How to Apply to Undergraduate Business at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business: First-Year Direct Admission or Standard Admission as Pre-Business, with Requirements and Timeline for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

At Indiana University Bloomington (IU), undergraduate business is taught by the Kelley School of Business, which awards the Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB). Kelley is a limited-capacity program with two ways in: direct admission and standard admission. Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on IU’s official information, for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver), and transfer students.

1. First-year direct admission

• How: list a Kelley business major as your first choice on the IU Bloomington application (Common App or Apply IU), then complete the Kelley Prospect Inventory (KPI) in the IU portal: 20 multiple-choice questions on leadership style, business interests and problem-solving, with no right or wrong answers.
• No automatic criteria: for fall 2027 there is no automatic GPA or test score standard. The Kelley Admissions Committee reviews high school performance, course rigor and achievements for everyone who completes the KPI. Letters of recommendation are not used.
• Dates:
  • 1 November: IU Early Action deadline;
  • 15 November: KPI priority deadline, with IU and Kelley decisions by 15 January;
  • 1 February: IU Regular Decision deadline; 15 February: final KPI deadline, with decisions by 16 April.
  Offers are made on a rolling basis from 15 January to 16 April as space allows.
• Three outcomes: Kelley direct admit; IU admit as pre-business (a few are waitlisted for direct admission, with final decisions by 16 April); or IU admit with a second-choice major.
• Fall first-years only: students starting in spring or summer, transfer students, and those who do not list a Kelley major are not eligible for direct admission.

2. Standard admission for pre-business students

• Pre-business students take the same first-year business courses as direct admits and must apply in their second semester at IU Bloomington; applications after two semesters are not considered.
• Criteria for students entering summer 2027 through spring 2028:
  • 30 credit hours by the end of the application semester (AP, IB, test and dual credit count), with full-time enrollment (at least 12 credits) that semester;
  • 22.5 hours of I-Core prerequisites: Financial Reporting & Analysis, Business Presentations, Business Information Systems and Decision-Making, Compass 1, Gen AI 101, AI Skills in Business, English Composition, Fundamentals of Economics for Business I and Mathematics for Business.
• Decisions: students with A- or better in every IU Bloomington course on the first attempt are admitted automatically; others are reviewed case by case as space allows. Students who end the first semester with three or more grades below A- (or withdrawals and similar), or any D or F, are ineligible for standard admission.

3. Majors

• Kelley offers 12 majors and 7 co-majors, with the first two years focused on business foundations. Majors include Accounting, Economic Consulting, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing, Marketing and Professional Sales, Operations Management, Public Policy Analysis, Real Estate and Supply Chain Management; co-majors include Business Analytics, Digital and Social Media Business Applications, Digital Technology Management, International Business, Law, Ethics and Decision-Making, and Professional Sales.

4. Students at high schools in China

• Preparation: at least 34 semesters of college-prep courses (8 English or native language, 7 math, 6 social science, 6 science, 4 world language) with grades of B or better. Submit Senior 1 and Senior 2 transcripts with the school’s original seal, and the graduation certificate after graduating. IU publishes no Gaokao policy.
• Test-optional: you choose whether SAT, ACT or CLT scores are considered.
• English (minimums, valid two years): TOEFL iBT 79, TOEFL ITP+ China 543, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 115, Cambridge 176, PTE 53, or SAT Reading and Writing 560 or ACT English 21, among others.
• After arrival: international students may take the Indiana Academic English Test (IAET); any required SLST English courses must be completed in the first year and before applying for I-Core.

5. Students at Canadian high schools

• Submit grade 10 and 11 transcripts sent by your school, and the BC Dogwood after graduation.
• Canadian citizens, or students with three years of secondary school in Canada, are exempt from English testing.
• Direct admission works the same way, with the same deadlines.

6. Costs and scholarships

• Nine-month estimate for international undergraduates (USD, current published figures): tuition and mandatory fees 44,339, housing and meals 12,431, required health insurance 1,916 and miscellaneous 2,470, for a total of 61,156. IU’s cost page does not list a separate Kelley program fee.
• IU scholarships: complete applications by 1 November are automatically considered for IU merit scholarships; international students complete by 1 February are considered for international merit awards.
• Kelley scholarships: direct admits must complete the IU Bloomington General Scholarship application by 1 February and pay the enrollment deposit by 1 May to accept an award. The Kelley Scholars Program is for in-state students only.

7. Transfer students

• No direct admission: transfer students are admitted to IU Bloomington as pre-business and then apply through standard admission. Anyone with 12 or more college credits elsewhere, including other IU campuses, is a transfer student.
• Fall entry only since fall 2026. To enter as pre-business, transfer students need:
  • an IU Bloomington application by 1 June listing a Kelley major;
  • 26 transferable credit hours (with fewer, the high school transcript is reviewed);
  • no college grades below A-, and no withdrawals, incompletes or repeated courses;
  • college quantitative coursework such as calculus, finite math or statistics.
  Others may be admitted to a second-choice major.
• Credit: Kelley rarely accepts business courses from other schools; most transfer as general education or elective credit, and business courses from outside IU Bloomington count only as business electives. Expect at least three and a half years at IU Bloomington.
• GPA: IU’s general international transfer minimum is 2.5, but the Kelley pre-business standard is far higher.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• List a Kelley major first; apply to IU by 1 November and finish the KPI by 15 November
• Submit sealed Senior 1–2 transcripts; English TOEFL 79, IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115+
• Complete the IU General Scholarship application by 1 February
• If admitted as pre-business, aim for A- or better in every course and apply in your second semester

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Same deadlines; send grade 10–11 transcripts; Canadian citizens or students with three years in Canada are exempt from English tests

Transfer students:

• Apply by 1 June for fall; 26 transferable credits all at A- or above, plus calculus or statistics; plan for at least three and a half years at IU

Sources: Indiana University Bloomington, Kelley direct admission; Standard admission for pre-business students; Standard admission 2027 criteria; Kelley transfer students; Kelley international students; BS in Business majors; Scholarships for direct admits; International deadlines; International first-year admission standards; English proficiency; International transfer admission standards; International undergraduate costs; International scholarships. Information is for fall 2027 entry. Check Indiana University for the latest details.