A public R1 flagship in Bloomington, IN, admitting 78.21% of applicants with the Kelley School of Business, the Jacobs School of Music, and a 200-year tradition as Indiana's flagship university.
Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana University Bloomington is a public R1 research university in Bloomington, Indiana, founded in 1820 as the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. It enrolls 37,806 undergraduates and 10,331 graduate students across seventeen schools and colleges, including the Kelley School of Business, the Jacobs School of Music, the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, the Maurer School of Law, and the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Business, social sciences, biological sciences, communications, and informatics account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees. Indiana University is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Indiana University Bloomington is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. The Kelley School of Business is consistently ranked among the top five public business schools in the United States, and the Jacobs School of Music is recognized as one of the top music conservatory-style programs in the country.
Official website: bloomington.iu.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Indiana University Bloomington scores 81.54 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (88.88) reflects an 80.21% six-year graduation rate and 90.80% first-year retention. Value scores 82.88, driven by ten-year earnings of $63,742 relative to an average net price of $16,264. Affordability scores 40.13. All scores use verified federal data only.
Indiana University Bloomington admits 78.21% of applicants, making it among the more accessible Big Ten flagship universities. Indiana University Bloomington is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Indiana University uses the Common App. The priority deadline for merit scholarship consideration is November 1; the regular decision deadline is February 1.
Admission to the Kelley School of Business and the Jacobs School of Music requires separate applications or auditions after the general admission process. Kelley's Direct Admit program allows some incoming first-year students to be admitted directly to the business school with a competitive high school academic record.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Indiana University-Bloomington is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Indiana University charges $12,144 in in-state tuition and $41,891 in out-of-state tuition, plus $13,984 in room and board, bringing the estimated in-state total cost of attendance to approximately $28,801 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $16,264. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $6,324.
For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $7,610. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $20,204. The endowment stands at approximately $2.1 billion, supporting institutional scholarships and financial aid. The federal loan rate of 26.95% and median debt of $19,509 are in the low range for a Big Ten flagship.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $65 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Indiana University Bloomington completes a solid majority of students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 80.21% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. First-year retention stands at 90.80%. The federal loan rate of 26.95% and median debt of $19,509 are moderate; Indiana residents benefit from the competitive in-state tuition relative to Big Ten peers.
Indiana University graduates earn above the national median for public research universities. Median earnings are $53,417 six years after first enrolling and $63,742 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 85.39% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The ten-year earnings reflect Indiana's program mix, with Kelley School and Luddy School graduates driving the upper end and social sciences and music graduates the lower end.
Kelley School of Business graduates are recruited by consulting firms (McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC), investment banks, technology companies, and consumer products companies nationally. Indianapolis, approximately 50 miles north, provides access to the state's pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly), healthcare, and financial services sectors for internships and career recruiting.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Indiana University enrolls 37,806 undergraduates on its main campus in Bloomington, Indiana, a college city of approximately 90,000 in the limestone hills of southern Indiana, approximately 50 miles south of Indianapolis. White students account for 65.28% of undergraduates; Asian 10.78%, Hispanic 8.64%, and Black 4.42%. Approximately 16.76% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 22.11% are first-generation college students.
Bloomington has a rich culture of live music, arts, and outdoor recreation; the campus contains the IU Art Museum, the Lilly Library (with rare manuscripts), and extensive performing arts venues. The Little 500 bicycle race (the basis of the film Breaking Away) is a defining campus tradition each spring. Indiana Hoosiers athletics compete in the Big Ten; IU basketball has a storied history as one of college basketball's most successful programs.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Indiana University-Bloomington. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Indiana University-Bloomington offers an extensive catalog of programs: 240 distinct programs across 30 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Indiana University operates at a student-to-faculty ratio consistent with large public research universities. 83.41% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $15,334 per year. The endowment stands at approximately $2.1 billion. The Kelley School of Business, regularly ranked top-5 among public business schools nationally, has strong corporate recruiting relationships and alumni networks in consulting, finance, and technology. The Jacobs School of Music, founded in 1921, offers conservatory-quality training in performance, composition, and music theory within a major research university.
2,098 instructional faculty across 4 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 713 | 34% | $136,395 |
| Associate Professors | 479 | 23% | $102,482 |
| Assistant Professors | 421 | 20% | $99,866 |
| Lecturers | 485 | 23% | $62,671 |
Indiana University's defining strengths are its UCD 81.54 Strong score, the Kelley School of Business (top-5 public business nationally), the Jacobs School of Music (top-tier nationally), moderate net price ($16,264 average, $6,324 for lowest-income families), and a vibrant Bloomington campus culture. UCD 81.54 Strong.
The considerations: the 80.21% six-year graduation rate is below the top public flagships in this peer group; admission to Kelley requires a separate competitive process; out-of-state tuition at $41,891 significantly changes the value calculation; and Bloomington is a small college city without immediate metro employment access. Best fit for Indiana residents who want a Big Ten flagship with a nationally recognized business school, strong arts programs, and in-state tuition that is competitive with other Midwest public flagships.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about IU Bloomington: how competitive Kelley School of Business is, what the Bloomington environment is like, how IU compares to Purdue, and what business graduates earn.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
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