Compare / Illinois College (ICO) vs Indiana

Illinois College (ICO) vs Indiana

Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, IL, and Indiana University School of Optometry in Bloomington, IN, side by side on the same measures. Schools are listed alphabetically, and neither is a pick from us.

Last checked Nov 2, 2026. Board results are NBEO 2024–25; class figures are the fall 2025 entering class.

Measure	Illinois College (ICO)	Indiana
Location	Chicago, IL	Bloomington, IN
Type	Private	Public
Seats	125	92
Applicants per seat	5.6	6.2
Class GPA	3.59	3.78
Class OAT	334 AA / 331 TS	Not reported
NBEO ultimate pass rate	86.9% (99 tested)	72.7% (77 tested)
Tuition per year	$53,019 2026–27 first year: three quarters at $17,673 tuition, before fees. Last checked Oct 24, 2026	$38,640 resident, $51,176 nonresident (2026–27 first year, tuition and fees)
Living cost tier	Moderate: $25,000 a year	Low: $21,000 a year
Est. 4-year cost, out-of-state	$312,076	$288,704
OptomCAS deadline	May 1, 2027	Jan 31, 2027
Interview	One-on-one with faculty or an administrator, on campus or virtual	Not published
Seat deposit	Not published	Not published
Letters	2: optometrist + science professor	3: science professor required; committee letter counts as 1

Four-year costs use out-of-state tuition for public schools, four years of flat tuition and a living allowance by tier, before scholarships. For the U.S. as a whole, the board pass rate is 82.5%.

Where They Differ

Board pass rate: Illinois College (ICO) is higher at 86.9%, against 72.7% at Indiana.
Class GPA: Indiana is higher at 3.78, against 3.59 at Illinois College (ICO).
Seats: Illinois College (ICO) is higher at 125, against 92 at Indiana.
Applicants per seat: Indiana is higher at 6.2, against 5.6 at Illinois College (ICO).
Four-year cost, out-of-state: Illinois College (ICO) is higher at $312,076, against $288,704 at Indiana.
In-state tuition: Indiana charges $38,640 a year to IN residents. Illinois College (ICO) charges everyone the same rate.
Public or private: Illinois College (ICO) is private, and Indiana is public.

Class averages aren't cutoffs and pass rates describe past graduates, not you. A higher number isn't a better school; it's a different one to weigh against what you want.

What Each School Page Notes