by our College Data Analytics TeamGet the facts about Iowa State University. Learn how it ranks, what majors it offers, how diverse it is, and much more.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Iowa State University was awarded 819 badges in the 2026 rankings.
College Factual ranked ISU as #158 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, ISU holds the #3 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.
With an acceptance rate of 89%, Iowa State University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 13% of students accepted to ISU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 560 and 670. Math scores were between 560 and 690.
ISU received ACT scores from 46% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 21 and 28.
The student to faculty ratio at Iowa State University is about average at 18 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Iowa State University is 85%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Iowa State University has a freshmen retention rate of 88%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At ISU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 75%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Iowa State University.
The current enrollment includes 25,033 undergraduates at ISU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Iowa State University.
The overall average net price of ISU is $16,772. 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.### Net Price by Income Group for ISU
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $11,734 | $12,465 | $15,430 | $19,807 | $21,827 |
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 ISU, 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 ISU, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $5,945 a year. That adds up to $23,780 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.8%. 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 Iowa State University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Iowa State University make around $63,386 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Iowa State University graduates since it is 29% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Iowa State University make the most money.
Iowa State University is an public institution located in Ames, Iowa. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Iowa State University.
Contact details for Iowa State University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1750 Beardshear Hall, Ames, IA 50011-2103 |
| Phone: | 5152944111 |
| Website: | www.iastate.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/IowaStateU |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/IowaStateU |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 29 majors graduated from Iowa State 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 | 7,793 | NA |
| Mechanical Engineering | 369 | $64,842 |
| Business Administration & Management | 276 | $50,665 |
| Marketing | 271 | $44,875 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 263 | $37,065 |
| Computer Engineering | 256 | $72,598 |
| Computer Information Systems | 253 | NA |
| Animal Science | 245 | $36,910 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 244 | $51,055 |
| Health & Physical Education | 240 | $32,074 |
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
16,930 students took at least one online class at Iowa State University.
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.
References