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Highest first-year retention in Iowa
45 colleges in Iowa with this figure reported (500+ students).
1Grinnell College · IA · Private (nonprofit)93%2University of Iowa · IA · Public89%3Iowa State University · IA · Public88%4Dordt University · IA · Private (nonprofit)85%5University of Northern Iowa · IA · Public85%6Drake University · IA · Private (nonprofit)84%7Saint Ambrose University · IA · Private (nonprofit)84%8Loras College · IA · Private (nonprofit)83%9Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary · IA · Private (nonprofit)80%10Northwestern College · IA · Private (nonprofit)80%11Wartburg College · IA · Private (nonprofit)80%12Luther College · IA · Private (nonprofit)79%13Coe College · IA · Private (nonprofit)77%14Buena Vista University · IA · Private (nonprofit)76%15Simpson College · IA · Private (nonprofit)76%16Cornell College · IA · Private (nonprofit)74%17Southwestern Community College · IA · Public74%18Central College · IA · Private (nonprofit)73%19Grand View University · IA · Private (nonprofit)73%20North Iowa Area Community College · IA · Public73%21Marshalltown Community College · IA · Public72%22University of Dubuque · IA · Private (nonprofit)71%23Mount Mercy University · IA · Private (nonprofit)70%24Northwest Iowa Community College · IA · Public70%25Kirkwood Community College · IA · Public69%26Morningside University · IA · Private (nonprofit)69%27Southeastern Community College · IA · Public69%28Clarke University · IA · Private (nonprofit)67%29Maharishi International University · IA · Private (nonprofit)65%30Graceland University-Lamoni · IA · Private (nonprofit)64%31Western Iowa Tech Community College · IA · Public64%32Eastern Iowa Community College District · IA · Public63%33Iowa Western Community College · IA · Public63%34Des Moines Area Community College · IA · Public62%35Briar Cliff University · IA · Private (nonprofit)60%36Upper Iowa University · IA · Private (nonprofit)59%37Hawkeye Community College · IA · Public58%38Indian Hills Community College · IA · Public58%39Iowa Lakes Community College · IA · Public58%40Northeast Iowa Community College · IA · Public56%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS (latest survey year). Sorted only by highest first-year retention — this is not an overall quality ranking. Open-admission colleges do not report an admit rate and are not listed here.