Upper Iowa University

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

Upper Iowa University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Fayette, Iowa (rural: remote), with a total reported enrollment of 1,994 students of which 4,026 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. Upper Iowa University 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 96.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,090 and an ACT midpoint of 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $20,942, with published in-state tuition of $19,475 and a Pell grant recipient share of 31.8%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $25,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 38.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 67.7%. Graduates earn a median of $52,766 ten years after enrolling, compared with $48,776 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 371500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 73.1% 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.