University of Iowa's admit rate has held within a 7.8-point band over 20 reported cycles.
The headline numbers, drawn from CDS sections A–H.
Per-cycle Common Data Set values. Enrolled is first-year matriculants (CDS B1), not total undergraduate population. Blank cells mean the field was not published in that year's source CDS.
| Year | Admit rate | Enrolled | 6-yr grad | Retention | SAT (50th) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-2027 | 79.9% | 5,561 | 75.8% | 90.9% | 1,230 |
| 2025-2026 | 79.9% | 5,561 | 75.8% | — | — |
| 2024-2025 | 83.7% | 5,172 | — | — | 1,230 |
| 2023-2024 | 84.7% | 5,064 | 73.1% | 89.3% | 1,240 |
| 2022-2023 | 86.0% | 5,138 | 73.7% | 88.6% | 1,240 |
Cross-admits and statistical look-alikes, surfaced from the CollegeNumbers peer model.
Comparative observations derived from this school's reported CDS values and from IPEDS / College Scorecard reference data. Every claim is grounded in a number — no editorial overlay.
Cross-admit cohort spans an unusually wide selectivity range.
The schools University of Iowa applicants most commonly also apply to range from 42.4% admit to 87.9% admit — a 45.6 pp band. A reasonable read: applicants choose by region or program fit rather than selectivity tier alone.
Admit rate has tightened 6.1 percentage points over 5 reporting cycles.
University of Iowa's admit rate fell from 86.0% (2022-2023) to 79.9% (2026-2027) — a 6.1 pp drop. Year-over-year: 86.0 → 84.7 → 83.7 → 79.9 → 79.9. A snapshot of the current year alone would hide this structural shift.
Six-year graduation rate exceeds the national median by 20 percentage points.
University of Iowa's 75.8% six-year graduation rate exceeds the national 4-year-institution median of 56.3% (per IPEDS, n=1555) by 19.5 pp.
Broadly accessible — admit rate near the national norm.
University of Iowa's 79.9% admit rate is in line with the national 4-year-institution median of 76.6% (per IPEDS, n=1437 institutions). Most U.S. four-year colleges admit between 61.2% and 88.3% of applicants.
Sources: each school's officially-published Common Data Set; IPEDS / College Scorecard for federal comparisons. Methodology →
Compare every CDS field — admissions, aid, outcomes — side by side.
Open in CollegeNumbers compareThe Common Data Set is a standardized reporting form U.S. colleges file annually — sections A through J covering admissions selectivity, enrollment, aid, faculty resources, and outcomes. CollegeNumbers extracts every value directly from each school's officially published CDS PDF, xlsx, docx, or HTML, then normalizes into a unified schema.
Federal data layers — College Scorecard, EADA athletics, Clery campus safety, FSA financial responsibility — are joined on top. Every value traces back to its primary source. All covered schools →