Iowa State’s enrollment grew slightly this fall for a total enrollment of 30,432 students.

In a press release Thursday, Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen said the numbers follow an increase in recognition of Iowa State’s STEM programs.

“Students recognize Iowa State University as a leader in innovation and for opportunities to take on leadership roles, conduct undergraduate research and gain hands-on experience in preparing for their future careers,” President Wintersteen said.

The change is about a 0.8% increase from last academic school year, or 255 students.

According to previous reporting from the Daily, Iowa State’s enrollment peaked in 2016 with 36,000 students and remained relatively unchanged until fall 2019, when enrollment dropped 4.48%.

In 2020, 2021 and 2022 – the years after the pandemic – enrollment decreased by 5.12%, 3.87% and 2.20% respectively.

Of the 5,906 first-year students, almost 21% are first-generation students, according to the press release, and nearly 23% are eligible for Pell grants.

All Iowa counties and states are represented in the student population this fall as well as 116 countries. The breakdown of students is as follows: 25,628 undergraduate, 4,170 graduate and 634 veterinary medicine students.

The press release also stated that of the new first-year students, the average ACT score was just under 25 and the average GPA was 3.75.