University of Northern Iowa Admission
University of Northern Iowa Undergraduate Program
University of Northern Iowa Application

The Facts

The University of Northern Iowa is a rather large, public institution located in the town of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and is home to over 10,500 undergraduate students and approximately 2,500 graduate and part-time professional students. The students are able to take courses in one of the university’s 5 undergraduate schools or 1 graduate school, which offer academic programs in the areas of business administration, education, the humanities, the fine arts, natural sciences, as well as social and behavioral science. These academic divisions offer broad majors in the areas of biological science, (home to great programs in biotechnology, microbiology, as well as nutrition) business, (a large and popular program with majors as diverse as accounting and recreation services) communications and the arts, (home to a terrific program in art history and appreciation) computer and physical science, education, (also a large and popular program) engineering and environmental design, (home to an innovative program in electromechanical technology) health professions, (which only offers majors in speech pathology and audiology) as well as the social sciences. The University of Northern Iowa offers its students a remarkably wide range and amount of majors in both the liberal arts and sciences as well as preprofessional studies, however, some of the most popular with students includes majors in the areas of accounting, management, general education, as well as elementary education.

Admission to the University of Northern Iowa is not terribly competitive, however, the overall number of qualified students who apply has been increasing with each passing admissions cycle. Last year, over 4,350 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 3,520 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 1,785 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1078 to 1120 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 23 to 28. Additionally, more than 75% of the admitted students were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about a 3.7.

The University of Northern Iowa has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 18:1, which is quite good considering the hefty size of the school. Although some of the general education and introductory courses are held in lecture halls, they are usually supplemented by a significantly smaller seminar course where students are able to discuss the content of the previous lecture.

The Social Scene

The town of Cedar Falls is quite small, and doesn’t really offer students much in terms of entertainment, however, the larger city of Des Moines is only about 100 miles away, and many students own cars, making weekend road trips into the city a popular option. The university is also home to 11 national fraternities and sororities which are quite popular with students, and the weekend parties are the highlight of many students’ social calendars. Drinking is definitely the most popular mode of social interaction at these soirees, and the administration seems pretty oblivious.

The dating scene is remarkably diverse, and there are students who cater to every taste and orientation...

What’s Good

“Even though this is a very large university, there is a real sense of community and pride here.”

“The party scene is awesome. People really know how to have a good time!”

“The dorms are surprisingly plentiful, and usually available for anyone who wants to live on campus.”

What’s Bad

“A lot of the required courses are huge, and really really pointless, I think.”

“There are a lot of people here who seem to thing they’re still in high school, which gets obnoxious.”

“There isn’t anything to do in the town itself. It could be cute, but alas.”

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