University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa · Public · 22,264 undergraduates · uiowa.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test optional
Sending scores is your choice
Admit rate
80%
of 31,454 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1130 to 1320
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$32,770Est.Estimate
$55,860 out of state
Your chances and merit aid at University of Iowa
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
80% of applicants admitted
Target
Your SAT is inside the range where the middle half of enrolled freshmen scored, and your GPA is in the middle half of freshmen's.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$55,860
a year in 2027-28, from a $55,860 sticker price (out of state)
What to do with your 1230
Send your score
About 31% of freshmen here didn't send a score. We estimate their typical SAT at about 1070, and yours is above it.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test optional
You choose whether to send an SAT or ACT score. If you send one, it's considered.
- Doesn't superscore: it uses the scores from one test date.
- You can type your scores into the application; official reports come later.
Source: ACT and SAT Test Scores | Admissions - The University of Iowa · Checked October 16, 2026
Application deadlines
- Nov2Early Action · November 2, 2026Apply early and hear early. Not binding.
- Feb1Regular Decision · February 1, 2027The standard deadline.
Who gets in
80%
of applicants were admitted: 25,131 of 31,454 for fall 2025.
Wait list
12 students were offered a spot; 1 were later admitted.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 22% of them sent SAT scores and 60% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1130 to 1320
Reading and Writing 560 to 670
Math 550 to 660
ACT composite 21 to 28
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 160010%
- 1200 to 139949%
- 1000 to 119935%
- 800 to 9995.5%
- 600 to 7990.1%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
High school GPA of enrolled freshmen
Average GPA: 3.86
- 4.035%
- 3.75 to 3.9929%
- 3.50 to 3.7419%
- 3.25 to 3.4912%
- 3.00 to 3.243.8%
- 2.50 to 2.990.9%
- Below 2.500%
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$32,770
a year, in state
$55,860
a year, out of state (tuition $35,410)
- Tuition (in state)$12,320
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24 (in-state students), by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$15,353
- $30,001 to $48,000$15,374
- $48,001 to $75,000$17,179
- $75,001 to $110,000$22,278
- Over $110,000$26,721
Financial aid
53%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$11,938
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
40%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $5,880 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Not required. Only the FAFSA is needed.
- Aid priority date: 1-Dec
- Send your aid forms by this date to be first in line for the college's grant money.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
Merit scholarships
Awards for grades and scores, on top of need-based aid. You don't repay them.
Provost Scholarship
$3,000 a year
National Merit
Deadline: Name this college your first choice with NMSC. To keep it: stay a full-time student every fall and spring semester and meet the scholarship's renewal standards; National Merit Scholars must also meet the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's renewal standards; checked every semester.
Details
Compare awards across colleges with the merit aid calculator.
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
41 of 41
Earn credit with a score of 3
None
You need a 4 or 5 for credit here.
A 3-credit course is worth
about $1,230Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition for in-state students
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 4 | 3 | |
| 3-D Art and Design | 4 | 3 | |
| African American Studies | 4 | 3 | |
| Art History | 4 | 3 | |
| Biology | 4 | 4 | BIOL 1140 |
| Biology | 5 | 4 | BIOL 1141 & 1411 |
| Calculus AB | 4 | 4 | MATH 1460, 1550 & 1850 |
| Calculus BC | 4 | 8 | MATH 1460, 1550, 1850 & 1860 |
| Calculus BC: AB Subscore | 4 | 4 | MATH 1460, 1550 & 1850 |
| Chemistry | 4 | 3 | CHEM 1070 |
| Chemistry | 5 | 7 | CHEM 1110 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | POLI 1400 |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 4 | 3 | POLI 1400 |
| Computer Science A | 4 | 4 | CS 1210 |
| Computer Science Principles | 4 | 3 | CS 1110 |
| Drawing | 4 | 3 | |
| English Language and Composition | 4 | 4 | |
| English Literature and Composition | 4 | 3 | ENGL 1200 |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 3 | SEES 1080 |
| European History | 4 | 3 | |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | FREN 3000 |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | |
| Human Geography | 4 | 3 | |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | |
| Latin | 4 | 3 | |
| Macroeconomics | 4 | 3 | ECON 1200 |
| Microeconomics | 4 | 3 | ECON 1100 |
| Music Theory | 4 | 4 | MUS 1201 |
| Music Theory | 5 | 8 | MUS 1201 & 1202 |
| Physics 1 | 4 | 4 | PHYS 1511 |
| Physics 2 | 4 | 4 | PHYS 1512 |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 | 4 | PHYS 1612 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | 4 | PHYS 1611 |
| Pre-Calculus | 4 | 4 | MATH 1020 |
| Psychology | 4 | 3 | PSY 1001 |
| Research | 4 | 3 | A score of 4 or higher on both AP Seminar and AP Research awards credit for RHET:1030 |
| Seminar | 4 | 3 | A score of 4 or higher on both AP Seminar and AP Research awards credit for RHET:1030 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 3 | |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 3 | |
| Statistics | 4 | 4 | STAT: 1010, 1020 & 1030 |
| United States Government and Politics | 4 | 3 | POLI 1100 |
| United States History | 4 | 3 | |
| World History: Modern | 4 | 3 |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
76%
Come back for a second year
90%
Typical earnings
$70,727
a year, 10 years after starting here
- University of Iowa$67,413
- All colleges$59,032
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 47 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with University of Iowa. The University of Iowa logo is a trademark of the college.