| Location: | Midwest |
| Setting: | Large Town Setting |
| Type: | Public |
| Size: | Very Large (+10,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Cardinals |
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana, U.S. Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans more than 1,000 acres (4 km²). The student body consists of more than 20,000 students, of which over 18,000 are undergraduate students and over 1,500 are graduate students.
Originally a normal school, Ball State has grown and expanded over the years and is recognized today for its programs in architecture, exercise science, education, anthropology, entrepreneurship, and communications. Ball State is identified by the Carnegie Classification as a high research university.
Ball State University was not the first school to operate at its location. Previous educational institutions operated at the intersection of University and McKinley Avenues before 1918. However, they were neither public nor did they carry the "Ball" name.
The area of Muncie, Indiana that is now known as Ball State University had its start in 1899 as a private school called the Eastern Indiana Normal School to educate teachers. The entire school, including classrooms, library and the president's residence were housed in what is now known as the Ball State Administration building.
The one-building school had a peak enrollment of 256 and charged $10 for a year's tuition. It operated until the spring of 1901, when it was closed down by its president, F.A. Kumier, due to lack of funding. A year later, in the autumn of 1902, the school re-opened as Palmer University for the next three years after Francis Palmer, a retired Indiana banker gave the school a $100,000 endowment.
Between 1905 and 1907, the school dropped the Palmer name and operated as the Indiana Normal College. It had two divisions, the Normal School for educating teachers and a College of Applied Sciences. The school had an average enrollment of about 200 students. Because of a diminishing enrollment and lack of funds, school president Francis Ingler closed Indiana Normal College at the end of the 1906–07 school year.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 35% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Mid-American Conference) Basketball (Mid-American Conference) Baseball (Mid-American Conference) Track (Mid-American Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | In-State | Out-of-State | |
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 6,458 | $ 16,218 | |
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 6,030 | $ 15,790 | |
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 428 | $ 428 | |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,893 | 19% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,942 | 46% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 2,867 | 29% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,390 | 48% | |
Any Aid: |
75% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 80% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 80% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 470, Math: 470 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 570, Math: 570 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 18% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 19, Verbal: 19, Math: 19 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 25, Verbal: 24, Math: 25 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Recommended |
| High School Rank: | Not Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Not Required |
| TOEFL: | Not Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
