Iona College Builds Upon Success with Incoming Class Up 15%
New Rochelle, N.Y. – Driven by a mission of service, opportunity and the transformative power of education, Iona College continues to build upon its success as a school on the rise, today announcing that freshman enrollment is once again up 15 percent year over year. Over the past three years, new freshman enrollment is up a staggering 35 percent despite the headwinds of the pandemic.
“The enthusiasm and desire to be a student at Iona College has never been greater, and we are clearly still a college on the rise,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, senior vice president for Enrollment and Student Affairs. “To experience such success despite a hopefully once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, is a testament to the quality and outcomes of an Iona education, and the dedication of our faculty and staff to provide our students with a first-class, comprehensive college experience inside and outside of the classroom. We look forward to welcoming this extremely talented group of new students to the Iona community for the fall semester.”
LEADERSHIP & SERVICE
Representing 27 states and 11 countries, the Class of 2026 is impressive both inside and outside of the classroom.
The average GPA of our new incoming students is a 3.4 on a 4.0 scale, with an average SAT of 1160 for students who elected to submit standardized test scores. In addition, nearly 30 percent are members of the National Honor Society.
Student leaders and those interested in service and faith-based learning also continue to feel Iona has a lot to offer and is the best fit for them. For instance, the incoming freshman class has 32 high school student government presidents. In addition, over 250 students have indicated their interest to continue volunteering and serving the local, national, and international communities during their student experience at Iona. Nearly 40 percent of freshmen are coming to Iona from Catholic high schools across the country.
“Service to others continues to be a pillar of the Iona experience,” said Ryan DePuy, senior director of Undergraduate Admissions. “That is true not only through the many mission trips and service opportunities available to Iona students, but also through our robust service-learning curriculum that enables students to put their classroom learning to work on behalf of others as well.”
In addition to a strong desire to be involved in community service, the incoming freshman class will also be active outside of the classroom in many other ways, enjoying many of Iona’s performing arts, varsity and club sports programs.
MISSION, VISION & VALUE
Founded in 1940 with the mission of educating New York’s immigrant working class, Iona is proud to continue to provide a transformative experience, helping to elevate students and families through education. This year, 49 percent of incoming freshmen self-identified as first-generation college students. On the flip side, more than 50 families have chosen to keep the Iona legacy in their family – a testament to the College’s value, character and community.
Widely known as a leader in preparing students to thrive in the workforce, Iona has also seen enrollment spike thanks in large part to the proven value of an Iona education as well as the innovative expansion of new degrees and programs being offered in state-of-the-art new facilities.
Among its many accolades and national rankings, Iona is ranked in the top 4 percent nationwide for the highest return on investment both 30 and 40 years after graduation, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Iona is also ranked #19 nationwide in Money.com’s list of Most Transformative Colleges.
One of Iona’s most notable new developments is the launch of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, offering students unparalleled access to clinical placements and full-time career opportunities with New York’s #1 hospital, according to U.S. News & World Report. Renovations are currently underway on state-of-the-art new facilities for this premier school on Iona’s new second campus in Bronxville, N.Y., set to open January 2023.
Iona is also highly accredited, offering degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and business administration. Iona’s recently renovated LaPenta School of Business is accredited by AACSB International, a prestigious recognition awarded to just five percent of business schools worldwide.
Meanwhile, the new Gaels Go Further Mentoring Program taps into Iona’s network of over 50,000 alumni across the globe to provide students with career advice as well as guidance on how to maximize their college career and so much more. With alumni rising to the top of global business – Alfred F. Kelly Jr. ’80, ’81MBA, CEO of Visa, and Margaret (Maggie) Timoney ’89, ’92MBA, CEO of Heineken USA – it’s clear there are no limits to what can be achieved with an Iona degree.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2025, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 5 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2024.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with one of the nation’s top hospitals. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.