<p>97% of this year’s IU freshman class was in the top fifty percent of their high school class. That stat says that you don’t have much of a chance of getting in. Your ACT and extracurriculars are outstanding. Unfortunately, IU pays more attention to class rank and gpa than anything else, and they don’t even provide many opportunities to highlight your particular strengths, since essays are optional, probably rarely submitted, and who knows if the admissions people even have the time to read them. IU really likes to see a lot of effort from applicants, and the high aptitude test/relatively low gpa/very low class ranking combination imply a lack of effort. IU can be choosy with out of state students, too, adding high achievers from OSS to counterbalance the aptitude test scores of less talented in-state kids that IU lets in because IU has a legitimate obligation to educated the kids of tax paying citizens if at all possible. If you can get their attention somehow, maybe lots of e-mails to the admissions counselor who has your area, and if you show improvement with your next semester grades and send them as soon as you can to IU. I think you will have to work at it, because I don’t think IU’s admissions process is set up very well to look at cases like yours. Low class rank and the F’s will be difficult to overcome.</p>