Don't Laugh... IU (& Optometry) Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello all,

it just hit me that I’ll be off to college soon (1.5 years), and I had my customary panic attack, and immediately rushed to this forum. I’m a sophomore in a good high school in Indiana, and I would like to know somethings.

I have absolutely zero EC’s. I did both band and karate for around 3 years, but dropped after I moved. I also currently sing classical cultural music, if that even counts. Also, I’ve been producing/selling beats (hip-hop instrumentals) for the past few years, too, but not as a major source of income. My grades are rather good, I had all A’s up until freshman year, I finished with A- and B in Honors Geometry and Honors English, respectively. I plan to volunteer at IU’s Project STEM, my local hospital, my temple, and my cultural association. If needed, I can also do track next year.

I heard that Indiana University had a very high acceptance rate, 80% or somewhere up there. I’m concerned, however, as looking back, I’m not as exemplary as I (thought I) was in 6th or 7th grade. Currently, I’m in Precalculus, going into Calculus AB junior year, and AP Physics.

Coming to the question, what would my chances be of getting into Indiana University?

If high, what are some other good colleges I have a decent chance of getting into?

Also, I hope to drive towards IU School of Optometry, but this is where it is as clear as absolute mud. My parents are from a country where the major is determined by your rank/abilities in high school.

Therefore, they can’t help me here. So, for my current situation, what do you have to do to get into IU School of Optometry?

Is it actually based on how you perform in high school?

How do they accept people? I’m getting the vibe that they don’t really care much about high school, but rather how you perform in college.

Thanks for any help!

2

I presume the school of optometry is like med school so to get in you’d have to maintain a certain GPA not as competitive as med school so likely around a 3.0 to 3.4 average and then get a good score on whatever grad school test you need to take to get in to optometry school. As for now Indiana’s average GPA is 3.4 UW so try to keep your GPA in that range and get around a 27 on the ACT or the SAT equivalent and that should get you in they are a public school so dont worry too much about EC’s

3

You should be fine don’t worry. Just score fine on the SAT. Most big flagship schools tend to only really care about your GPA and Test scores because they exist to serve the state community at large. Some states are exceptions and are more competitive for flagships though. IU shouldn’t be one of those states, and you seem to be in good shape right now. :slight_smile:

If you want suggestions for other schools:

  • What are your test scores or projected test scores
  • What region of the US do you want to be in (or better yet, don’t want to be in)
  • Does school location matter? (urban, suburban, rural)
  • School size?
  • Any specific vibes you want? (Very diverse, greek life, quirky, preppy, liberal, etc.)
4

Thanks. My high school GPA is around 3.8 unweighted. I hope we’re talking about the same GPA scales, here!

5

@TheAtlantic

I honestly don’t have any preferences, but I do not know what my test scores are projected to be, assuming you are talking about the ACT. Also, another question in my pool of confusion, if I take the ACT, will I need to take the SAT? My counselor once said otherwise, but I’m not sure if I interpreted correctly.

6

@marjunan It doesn’t matter what you take. Some students take both. Some students take only one. Whatever most people from your school do is the path you’ll probably go with.