University of Iowa vs University of California, Riverside: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

University of Iowa and University of California, Riverside are about equally selective, admitting 83.6% and 76.8% of applicants respectively. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $19,930 per year at University of Iowa versus $13,111 at University of California, Riverside. University of Iowa's yield rate is 23.0%, versus 15.0% at University of California, Riverside.

University of Iowa vs University of California, Riverside: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricUniversity of IowaUniversity of California, Riverside
Overall acceptance rate83.6%76.8%
SAT middle 50%1140–13131100–1320
Avg unweighted GPA3.833.7
Yield rate23.0%15.0%
Class size5,2085,419
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$19,930$13,111
Net price, over $110,000 income$26,266$30,393

Admissions and cost data as of July 3, 2026 (CDS 2024–25 cycle), from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard. Rows appear only where both colleges report the statistic.

Frequently asked questions

Is University of Iowa harder to get into than University of California, Riverside?

The two are about equally selective: University of Iowa admits 83.6% of applicants and University of California, Riverside admits 76.8%, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

Which is cheaper for a middle-income family, University of Iowa or University of California, Riverside?

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $19,930 per year at University of Iowa and $13,111 at University of California, Riverside, so University of California, Riverside is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

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