University of Iowa

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of Iowa

University of Iowa operates as a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 22,264 students of which 23,911 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. University of Iowa is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 83.6%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,200 and an ACT midpoint of 26. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $22,531, with published in-state tuition of $11,283 and a Pell grant recipient share of 18.4%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $22,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 73.9%, and the first-year retention rate is 90.4%. Graduates earn a median of $64,762 ten years after enrolling, compared with $52,696 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 749800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 79.7% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.