Indiana University's merit aid runs from the highly selective Wells Scholars Program down to automatic awards like the Herbert Presidential and OEM Excellence Scholarships, with National Merit recognition and transfer pathways - the upside is largest for honors-caliber applicants.
Verified Jun 20263 months ago
The short answer
Is Indiana University worth a closer look?
Indiana University is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 5 published awards, and one is based on those numbers.
Merit tiers51 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team
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Published scholarships
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
Amount not published
Herbert Presidential Scholars
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Notes
Official IU scholarship sorter snapshot describes Herbert Presidential Scholars as Indiana residents entering freshman year with outstanding academic records and leadership, and says students must submit a complete IU admission application by the November 1 Early Action deadline. No award amount is shown in the captured Herbert entry.
Official IU scholarship sorter snapshot states IU, as a sponsor institution, awards this scholarship to all National Merit Finalists who indicate IU as first choice through the National Merit Scholarship Program and receive IU sponsorship; the captured entry is marked renewable and lists $2,000 per year for 4 years.
Official IU scholarship sorter snapshot says Wells Scholars Program guarantees full cost of attendance for four years on IU Bloomington campus, around 18 incoming freshmen receive it each year based solely on merit, Scholars are Hutton Honors College members, and award amount is up to cost of attendance.
Official OEM Academic Excellence Scholarships snapshot states OEM Excellence Scholarships are merit scholarships at IU Bloomington, names Indiana/National/Global Excellence for in-state/out-of-state/international students, says they are four-year awards for incoming first-year students based on high academic coursework performance, test scores not considered, and award amounts vary.
Official IU scholarship sorter snapshot states the Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarship is a one-time $3,000 award for PTK members transferring to IU Bloomington from a PTK institution in Indiana; entry is marked In-State/Transfer/Not renewable, requires 3.5 cumulative GPA, and lists Fall July 15, Spring January 1, Summer May 1 deadlines.
Strong in-state and out-of-state applicants targeting IU Bloomington, especially those competitive for Wells or Herbert Presidential consideration, and community-college transfers with Phi Theta Kappa standing.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $30,574 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Indiana University, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Indiana University, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$6,324
$30,001–$48,000
$7,610
$48,001–$75,000
$12,154
$75,001–$110,000
$20,204
$110,001+
$25,128
All income levels (average)
$16,264
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$12,144
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$41,891
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$16,264
That works out to roughly a 44% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $28,801 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Indiana University is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
80%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
91%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$19,509 (~$207/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$63,742
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
18%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
31%
Indiana University merit aid FAQ
What is the deadline for Deadline Iu Scholarships Application Feb15?
The IU Scholarships Application deadline for all incoming students is February 15 by 11:59 p.m. EST. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
What is the deadline for Deadline Oem Scholarship International Feb1?
International students must submit a complete application for admission by February 1 to be considered for the Global Excellence Scholarship (OEM Excellence Scholarship).
What is the deadline for Deadline Oem Scholarship Nov1?
To be considered for OEM Excellence Scholarships, Indiana resident and out-of-state incoming students must submit a complete application for admission by November 1. No separate scholarship application is required.
What is the deadline for Deadline Updated Test Scores Jan15?
Students who applied by November 1 and asked for test scores to be considered may submit updated SAT and/or ACT scores until January 15 for additional scholarship consideration.
What is the deadline for Deadline Scholarship Finalization Apr1?
All incoming student scholarship selections at IU Bloomington are finalized by April 1. Only scholarship recipients will be notified.
See sources and other schools+
How Indiana University compares
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Indiana University is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
132 of 749 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Indiana University is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Indiana University’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
