Iowa State expecting more students than UIowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University is expected to pass the University of Iowa in enrollment this coming academic year.

The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa State has trailed the University of Iowa since 1979. Iowa State officials in Ames expect the enrollment to surge past 31,000, topping U of I’s expected total of about 30,800, the same as last fall.

The final numbers won’t be reported until September.

U of I executive director of admissions Michael Barron says the two universities aren’t competing for highest number of students and that there’s always been an ebb and flow to enrollment.

Barron says there’s been a resurgence in agriculture, which is an area that’s exclusive to Iowa State.