Comparison tool
Rankings across 8 publishers plus admissions, cost, debt and outcome data for Indiana University Bloomington, Iowa State University, University of California-Riverside. Every figure is sourced and dated.
| Metric | IndianaBloomington, IN | Iowa StateAmes, IA | California-RiversideRiverside, CA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance rate | 78.2% | 88.7% | 76.4% |
| SAT middle 50% | 1170–1400 | 1120–1360 | Not reportedUniversity of California-Riverside reports that it neither requires nor recommends admissions test scores, and does not report a score range to the Department of Education. |
| Average net price | $16,26416.8% on Pell grants | $18,58918.8% on Pell grants | $14,30446.9% on Pell grants |
| Published tuition & fees | $12,144 in-state · $41,891 outMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release | $10,787 in-state · $28,881 outMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release | $15,606 in-state · $49,806 outMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release |
| 6-year graduation rate | 80.2% | 75.3% | 76.0% |
| First-year retention | 91.1% | 87.6% | 87.6% |
| Undergraduates on Pell grants | 16.8% | 18.8% | 46.9% |
| Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $63,742 | $63,386 | $67,699 |
| Median federal debt at graduation | $19,509 | $22,869 | $17,500 |
| Student-faculty ratio | 18:1 | 18:1 | 23:1 |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 37,806 | 25,367 | 22,593 |
| Consensus percentile | 17Lower is better | 22Lower is better | 16Lower is better |
| Methodology sensitivity | 33 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points | 25 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points | 23 ptsHow far published lists disagree, in percentile points |
Highlighted cells mark the most favourable value in that row where a direction is meaningful. No highlight appears for metrics like enrollment or SAT range, where “better” depends entirely on what you want.
“Not ranked by this source” means that publisher’s list does not include the school — not missing data and not a poor rank.
| Source | Indiana | Iowa State | California-Riverside |
|---|---|---|---|
| US News | #73 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026 | #117 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026 | #75 of 436National universitiesNational Universities · 2026 |
| Forbes | #94 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026 | #146 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026 | #77 of 500Top colleges (Forbes)America's Top Colleges · 2026 |
| Washington Monthly | #91 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026 | #289 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026 | #101 of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars · 2026 |
| WSJ | #185 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026 | #119 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026 | #108 of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)Best Colleges in the U.S. · 2026 |
| Niche | #101 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026 | #114 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026 | #161 of 2,605Overall (Niche)Best Colleges (Overall) · 2026 |
| Money | Listed | Listed | Listed |
| Princeton Review | Listed | Listed | Listed |
| QS | #307 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026 | #449 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026 | #444 of 1,504World (QS)World University Rankings · 2026 |
Students comparing Indiana University Bloomington on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.
This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
Full profileStudents comparing Iowa State University on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.
This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
Full profileStudents comparing University of California-Riverside on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.
This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
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