For 2023-2024 admission, the average acceptance rate of Iowa colleges is 75.93%, 88,003 accepted out of 115,902 applicants.

For Iowa college admission, the total number of applicants increased by 6,637 (6.07%) compared to last year, from 109,265 applicants. The number of students enrolled in first year increased by 362, which is more than 1.85% last year.

Iowa colleges' acceptance rate decreased by 0.76% compared to last year, which means harder to get into Iowa colleges. The yield decreased by 0.70%.

Among Iowa colleges, Grinnell College has the lowest acceptance rate of 13.00% with 1,298 accepted students out of 9,988 applicants. University of Iowa has the most number of applicants of 25,682 and Iowa State University has the most number of first-year enrolled students of 5,935.

Acceptance Rate and Admission Stats for Iowa Colleges

The following table compares the acceptance rate and admission statistics between four-years colleges in Iowa. Those colleges have admission requirements and criteria to admit (not open admission). The green or red arrows with numbers indicate change from the previous year for each column.

Last Update: July 3, 2024 | Data source: IPEDS
Acceptance Rate and Admission Statistics for Iowa Colleges
SchoolApplicantsAdmittedEnrolledAcceptance RateYield
Grinnell College9,988
-9		1,298
222		467
30		13.00%
2.24%		35.98%
-4.63%
St Luke's College18
3		8
-4		7
-1		44.44%
-35.56%		87.50%
20.83%
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary308
22		154
4		123
17		50.00%
-2.45%		79.87%
9.20%
William Penn University1,112
-152		634
-95		298
-19		57.01%
-0.66%		47.00%
3.52%
Drake University7,741
-880		4,954
-842		644
-89		64.00%
-3.23%		13.00%
0.35%
Clarke University3,087
422		2,099
-161		189
-4		67.99%
-16.81%		9.00%
0.46%
Dordt University1,595
119		1,132
-162		464
20		70.97%
-16.70%		40.99%
6.68%
Coe College7,1715,09135670.99%6.99%
Morningside University2,756
-466		1,957
-318		333
-13		71.01%
0.40%		17.02%
1.81%
Buena Vista University1,544
-18		1,112
-95		222
-14		72.02%
-5.25%		19.96%
0.41%
Waldorf University1,033
-23		754
-26		181
9		72.99%
-0.87%		24.01%
1.96%
Luther College2,447
259		1,786
138		357
-43		72.99%
-2.33%		19.99%
-4.28%
Saint Ambrose University3,456
-133		2,523
-130		429
-30		73.00%
-0.92%		17.00%
-0.30%
Mount Mercy University1,436
-133		1,134
-47		204
-20		78.97%
3.70%		17.99%
-0.98%
Central College1,978
8		1,563
2		281
-70		79.02%
-0.22%		17.98%
-4.51%
Cornell College3,087
30		2,500
75		300
-29		80.98%
1.65%		12.00%
-1.57%
Graceland University-Lamoni2,259
248		1,875
377		244
42		83.00%
8.51%		13.01%
-0.47%
University of Iowa25,682
-47		21,830
-298		5,021
-157		85.00%
-1.00%		23.00%
-0.40%
University of Dubuque1,560
-19		1,357
14		326
8		86.99%
1.94%		24.02%
0.34%
Northwestern College1,155
50		1,005
40		281
-7		87.01%
-0.32%		27.96%
-1.88%
Simpson College1,646
77		1,465
67		337
35		89.00%
-0.10%		23.00%
1.40%
Iowa State University22,995
1,076		20,466
690		5,935
207		89.00%
-1.22%		29.00%
0.04%
Loras College1,652
-208		1,520
-151		258
-28		92.01%
2.17%		16.97%
-0.15%
Upper Iowa University695
-710		646
-116		155
-61		92.95%
38.72%		23.99%
-4.36%
University of Northern Iowa4,913
319		4,618
256		1,524
88		94.00%
-0.95%		33.00%
0.08%
Maharishi International University129
59		125
59		63
27		96.90%
2.61%		50.40%
-4.15%
Emmaus Bible College87
17		85
15		52
9		97.70%
-2.30%		61.18%
-0.25%
Grand View University1,665
-221		1,632
-224		343
12		98.02%
-0.39%		21.02%
3.19%
Mercy College of Health Sciences164
12		162
15		79
10		98.78%
2.07%		48.77%
1.83%
Wartburg College2,543
-236		2,518
-190		428
77		99.02%
1.57%		17.00%
4.04%