University of Northern Iowa

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

University of Northern Iowa operates as a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 7,529 students of which 8,433 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 Northern Iowa is categorized as “18” 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 92.7%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,122 and an ACT midpoint of 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $15,901, with published in-state tuition of $9,936 and a Pell grant recipient share of 27.4%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $19,691, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 68.5%, and the first-year retention rate is 81.7%. Graduates earn a median of $55,177 ten years after enrolling, compared with $47,222 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 525300.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 77.4% 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.