Ridgewater College
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Overview
Founded in 1961, Ridgewater College is in a town that is more than 35 miles from an urban area. It is in the Willmar MN area.
Highlights
Undergraduate program with the highest reported starting salary ($72K): Electromechanical Instrumentation and Maintenance Technologies/Technicians
Largest undergraduate program (186): Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Address
2101 15th Ave Nw
Willmar, MN 56201
www.ridgewater.edu
Additional links
SOURCES:
Accreditation:
best
Institutional Control
Ridgewater College is a public organization and is related to other schools.
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Accreditation
Accreditation provides important oversight over a school's instructional practices and institutional stability.
Ridgewater College holds an accreditation from one of the seven regional accreditors, which should ensure that credits earned transfer easily to other schools.
Accreditation History
Higher Learning Commission (Accredited January 1, 1996 - present)
  • The accreditation was recently renewed on November 2, 2017.
  • The next accreditation review is scheduled for August 31, 2028.
Undergraduate Students
Not all students attend their first college full time to completion. While some schools are focused on those that population, many schools focus on transfer and or part time students. What types of of student does this school support.
Full-time first-time students
Full-time transfer students
Part-time first-time students
Part-time transfer students
SOURCES:
Admissions
Open Admissions
Ridgewater College is an open admissions school and accepts any student who applies.
SOURCES:
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Admissions Details
Here are some important dates and little tidbits. Please double-check this information on the Ridgewater College's webpage for the most up-to-date and accurate answers! We update this information with each school's annual reporting, but information can change unexpectedly. Select any item to view the details.
Admissions Criteria & Qualifications
Admissions Criteria & Qualifications
A high school diploma or GED is required.
Application Fee & Common App
Application Fee & Common App
Ridgewater College has an undergraduate application fee of $0. We did not find Ridgewater College on the Common Application site. Keep in mind that it never hurts to inquire with an Admissions office to see whether they might be willing to waive your application fee.
Waiting List
Waiting List
Ridgewater College has a policy of placing students on a waiting list.
Credits accepted from new students
Credits accepted from new students
Ridgewater College accepts the following credits:
  • Open admission (school accepts any student who applies)
  • Dual credit (college credit earned while in high school)
  • Credit for life experiences
  • Advanced placement (AP) credits
Programs
Ridgewater College program offerings
What award level are you pursuing?
Associate's Degree
Select a degree to see the details, or use the sankey below to explore the options.
Select a degree
Order degrees by.
Program Size (Completions)
Ridgewater CollegeLiberal Arts and Sciences...Registered NursingVeterinary/Animal Health ...Instrumentation Technolog...Early Childhood EducationCriminal Justice and Poli...Sales, Distribution, and ...Health Information/Medica...AccountingDigital Communication and...All other degreesTop 10 matching degrees
General/Interdisciplinary
Healthcare
Health Support
Career
Education
Community Services
Business
Quantitative/Technology
Humanities
Costs
Undergraduate out-of-state costs
Here's a quick summary of costs to attend Ridgewater College. You will find the most up-to-date information at their website for admissions. The costs below are for out-of-state students, and you can switch by clicking the other button.
View
In-state
Out-of-state
Charge
Annual fees
Annual tuition
Estimated books and supplies
Miscellaneous (living off campus)
Miscellaneous (living with family)
Off-campus room and board
Per-credit charges
Cost
$623
$5,316
$1,200
$4,550
$4,500
$7,720
$186
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Net price: the best estimate for the cost to attend
Most schools publish tuition rates that give them room to offer both scholarships and financial aid where applicable. Your best estimate of what might pay is to see what others with similar family incomes have paid. A more tailored and accurate estimate is available at this school's net price calculator.
Understanding net price

With their net price calculators, many colleges and universities give an idea of what merit-based aid might accompany need-based aid. For schools that share such data, we also provide financial aid data in the Finanical Aid sections.

There are some caveats to consider when using the net price estimates:

  • The net price calculation is weighted by this school's proportion of students living on- and off-campus and this school's estimate of off-campus costs, which may cause the net price methodology be a bit inconsistent from school to school.
  • Parental income and student financial aid eligibility is sometimes more complicated than the simple family income number reported here.
  • The net price calculation for all students is inclusive of students who received any institutional or government aid, but at the family income levels the net price only considers the tuition paid by those who qualified for federal aid.

You can get a little better guess at what you would pay by using this school's net price calculator.

Percentage of students receiving any aid
The donut, based on 485 full-time first-time degree seeking students at Ridgewater College, shows the percentage of those who received any financial aid (including merit-based scholarships), subdivided by family income.
75%
Aid type and family income
Federal: $0-30K
Federal: $30K-48K
Federal: $48K-75K
Federal: $75K-110K
Federal: Above $110K
Only institutional
Net price by family income
All Incomes
Let's look over the past few years at what in-state freshmen who received any financial aid actually paid for tuition, fees, books, and living expenses on average, and how that compares to the in-state tuition usually paid for other public universities in your context group.
20112012201320142015201620172018$0$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000
Chart explanation
Ridgewater College
On the blue curve, we see how the net annual cost to attend Ridgewater College has changed over the years.
Context Schools
The shading shows the spread of the net price for the context schools. The dark shading shows the middle 50% of context schools, and the light shading shows all but the smallest and largest 10%.
Customize your context group using the gear at the top of the page!
Not so much?
Financial Aid
Financial aid overview

Understanding the rules and process that determine who gets financial aid can be intimidating. Here are some quick links to help:

  • Visit Ridgewater College's Net Price Calculator for the most accurate estimate of your anticipated costs. Every school publishes a Net Price Calculator that does its best to give you a fair estimate of what you might expect to pay. Many calculators consider your high school record as part of the calculation. This will be far more accurate than any of the averages or published tuition values that you see here.
  • FederalStudentAid, a government site that will walk you through the federal financial aid process. There are a number of kinds of student loans and other aid, and this site can walk you through all of the choices you will need to make.

The Ridgewater College deadline for priority financial aid consideration is April 1.

Required Forms

FAFSA

Institution's financial aid form

Loan Programs

Federal Perkins

State Loans

Institutional

Need-based Scholarships Available

Federal Pell Grants

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants

State scholarships/grants

Institutional scholarships/grants

International Students
Ridgewater College provides non-need-based aid in the form of state and other work-study aid.
Undergraduate Outcomes
Graduation Rate
Approximately 77% of undergraduate students were full-time with about 50% of them attending college for the first time. In the last reporting year, 46% of students, including those who were part-time or transfer students, received a degree within 8 years.
46%
Time to complete
4 years
6 years
8 years
Context: Graduation rate
These numbers reflect eight-year graduation rates for all degrees at the colleges and universities in your chosen context group. This reporting is for undergraduate students inclusive of transfer students and full/part-time students.
SOURCES:
Loan Status
This donut shows the percentage of students who are in good standing (green) in repaying any federal student loans five years after leaving Ridgewater College.
Status of loans
Closed (fully paid)
Currently paying
Deferred for miliary or school
Suspended (usually for hardship)
More than 90 days late in paying
In default
Another status not released
Context: Loans with good standing
This is better performance than at least 85% of its context schools, and is evidence that alumni earnings-to-debt ratios are better than for most of the context schools' alumni.
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Are students graduating on time?
Let us tell you all about low graduation rates!

Across the country, graduation rates are surprisingly low. In fact, Forbes Magazine suggests that they are unacceptably low. However, from another point of view, sometimes graduation rates simply reflect the relative preparation of the students who enter. Colleges with a mission to help people coming from less advantaged backgrounds, such as first-generation and low-income students, may have low graduation rates despite relatively strong outcomes for students who face many obstacles to success. Without the context provided in these views of completion rates, it can be tricky to separate predatory schools that take financial advantage of under-prepared students from those that are actively seeking to encourage and help those students.

For the consumer choosing a school, once you have narrowed your list to those schools that you can afford and that seem likely to admit you, consider the outcome measures in this section and choose the specific measures that best describe your plans. Very simply, schools with high graduation rates and high loan repayment rates will likely give you the best opportunity to succeed.

Context: the impact of wealth and transfer status on degree completion
We took a close look lagging success for students with financial need in a case study. Here's a chance to compare schools based on student successes with a better appreciation of how circumstances may impact success. One word of caution: the statistics for some categories may consist of only a handful of students -- see the details by hovering or long-pressing on the bars.
Full-time first-time students
Full-time transfer students
Part-time first-time students
Part-time transfer students
Choose a student group
Full-time first-time students
Full-time transfer students
Part-time first-time students
Part-time transfer students
Percentage with Pell Grants
56%
Years after enrolling.
4
6
8
Full-time first-time students who received an award within 8 years after enrolling
57%43%49%0%50%100%Non-PellPellAll
Context and trends: Repayment Rate
How much progress do you think you'll be able to make towards paying down your college loans seven years after leaving school? In our research, we discovered that a surprisingly large number of students don't default on their loans, but also aren't making progress in paying down their principal amount. The percentages here count alumni who have decreased their loan amounts by at least $1.
Years after leaving school.
7
5
3
201320142015201620%40%60%80%100%Former students with decreased loan principal
Chart explanation
Ridgewater College
On the blue curve, we see the percentage of alumni from Ridgewater College who have successfully reduced their federal school loans by at least $1 by the date shown, which is 7 years after leaving the school.
Context Schools
The shading shows the spread of the loan repayment rate for the context schools. The dark shading shows the middle 50% of context schools, and the light shading shows all but the smallest and largest 10%.
Customize your context group using the gear at the top of the page!
Context and trends: are the loan default rates as small as possible?
The default rate is the percentage of students who are already delinquent on their loans within three years of leaving the school. If a school has a high default rate, that sends an alarm out that the students' educations are not sufficient to earn enough to repay those loans. Read below for details on the typical loan burden, and keep in mind that a low default rate may be more important than loan amounts in predicting your future success.
201420152016201720180%5%10%15%20%25%Former students with loan payment failure
Chart explanation
Ridgewater College
On the blue curve, we see the percentage of alumni from Ridgewater College who have defaulted on their federal school loans within 3 years ending on the date shown.
Context Schools
The shading shows the spread of the 3-year loan default rate for the context schools. The dark shading shows the middle 50% of context schools, and the light shading shows all but the smallest and largest 10%.
Customize your context group using the gear at the top of the page!
Loan burden
At Ridgewater College, 46% of full-time degree-seeking freshmen receive federal student loans, averaging $4,896 each in just the freshman year. We have much more details about the full loan burden students experience in our Cost and Financial Aid Section.
Context: Percentage of freshmen with federal loans
46%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Average freshman federal loan amount
$4,896$2,000$4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000
Not so much?
Alumni earnings compared to same-aged Americans
The blue curve shows the earnings of this school's alumni -- so a high curve indicates this school is setting its students up for success!
More information about earnings data

How might your earnings compare with other people your age? Opportunity Insights used IRS data to track almost every person born in the US in the years 1980 to 1991, and they ranked the mean (average) 2014 earnings of students who attended Ridgewater College in comparison to all people in the US the same age. Although this data is now a little old, the scope of this project was awesome and gives us a glimpse at alumni performance that we cannot find until a new study of this incredible magnitude is performed.

The Equality Project found that by age 34, people's relative earnings had leveled off, so it's a good assumption that approximately 57% of the population will earn less than Ridgewater College alumni.

You might notice a little earnings dip at young ages for some of the top bachelor's institutions. This coincides with the years that many alumni may be in graduate school and earning less.

232425262728293031323334Approximate former student age40506070Average earnings percentile
Chart explanation
Ridgewater College
In the blue curve, we see how the average earnings percentile for this school changes as its alumni age as compared to like-aged Americans without regard to their educational background.
Context Schools
The shading shows the spread of these average alumni earnings percentiles for context schools: dark shading shows the middle 50% of context schools and light shading shows all but the smallest and largest 10%.
Customize your context group using the gear at the top of the page!
Wealth mobility at Ridgewater College
We may wonder if, as a result of attending a given college, we will have a better chance for higher earnings. Opportunity Insights sought to answer this question by following the wealth story of every student for whom income information was available.
Learn more about the mobility study
How does wealth change after attendance?

Opportunity Insights studied groups of all children born in the US in the same year for each birth year from 1980 to 1991. This grouping included every single US child who had a valid SSN or ITIN (tax identification number) and could be linked to parents with non-negative income.

Family Income

The incomes of all families in a birth year group are measured when the child is 15-19 and these incomes are averaged. The calculated incomes from all families in the group were arranged from smallest to largest, and divided into five groups of equal size. On the left of the diagram, you can see the relative distribution of Ridgewater College's students between the family income divided into fifths formed by looking at the entire US group.

Individual Student Earnings

In 2014, all people from the same birth year were divided into a new set of five groups that were determined by their individual labor earnings for that year. The students from this birth year who primarily attended Ridgewater College between the ages of 19 and 22 were divided into these five groups, and the percent in each group is shown on the right of the diagram.

The diagram lets you see the proportion in each original income group who travel to each earnings group, and provides some insight into the likelihood of financial success after attendance.

If you'd like to understand the nitty gritty details of this interesting data, be sure to check out the well-written Opportunity Insights report by selecting SOURCES under the figure.

Below, we can see the percentage from each initial family wealth group who attend this college, and also the alumni's relative wealth later. Do students entering college from the bottom twenty percent of family income end up making it to a higher level? Do the top twenty percent stay at the top? Follow the colors, left to right, and see for yourself.
$24,300$45,100$72,900$110,300$900$18,500$35,200$55,800Lowest 20%Second-lowestMiddleSecond-highestHighest 20%Highest 20%Second-highestMiddleSecond-lowest Lowest 20%Family IncomeStudent Income
Classroom Experience
Student attention at Ridgewater College
Schools are required to report the ratio of students per instructor, but look for a small number of students for every full-time instructor as your best indicator of personal attention and a modern well-integrated curriculum.
29.6190204060Full-time inst.Any inst.
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Full-time and long-term instructors at Ridgewater College
Full-time faculty are mostly likely to be on campus and available for interaction, and to craft up-to-date courses and programs. Ridgewater College has 53% full-time instructors, and this is near the middle of the context schools' percentages of full-time instructors. Faculty with multi-year contracts provide additional stability and commitment to the school and its students.Within the full-time instructors at Ridgewater College, 100% have multi-year employment contracts. 95% of the context schools have a lower percentage of faculty with multi-year contracts.
Full-time instructors
53%
Long-term instructors
100%
SOURCES:
Not so much?
Faculty Diversity
Here's an opportunity to explore the faculty's diversity. For many schools, attracting a diverse teaching faculty can be a challenge. It's important to judge their success with the reality check of what their peer schools have accomplished.
Number of full-time instructors
The chart shows male instructors to the left, and female to the right, with the races/origins included along the bars. Select the context graph to see how this diversity profile compares to the schools that interest you.
MultiracialAsianBlackWhite0204060Men0204060Women
SOURCES:
Sports
Varsity sports at Ridgewater College
Ridgewater College participates in the NJCAA Division III.
Fewer details
Sports participation
WrestlingVolleyballBasketball051015Men051015Women
Note: Participants include any of the following: a student listed on the varsity roster, a student reciving student aid related to this sport, or a student who is practicing with the varsity team and receiving coaching from the varsity coaching staff, including junior varsity, freshman, redshirt, or novice participants as well as fifth-year members who have already received a bachelor\'s degree.
Not so much?
Sports revenue and expenses
View
Revenue
Game Day Expenses
Expense per participant
WrestlingVolleyballBasketball$0$20K$40K$60KMen$0$20K$40K$60KWomen
Note: For many sports, the revenue is typically from institutional support, but for the popular sports at division I schools, revenue can be large and include money generated by public consumption of sporting events. Revenues can include appearance guarantees and options, contributions from alumni and others, royalties, sponsorships, profits from camps, government support, and ticket sales, as well as institutional support.
Housing
No Student Housing Available
This school does not report any housing for students.
SOURCES:
Activities and Services
Special academic opportunities
  • Cooperative program
  • Credit for advanced placement
  • Distance learning
  • Double-major allowed
  • External Degree Program
  • Independent study courses
  • Internships
  • Off campus study: other colleges in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System
  • Orientation program
  • Part-time degree programs
  • Remediation available
  • Services for learning disabilities
  • Summer session
Undergraduate services offered
  • Personal/psychological counseling
  • Remedial services
  • Academic/career counseling services
  • Employment services for current students
  • Placement services for program completers
Programs for Veterans
If you are a veteran, it's worth digging around to find a military-friendly campus. We think this article about how colleges might help veterans might be a good starting point for questions to ask the Admissions office before you choose to attend. It's also good to be aware that many for-profit schools are behaving as predators, hungry for GI Bill dollars. Watching out for those schools is no different for veterans than for all students: judge very critically using our "Student Satisfaction and Success" tab for undergraduate programs. We wish we had the same data to support graduate programs; however, we think the undergraduate data is a good starting point for judging overall quality.
  • Credit for Military Training
  • Dedicated point of contact for support services for veterans, military servicemembers, and their families
  • Member of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
SOURCES:
Student Body
Study Types
About 56% of students are full-time. About 18% of students take all of their courses via distance education, while another 25% take some courses online.
Full-time
56%
Online classes
43%
SOURCES:
Context: Student body size
Ridgewater College enrolled 4,492 students over the past academic year. The the student body size is larger than 78% of the context schools.
SOURCES:
Undergraduate student gender
Is the gender balance of Ridgewater College students important to you? You can see the breakdown in this donut chart.
Gender
Men
Women
SOURCES:
Undergraduate student race/origin
Ridgewater College reports that 17% of students are minority, which is less than 99% of the context schools. This school's 0.1% of international students is near the middle proportion of international students within the context schools.
Race/Origin
White
Black
Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Asian
American Indian
Multiracial
Not Reported
International
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Context: Gender Balance
It is very difficult for many types of schools to achieve a gender balance, and this context is valuable in evaluating the balance at Ridgewater College.
45%56%0%20%40%60%80%100%MenWomen
SOURCES:
Context: Percentage of women
With 56% women students, Ridgewater College has a lower percentage of women than 70% of context schools.
SOURCES:
Context: Student race/origin
Here is how Ridgewater College compares to the rest of the context group in terms of diversity in the student race and origin.
5%81%9%1%1%0%3%2%0%0%20%40%60%80%100%InternationalPacific IslanderAmerican IndianAsianNot ReportedMultiracialBlackHispanicWhite
Freshman residences

A high proportion of international and out-of-state students speaks to reputation and offers an opportunity for diverse interactions in and out of class.

Freshman residence
In-state
Out-of-state
International
Not Reported
SOURCES:
Student age distribution
The age distribution at a school can tell you a lot about its mission. If you're looking for a traditional undergraduate experience, you may prefer to see students who are mostly younger than 25 (lighter shades), but if you want support as a returning student, a large number of students 25 and older (darker shades) may better suit your needs.
Age range
Under 18
18-19
20-21
22-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-49
50-64
65 and over
Unknown
SOURCES:
School Finances
Ridgewater College: What its budget can tell you about classroom quality
Where a school spends and collects its money can suggest a lot about the educational experience it offers. The tabs below offer a look at spending that is important for the quality of your experience if you attend.
Instructional spending
Student services spending
Research spending
Context and trends: Instructional expenditures per student
Instructional expenses are primarily the salary and benefits paid to the heart of a school: its full-time instructors. High expenditures in this area suggest care in hiring enough highly qualified full-time faculty to provide personal attention and up-to-date subject-area excellence.
200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018$0$5,000$10,000$15,000
Chart explanation
Ridgewater College
On the blue curve, we see how the instructional expenses per student at Ridgewater College have changed over the years.
Context Schools
The shading shows the spread of the instructional expenses per student for the context schools. The dark shading shows the middle 50% of context schools, and the light shading shows all but the smallest and largest 10%.
All values have been adjusted for inflation. Customize your context group using the gear at the top of the page!
Fewer details
Does incoming revenue consistently cover expenses?

Ridgewater College is a public school. Along with private not-for-profit schools, publicly-controlled schools do not have the goal of annual profit, but they do want to have healthy finances with adequate revenue to meet all expenses. On the other hand, private for-profit schools have creating a profit for shareholders as an annual goal.

Total revenue and expenses by category
We divided revenue and expenses for Ridgewater College into categories to give some insight to what may have influenced peaks and ditches in the chart above. The purple shades correspond most directly to student education. The blue shades, auxiliary expenses and revenue, are often related to room and board. We show investment gains and losses in apricot.
200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018$0$20M$40M$60M$80M$100MRevenue$0$20M$40M$60M$80M$100MExpense
Investment gains
Auxiliary revenue
Tuition and fees revenue
Government appropriations etc.
Private and capital gifts
Educational sales revenue
Other revenue
Auxilliary expenses
Instructional expenses
Student services expenses
Academic support expenses
Institutional support expenses
Research expenses
Public service expenses
Other expenses
Not so much?
The power of a large endowment
Related to the previous question of whether the annual revenue stream is stable is the question, "How deep are this school's pockets?" For many schools, a major source of annual income is investment growth. Schools with large endowments have a built-in revenue stream, although you'll see in the accompanying graphs that this revenue stream is highly dependent on the nation's economy. You can choose how to examine the depth of Ridgewater College's resources by selecting from the buttons below.
Choose asset category
Net Assets
Net Assets Per Student

Here we examine assets at Ridgewater College in context, and it seems most fair to adjust for the size of the institution. We examine the assets per full-time-equivalent student so that we level the playing field for size.

There's a catch to these assets, though. Many gifts to a school's endowment have strings attached; the money is restricted to a specific purpose. Assets shown in green below are unrestricted, and are very important to a school's ability to meet its financial obligations. Some assets are the land and buildings that a school must have in order to function, and these may appear as green (unrestricted assets) but are nonetheless less helpful in meeting annual financial commitments. This look at assets is only a piece of the puzzle as we decide if a school is stable.

-$2,000$0$2,000$4,000$6,000200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018
Restricted net assets
Unrestricted net assets
Context: 2019 net assets per student
$8,620-$20,000$0$20,000$40,000$60,000