State: This fall, more people signed up to attend all of Iowa’s public universities, according to numbers released Thursday that show a sample of the new classes.
University of Iowa
A news statement says that the University of Iowa’s class of 2028 is the third-largest in the school’s history. It beats out last year’s incoming class to become the largest class ever.
There are 5,208 new undergraduates, 1,083 transfer undergraduates, and 1,419 new graduate and professional students coming to the UI. The statement says that there are a total of 30,779 students at the university.
The new freshman class has the same average grade point average as last year, which is 3.83. Also, 19% of students say they are the first in their family to go to college. It’s 1% less than in 2023.
There are just over 2,800 new students from 92 counties in Iowa. They come from 46 countries and 45 U.S. states and regions. The news release said that more than half of the new students came with at least one college course already earned.
“The University of Iowa is thrilled to have a huge group of new students come to campus this fall,” said Brent Gage, who is the deputy vice president for enrollment management. “The enrollment management team worked with faculty and staff from across campus to accept this talented group of students after getting a record number of applications.” We are sure that this class will do well in and out of the classroom as they begin to live on campus at Iowa.
Iowa State University
A news release says that Iowa State has the biggest incoming class of the three universities, with 5,906 students. This is up almost 50 students from last year and up 16% over the last five years. The university now has 30,432 students, which is 255 more than it did before.
There are 25,628 undergraduates, 4,170 graduate students, and 634 veterinary students in that group. The students come from every county in Iowa, every state in the U.S., and 116 different countries.
The release says that about 20% of ISU’s first-year students are first-generation college students and just under 23% are qualified for the Pell Grant. Over 72% of undergraduates and more than 74% of first-year students are getting funds and grants this fall. The grade point average of new students is 3.75 on average.
The news release says that these enrollment gains are due to “growing interest in Iowa State’s STEM programs and degrees of the future.”
In the release, ISU President Wendy Winters teen said, “Students know Iowa State University as a leader in innovation and for giving them chances to be leaders, do research as an undergrad, and get real-world experience that helps them prepare for their future careers.”
University of Northern Iowa
A news statement says that the University of Northern Iowa is getting 1,546 new freshmen this year, which is 7.7% more than last year and just over 20 more than 2022. With 9,283 students, the university has almost 3% more students than it did in 2023.
The release also said that this is the first time since 2009 and 2010 that UNI has seen growth in enrollment over two years in a row. This fall, 778 transfer students signed up for UNI. More than 75% of them came from a community college in the state. UNI@IACC at the university has almost doubled in size since it began in 2022. This fall, 484 students have signed up for the program.
UNI has students from 42 states and 47 countries. Ninety percent of the students come from Iowa, with students from every county. The release says that more than one-third of incoming students say they are first-generation.
That’s not all—UNI is also home to 1,567 graduate students, which is more than 22% more than in 2023 and the most since 2018. This fall, almost 3,200 students have signed up for housing, which is 2.5% more than last year and 10.3% more than in 2022.
The high number of students enrolling and finding housing at UNI shows how happy we try to make our students, said UNI President Mark Nook in the release. “Our staff and faculty are putting new ideas into action that make the experience of our students better.
The University of Northern Iowa is always changing to meet the needs of its students, the state’s economy, and the workforce. It does this by adding new academic programs, giving students unique hands-on learning experiences, and serving the freshest farm-to-campus food in Iowa.