How hard is ISU to get into?
Iowa State University (ISU) acceptance rate is 89.13% for 2023-2024 admission. A total of 22,995 students applied and 20,496 were admitted to the school. Its acceptance rate is relatively high, making it somewhat easy to get into ISU.
ISU's acceptance rate places 18th out of 30 Iowa colleges with competitive admission.
The median SAT score is 1240 and the ACT score is 24 at ISU. ISU's SAT score ranks 3rd out of 17 Iowa colleges that consider SAT score for admission.
To apply to ISU, it is required to submit high school GPA and record. The SAT and ACT score is not required, but considered for admission. In addition, english proficiency test score is also considered (required).
Admission Statistics
For the academic year 2023-24, ISU's acceptance rate is 89.13% and the yield (also known as enrollment rate) is 28.59%. 12,146 men and 10,849 women applied to ISU and 10,670 men and 9,826 women students were accepted.
Among them, 3,147 men and 2,712 women were enrolled in ISU (Fall 2023).
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2024)
Median SAT and ACT Score
In 2024, 615 students (10% of enrolled) have submitted their SAT scores and 2,963 students (51%) have submitted their ACT scores for seeking degrees at ISU.
The median SAT score is 1,240 with 620 SAT EBRW and 620 SAT Math median scores. The 75th percentile SAT score of EBRW (Evidence-Based Reading / Writing) is 660 and the 25th percentile is 550. The SAT Math 75th percentile score is 690 and 25th percentile is 560 .
The median ACT composite score is 24 with 75th percentile score of 28 and 25th percentile score of 21 at ISU. The median ACT math score is 24 and the ACT English score is 23.
How competitive is ISU's score?
The SAT and ACT scores at Iowa State University are similar to the average score compared to similar colleges (SAT: 1,255, ACT: 27 - public research university with very high research activity).
The institutional SAT code for ISU is 6306 and 4-digt code ACT code is 1320.
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2024)
First-year Enrollment by Gender and Enrolled Type
For the academic year 2023-24, total 5,859 first-year students enrolled in ISU. The proportion of full-time students is 98.89% and part-time students is 1.11%.
By gender, the proportion of men students is 53.71% and women students is 46.29%.
The following table shows the first-year students by gender and enrolled type at ISU.
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2024)
Application Requirements
It requires to submit High School GPA, High School Record (or Transcript), Completion of College Preparatory Program, and English Proficiency Test to its applicants.
The SAT and ACT test score is not reqired, but considered in admission process at ISU. The english proficiency test is reqired .
The next table summarizes the application requirements to apply Iowa State University.
For more admission information such as minimum GPA and deadlines, see its online application page .
General Admissions Information
The application fee is $40 for applying undergraduate schools and $60 for for applying graduate schools at Iowa State University. The following table provides general admission information for applying to ISU.