Is IU the same as IUPUI?
IUPUI is a joint campus; its engineering and science programs are run by Purdue, and the others are run by Indiana. You pay tuition to, and the degree is awarded by, the parent university. Your diploma will say IUPUI in smaller letters at the bottom, though. So the answer is “kind of.” 
No. IUPUI is a joint campus (run in several cities) between Purdue and Indiana University. It is not nearly as prestigious as either Purdue University in West Lafayette or Indiana University in Bloomington. It is usually much easier to be admitted though.
Great if you live in Indy.
No. Indiana University, Bloomington, is the public flagship which offers arts and sciences but does not have engineering. Bloomington is home to the renowned Jacobs School of Music and Kelley School of Business. Bloomington is about 45 minutes south-ish of Indianapolis, in a charming college town.
Purdue is the public flagship for engineering and tech-oriented fields, located in West Lafayette.
IUPUI is a regional campus located in the capital, Indianapolis, which offers bother arts and sciences and engineering. IUPUI has a somewhat smaller enrollment than either Bloomington or Purdue main campus (21,000 undergrads vs. 30,000 range) and admissions standards into IUPUI are not as tough as Bloomington/Purdue.
Go visit both. Depending on your major. IUPUI could be better in some regards because it has 250 majors… I would say though, the the term “Regional campus” for IUPUI was quite that way years ago but is not so much anymore. Just check it out. You might be surprised.
Some majors are actually better there.
On the Big Future website, it lists IUPUI as a commuter college? Is that true? It seems like it would be a much different college experience if that is the case. I had crossed it off my mental list for that reason…
It’s about 90% commuter. Dorms house almost 2000, not including on-campus apartments.
So, the campus housing for IUPUI is indeed in demand. There is not enough housing for those that want it. It happens in schools in a growth phase.
Also, if you consider living in trendy digs rimming the campus along the canal and near Mass Ave just blocks away but (not on) campus. Then you can say that living 2 blocks away is “commuting”. Still about a third of what you would walk “on campus” at a place like IU and Purdue.
Respectfully, before you listen to people saying that IUPUI is “kind of” the same as IU implying that it is a lesser version. Go look for yourself. You will be surprised. The academics are very similar. Mostly go look at the Tower dorm versus ANYTHING at Bloomongton or WL… And the new dorms under construction all over the campus.
If you took the radius of the Bloomington campus and applied it to the Indianapolis campus. The student concentration would be within 15% of each other.
Its true though. If you envision being one of the wild painted fans at a Big 10 football game then IUPUI is not for you. If you want a good education in a cool city then go look.