direct transfer degrees are listed below:
AA: Associates of Arts
AA&S: Associates Arts of Sciences
AS: Associates of Science
| Bellevue College | AA and AS |
| Big Bend CC | AA&S |
| Cascadia CC | Associate in Integrated Studies |
| Centralia College | AA, Associate in Liberal Arts |
| Clark College | AA |
| Columbia Basin College | AA&S |
| Edmonds CC | AA&S, Option I |
| Everett CC | AA&S, Option II |
| Grays Harbor C | AA |
| Green River CC | AA |
| Highline CC | AA, Option A |
| Lower Columbia C | AA&S, Plan B |
| North Seattle CC | AA, Associate of Science |
| Northwest Indian College | AA&S |
| Olympic C | AA&S, Option A |
| Peninsula C | AA, AA – Honors |
| Pierce C, Ft. Steilacoom | AA |
| Pierce C., Puyallup | AA |
| Seattle Central CC | AA, Associate of Science |
| Shoreline CC | AA&S, Option A |
| Skagit Valley C | AA, Univ. and College Transfer |
| South Puget Sound CC | AA |
| South Seattle CC | AA, Associate of Science |
| Spokane CC | AA |
| Spokane Falls CC | AA |
| Tacoma CC | AA&S, Option A |
| Walla Walla CC | AA |
| Wenatchee Valley C | AA&S |
| Whatcom CC | AA&S |
| Yakima Valley C | AA |
We also accept the Associates of Arts, Oregon Transfer Degree from the community colleges in Oregon.
It is important to note in here that some majors have program specific General education requirements that are not satisfied by the transfer AA.
Northwest University accepts AP subjects with exam scores of three or higher and grants credit based upon program need (See the Standardized Exam Equivalency Table at right).
Students must submit an official exam report from AP or have the exam score results posted on the official high school transcript.
Please note that the term grades for the high school courses are not sufficient means for granting transfer credit: an official record of the exam scores is required.
For more information about AP Examinations, including specifics about each subject test, please visit the AP web site at www.collegeboard.com.
ENGL 1013 Expository Writing
English, Language, and Composition (3 cr)
If English Lang. and English Lit. exams are taken, then credit is given for ENGL 1013 Expository Writing and 3 credits of Literature.
Art History (3 cr)
Art, Studio: 2D (3 cr)
Art, Studio: 3D (3 cr)
Latin, Literature (3 cr)
French, Language (5 cr)
If a score of 4 or 5 is earned, student receives 5 additional credits for a total of 10 credits for Elementary French I & II (LANG 1055 & 1065).
French, Literature (3 cr)
German, Language (5 cr)
If a score of 4 or 5 is earned, student receives 5 additional credits for a total of 10 credits for Modern Foreign Language.
Spanish, Language (5 cr)
If a score of 4 or 5 is earned, student receives 5 additional credits for a total of 10 credits for Elementary Spanish I & II (LANG 1015 & 1025).
Spanish, Literature (3 cr)
Italian, Language & Culture (3 cr)
Chinese, Language & Culture (3 cr)
MATH 1213 Pre-Calculus OR MATH 1203 Pre-Calculus and MATH 1243 Calculus I
Mathematics, Calculus AB (6 cr)
Mathematics, Calculus BC (6 cr)
If a score of 4 or 5 is earned, student receives 5 additional credits for a total of 11 credits for Pre-Calculus, Calculus I, and Calculus II (MATH 2245).
MATH 2003 Intro. to Stats.
Statistics (3 cr)
Physics B (4 cr)
Physics C, Electricity & Magnetism (4 cr)
Physics C, Mechanical (4 cr)
SCIE 1103/1 Principles of Bio.
Biology (4 cr)
SCIE 1203/1 College Chem. I
Chemistry (4 cr)
SCIE 2403/1 Environ. Science
Environmental Science (4 cr)
History, European (3 cr)
History, US (3 cr)
BUSM 2303 Microeconomics
Microeconomics (3 cr)
BUSM 2353 Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics (3 cr)
