Is Indiana University or UC Berkeley harder to get into?

UC Berkeley is harder to get into by a wide margin. It is one of the most selective public universities in the country, while Indiana University Bloomington is selective in some programs but much more accessible overall. In simple terms, Berkeley should be treated as a reach for most applicants, whereas IU is often closer to a match or possible safety depending on grades, course rigor, and the program you want.

Berkeley fits the student who is applying with very strong academics across the board: demanding coursework, excellent grades, and a record that holds up in a highly competitive applicant pool. It also uses a more holistic review process tied to the UC application, so strong extracurriculars and context matter, but the academic bar is still very high. Certain Berkeley colleges and majors can be especially tough to enter, which makes admission even more competitive.

Indiana University is a different admissions environment. It makes sense for students who want a well-known Big Ten university with a broader range of admission chances, especially if their profile is solid but not at the ultra-selective level Berkeley tends to expect. IU does have standout programs, most notably Kelley School of Business, where direct admission can be significantly more competitive than general university admission, so the answer can change somewhat if you are comparing specific programs rather than the university as a whole.

For building a college list, I would treat Berkeley as the much harder admit in almost any overall comparison. The main exception is if you are looking at a particularly selective IU program versus a less selective Berkeley path, but even then Berkeley is usually the more difficult school from an admissions standpoint.