by our College Data Analytics TeamIowa State University is a public institution in Ames, Iowa enrolling 25,367 undergraduates. It accepts 89% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 75%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #179 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.
Iowa State University ranks #179 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 3%.
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 423 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, ISU is ranked #179 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. 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.
See all of the rankings for Iowa State University.
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.
Learn more about Iowa State University admissions.
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 84%. 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 25,367 undergraduates at ISU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Iowa State University.
The overall average net price of ISU 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,582 | $11,506 | $15,463 | $19,605 | $22,496 |
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 |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_State_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/IowaStateU |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/IowaStateU |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 28 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 | 7,062 | NA |
| Mechanical Engineering | 363 | $66,227 |
| Business Administration & Management | 322 | $57,113 |
| Computer Engineering | 268 | $72,598 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 266 | $51,055 |
| Marketing | 245 | $44,875 |
| Animal Science | 227 | $37,290 |
| Computer Information Systems | 224 | NA |
| General Psychology | 218 | $33,251 |
| Health & Physical Education | 211 | $32,074 |
16,930 students took at least one online class at Iowa State University.
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.
Learn more about online learning at Iowa State University.
Interested in comparing ISU? Match them up using 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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