2026 Most Selective Colleges in Iowa

Name: 2026 Most Selective Colleges in Iowa (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

27 Iowa schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Most Selective Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 27 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

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$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Most Selective Colleges

Grinnel College

Grinnell

Acceptance rate

14.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$58,156

Avg. Cost after Aid

$37,000

#2 Most Selective Colleges

Drake University

Des Moines

Acceptance rate

64.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$45,734

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,042

#3 Most Selective Colleges

Luther College

Decorah

Acceptance rate

73.3%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$46,130

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#4 Most Selective Colleges

St. Ambrose University

Davenport

Acceptance rate

73.3%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,290

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#5 Most Selective Colleges

University of Iowa

Iowa City

Acceptance rate

83.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,470

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#6 Most Selective Colleges

Dordt University

Sioux Center

Acceptance rate

71.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,010

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#7 Most Selective Colleges

Iowa State University of Science and Technology

Ames

Acceptance rate

89.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,324

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#8 Most Selective Colleges

Coe College

Cedar Rapids

Acceptance rate

70.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$48,472

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#9 Most Selective Colleges

Clarke University

Dubuque

Acceptance rate

68.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,740

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#10 Most Selective Colleges

Central College

Pella

Acceptance rate

79.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$19,250

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#11 Most Selective Colleges

Cornell College

Mount Vernon

Acceptance rate

80.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$47,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#12 Most Selective Colleges

Morningside University

Sioux City

Acceptance rate

70.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,760

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#13 Most Selective Colleges

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids

Acceptance rate

78.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,540

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#14 Most Selective Colleges

Loras College

Dubuque

Acceptance rate

91.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#15 Most Selective Colleges

Simpson College

Indianola

Acceptance rate

88.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$43,124

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#16 Most Selective Colleges

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake

Acceptance rate

71.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$37,518

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#17 Most Selective Colleges

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls

Acceptance rate

94.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$7,780

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#18 Most Selective Colleges

Northwestern College

Orange City

Acceptance rate

87.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$33,350

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#19 Most Selective Colleges

William Penn University

Oskaloosa

Acceptance rate

57.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$27,200

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#20 Most Selective Colleges

Wartburg College

Waverly

Acceptance rate

99.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$45,200

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#21 Most Selective Colleges

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City

Acceptance rate

60.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,526

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#22 Most Selective Colleges

University of Dubuque

Dubuque

Acceptance rate

86.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$34,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#23 Most Selective Colleges

Grand View University

Des Moines

Acceptance rate

98.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$30,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#24 Most Selective Colleges

Graceland University

Lamoni

Acceptance rate

83.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,250

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#25 Most Selective Colleges

Mercy College of Health Sciences

Des Moines

Acceptance rate

98.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$19,754

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

2026 Most Selective Colleges in Iowa

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