Iowa Wesleyan University vs Iowa State

Iowa Wesleyan University and Iowa State University, both located in the state of Iowa, offer distinct educational experiences for prospective students. Iowa Wesleyan, a private liberal arts university, boasts a small and close-knit community with an acceptance rate of 80%, while Iowa State, a public research university, is larger and more diverse, with an acceptance rate of 88%. Iowa Wesleyan's popular majors include Business, Education, and Psychology, while Iowa State offers a wider range of programs, including Engineering, Agriculture, and Veterinary Medicine. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more differences between these two institutions, including student body demographics, graduation rates, and cost of attendance, to help you make an informed decision about your higher education journey.

	Iowa State University	Iowa Wesleyan University
Overview
Location	Ames, Iowa	Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Campus setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	88.0%	51.0%
Common app member	Yes	No
Religious affiliation		Methodism

Admission
Acceptance rate	91.1%	81.9%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	1083 - 1330	820 - 1020
ACT range	21 - 28	15 - 20
Students submitting SAT score	13.0%	9.0%
Students submitting ACT score	63.0%	22.0%
Total number of applicants	20,357	3,934
Total number of admissions given out	18,550	3,222
Admitted students who chose to enroll	5,387	267
Yield rate	29.0%	8.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,152 Out of state: $37,964	$42,840
Average net price	$15,422	$34,988
Tuition	In state: $8,324 Out of state: $24,136	$32,550
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $4,590 Meal plan: $4,498	Room/dormitory: $4,410 Meal plan: $6,930
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	87.0% Average amount $8,833	97.0% Average amount $12,333
Students receiving federal student loan	47.0% Average amount $5,202	92.0% Average amount $4,286
Students taking out private loans	11.0% Average amount $11,630	7.0% Average amount $6,430

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	25,808 Men 56.1% Women 43.9%	758 Men 57.9% Women 42.1%
Graduate students	4,900 Men 50.6% Women 49.4%	67 Men 52.2% Women 47.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	8.2%	11.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Town: Remote
Dormitory capacity	9,400	568
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Engineering Agriculture Education Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Business Biological and Biomedical Sciences Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Health Professions
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	76.0%	22.5%
Dropout rate	6.1%	32.5%
Transferred out	16.7%	44.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,739 Year 2: $94,408 Year 3: $101,292 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $80,956 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $95,081 Industrial Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,120 Year 2: $89,059 Year 3: $92,521 Veterinary Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $77,573 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $85,108 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,299 Year 2: $73,321 Year 3: $83,452 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,598 Year 2: $73,839 Year 3: $83,292 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,184 Year 2: $71,734 Year 3: $81,196 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,223 Year 2: $70,680 Year 3: $79,916 Construction Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,580 Year 2: $70,083 Year 3: $77,479 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,534 Year 2: $67,156 Year 3: $76,113	Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $35,594 Year 3: N/A Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,581 Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: N/A Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $37,362 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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