Indiana University Northwest Admission
Indiana University Northwest Undergraduate Program
Indiana University Northwest Application

The Facts

Indiana University Northwest is a moderately sized member of the larger Indiana University system which has eight campuses scattered throughout the state. This particular campus is located in the town of Gary, Indiana and is home to over 2,200 undergraduate students and approximately 2,000 graduate and part-time professional students. These students are able to take courses in the university’s programs in both the liberal arts and preprofessional studies, as well as in a professional program for currently employed adults to further their education. The academic divisions offer a wide range of majors in the areas of biological science, business (which includes a unique program in labor studies), communications and the arts, computer and physical science, engineering and environmental design (one of the most popular programs), health professions, and social sciences. Some of the most popular majors are business, nursing, and industrial engineering.

Admission to Indiana University Northwest is not particularly competitive; however, more and more qualified students apply with each passing admissions cycle. Last year, over 800 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 780 of those students were admitted; of those, about 400 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 990 to 1020, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 20 to 25. Additionally, more than 16% of those admitted were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about a 3.4.

Indiana University Northwest has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 14:1, and many students agree that the small classes are one of the university's biggest asssets. All students really get a chance to have their voices heard, as well as participate in hands-on learning in the form of experiments and research.

The Social Scene

The town of Gary, Indiana (immortalized in that lispy song from “The Music Man”) is infamous for its pollution caused by heavy industry, namely steel mills. The majority of the population of Gary works at these factories, and the university is a nice respite from all the industry. However, the town is not the safest place to be, and it doesn’t really offer students much in the way of entertainment. However, the city of Chicago is only about half an hour away by car, and is also accessible by public transportation. Most students at the school are commuters, making it easy and quite popular for them to head on into the big city on the weekends to take advantage of its many social and cultural offerings. The university is home to six national fraternities and sororities, which are quite popular with students, and basically govern on-campus social life. The school also boasts over 70 student groups and organizations that range from the chess club to a literary magazine.

The dating scene is quite diverse, and highly competitive, we hear. Ladies, start your engines!

What’s Good

“I really love the community here. The whole town is really proud to have such a university within it’s limits. It’s a nice feeling.”

“The fraternities and sororities help to bring an otherwise scattered, commuter campus together on the weekends.”

“The professors clearly love what they’re doing. Classes are a lot more dynamic when the teacher actually enjoys engaging their students.”

What’s Bad

“Because we are very much a commuter school, the on-campus social life can tend to feel a bit scattered.”

“The town of Gary is a bit of a sketchy place. It’s not somewhere to go roaming around by yourself at night.”

“If you ever want to get into Chicago, you’re going to have to be brave enough to sit in the infamous traffic for hours and hours.”

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