by our College Data Analytics TeamDrake University is a private not-for-profit institution in Des Moines, Iowa enrolling 2,543 undergraduates. It accepts 64% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 74%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #162 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 3%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Drake University ranks #162 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 3%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Drake University was awarded 354 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Drake is ranked #162 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Drake also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.
See all of the rankings for Drake University.
Drake University has an acceptance rate of 64%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for Drake.
About 5% of students accepted to Drake submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 580 and 680. Math scores were between 530 and 670.
Drake received ACT scores from 18% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 24 and 29.
Learn more about Drake University admissions.
At Drake, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 11 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Drake University is 72%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 84% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Drake University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Drake for first-time, full-time students is 74%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Drake University.
In the current academic year, there are 2,543 undergraduates at Drake.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Drake University.
The typical net cost at Drake is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,824 | $23,275 | $25,171 | $27,408 | $33,126 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Drake, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Drake, approximately 44% of students took out student loans averaging $6,578 a year. That adds up to $26,312 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Drake University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Drake University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $71,901 in their early years. This is good news for future Drake University graduates since it is 46% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Drake University make the most money.
Drake University is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Des Moines, Iowa. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Drake University.
Contact information for Drake University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311-4505 |
| Phone: | 5152712011 |
| Website: | www.drake.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/DrakeUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/drakeuniversity |
In the latest year of available data, students from 22 majors graduated from Drake University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 1,573 | NA |
| Educational Administration | 122 | $59,587 |
| Law | 115 | $61,460 |
| Business Administration & Management | 107 | NA |
| Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences | 66 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 63 | $43,998 |
| Data Analytics. | 61 | NA |
| Rehabilitation Professions | 54 | NA |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies | 48 | NA |
| Computer Information Systems | 47 | $62,903 |
600 students took at least one online class at Drake University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Drake University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to Drake? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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