Freshman applicants

Indiana University Bloomington accepts the Apply IU Application and the Common Application. No preference is given for any one application platform, and the materials needed to complete each are the same. The application review process is also the same for both platforms. To learn more about which application may be the best option for you, we encourage you to visit the Apply IU Application and Common Application websites.

Transfer applicants

Apply for admission to IU Bloomington by using the Apply IU Application.

Advising & Major Exploration Services (or AMES, formerly known as University Division) provides academic advising for pre-business, pre-nursing, pre-social work, and exploratory students at IU Bloomington. 

Pre-business, pre-nursing, and pre-social work students who start in AMES can immediately begin their preparation for their preferred program. You'll have access to the same courses and prerequisites as direct admits, so you don’t have to wait to start pursuing your goals.

Exploratory students will work with AMES advisors to:

• Explore programs
• Learn about the requirements for your chosen major or majors
• Complete a formal application or automatically certify into a program

All along the way, students in AMES receive advising from experts who understand the many academic options available and can help guide them on a course to achieve their goals—both for their education and their career.

Learn more about AMES

At IU, direct admission refers to admission to specific academic programs and degree-granting schools. You may be admitted to IU through Advising & Major Exploration Services or be directly admitted into programs at one of IU Bloomington’s 12 schools.

To be directly admitted to a program, you must select an eligible major on your application for admission to IU and meet that school’s direct admission criteria. The eligibility requirements and processes for receiving direct admission are different for each school or college. To learn more about direct admission, including instructions on how to request review for direct admission, visit each school’s admissions page.

• College of Arts + Sciences
• Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
• Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies
• Jacobs School of Music (Direct admission for the Jacobs School of Music is based upon a successful audition and/or interview.)
• Kelley School of Business
• Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
• O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
• School of Education
• School of Nursing
• School of Public Health-Bloomington
• School of Social Work
• The Media School

Although there are two applications to choose from, you should submit only one application. There is absolutely no advantage to submitting multiple applications and this may even result in a delay in the review of your application and receipt of your admission decision. In the event that you submit multiple applications, the first complete application will be considered for admission. Please also note that application fees are non-refundable.

If you are applying on a desktop or laptop, make sure you allow pop-ups and enable third-party cookies so that your application and fee payment will be submitted correctly. If you experience any payment issues, please contact us at ADMSBUS@indiana.edu or 812-855-0661. Please note that the Apply IU Application does not work properly with Internet Explorer.

If you are an Indiana resident and a 21st Century Scholar, please indicate that you are a 21st Century Scholar when you are completing your application for admission to IU.

When you are competing your application for admission to IU, please indicate if you will receive any special diploma or honors, such as the following:

• Core 40 Diploma
• IB Diploma
• AICE Diploma
• Academic Honors Diploma
• National Achievement Scholar
• National Merit Semifinalist

Many students come to IU wanting to explore their options for a major—and that’s a good thing. If you are undecided about a specific major, mark “Exploratory (general)” on your application.

Note: The College of Arts and Sciences has its own Exploratory option. If you know you would eventually like to pursue a program in the College, but aren't sure which one, please choose "Exploratory (College)" on your application.

To confirm that you will have met the high school course requirements for admission set by the IU faculty, we need to receive your full senior year schedule (not just your fall courses). We won't begin our review until this information is received.

Here are some additional pointers:

• If your school is on semesters, list your fall and spring classes.
• If you have full-year classes, list them once for fall and list the same classes again for spring.
• If you’re on trimesters, use fall, winter, and spring; list your classes three times, once for each term.

When entering your information, make sure to review your birthdate to make sure that you haven’t accidentally put numbers in the wrong order.

Making sure all the numbers and other information are correct will help avoid delays in processing your application.

As part of your application, regardless of which platform you choose, you will need to submit an essay. If you are applying through the Common Application, you can choose from any of the essay prompts in the application. If you are applying through Apply IU, you will need to submit the IU-specific essay using the prompt below.

IU-specific essay: In 200–400 words, describe your academic and career plans and any special interest (for example, undergraduate research, academic interests, leadership opportunities, etc.) that you are eager to pursue as an undergraduate at Indiana University. Also, if you encountered any unusual circumstances, challenges, or obstacles in pursuit of your education, you may share those experiences and how you overcame them. Please note that this essay may be used for scholarship consideration.

Letters of recommendation are not required as part of the application process. However, if you would like to submit these documents because they provide additional information about your academic and personal merit/accomplishments that is not indicated elsewhere in your application materials, we will accept one counselor recommendation and one teacher recommendation. Recommendations or other supplemental documents should be submitted with your official high school transcript (using your school's process for submitting electronic or paper transcripts) or included as part of your Common Application submission if you are applying through this platform.

Please note that the application fee can be waived for students who have demonstrated financial need. If you feel that your financial circumstances may qualify you for a fee waiver, make sure you request a fee waiver when completing your application. Also, if you are a 21st Century Scholar or a Balfour Scholar, the application fee will be waived if you indicate you participate in one of these programs when you complete your application.

If you are submitting the Apply IU Application, you will need to submit a completed ACT, SAT, or NACAC fee waiver form that has been verified by your high school counselor. If you are submitting the Common Application, you will need to complete the fee waiver section on your profile and your counselor will need to verify your eligibility. Please note that regardless of which application you submit, an admission decision will not be made until we receive a fee waiver form/verification or your $65 application fee.