Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Iowa State costs about $7.2K less per year on average than U. Iowa ($23,986 vs. $31,157, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    Iowa State's grants cover 26% of its full price on average, vs. 19% at U. Iowa

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    Iowa State's yield is 6 pts higher than U. Iowa's

    Yield rate
  4. 4

    Iowa State's SAT midpoint is 30 points higher than U. Iowa's

    SAT midpoint
  5. 5

    U. Iowa has 2 pts more first-gen students than Iowa State (22% vs. 20%)

    First-generation students
  6. 6

    Iowa State graduates 2 pts more of its students than U. Iowa (74% vs. 72%)

    Graduation rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

U. Iowa admits 84%, Iowa State 88%; Iowa State's yield is higher, at 28%.

Acceptance rate
Iowa State88%
U. Iowa84%
Quad's selectivity
  • Iowa StateAccessible
  • U. IowaSelective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1000–1600
Iowa State
1153–1360
U. Iowa
1130–1330
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • Iowa StateRigor and GPA very important58%
  • U. IowaGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

Iowa State is a bit larger than U. Iowa (26,073 vs. 22,264 undergrads) and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Iowa State26.1K
U. Iowa22.3K
Pell Grant share
Iowa State19%
U. Iowa18%

Majors and faculty

Mechanical Engineering leads at Iowa State, and Exercise Science and Kinesiology at U. Iowa; U. Iowa has 16 students per faculty member to Iowa State's 18.

Students per faculty member
Iowa State18 to 1
U. Iowa16 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • Iowa StateMechanical Engineering6%
  • U. IowaExercise Science and Kinesiology8%

What each costs

Iowa State costs about $7.2K less a year than U. Iowa on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Iowa State$24K
U. Iowa$31.2K
Aid generosity
Iowa State26%
U. Iowa19%

What each pays off

U. Iowa's former students earn more, a median $64.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 70% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Iowa State$63.4K
U. Iowa$64.8K
Graduation rate
Iowa State74%
U. Iowa72%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; selectivity held steady at both.

Applications, 10-year change
  • Iowa StateGrowing+26%
  • U. IowaGrowing+15%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why