The Ohio State University
281 W. Lane Ave., Columbus, OH 43210
The Ohio State University is a public university in OH, founded in 1870 and offers Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees for undergraduates and Master’s and Doctoral degrees for graduate students. The undergraduate enrollment is 46,818, and the graduate enrollment is 14,573. The Ohio State University is a highly selective school, receiving 47,703 applications and accepting 53.7% of applicants. The Ohio State University’s athletics teams compete at the club, intramural, and varsity levels. Additionally, the Ohio State University employs 4,379 full-time instructional staff (98% of whom hold doctorate degrees) and has a 19:1 student to faculty ratio.
Empowerly Score®
71
University Score
- School Performance
- Extracurriculars
- Standardized Tests
- Essays
Empowerly Score®
At Empowerly, we prioritize data to customize our approach to student counseling. College admissions is becoming more selective by the year, so it’s never been more important than now to prepare in advance and give yourself the best chance for success.
Take the Empowerly QuizESSAYS
Applicants applying to Ohio State University will apply through the Common Application. Applicants will be required to write one personal statement based on a set of prompts within the application.
Deadlines For Submitting Applications
Early Action Application Deadline
November 1st
Regular Application Deadline
February 1st
ATTENDANCE FACTORS
- Rigor of Secondary School Record - Very Important
- Standardized Test Scores - Very Important
- Academic GPA - Very Important
- Extracurricular Activities - Important
- Application Essay - Important
Average Acceptance Rate
53.70%
Empowerly Acceptance Rate
100.00%
STUDENT LIFE
The Ohio State University – Columbus is a public land-grant research institution that awards degrees in over 250 undergraduate and graduate programs, with 7,310 academic staff and over 17,000 administrative staff instructing and overseeing the development of the students. The student population in the school is evenly distributed, with 50% male and 50% female students, and the school has a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. The university utilizes a semester-based calendar, and about 30% of the classes at Ohio State have only 20 students or fewer.
Ohio State ranks as the 49th best national university in the 2022 Edition of Best Colleges. It is also ranked 23rd and 42nd in the Best Colleges for Veterans and Best Undergraduate Teaching Universities. The university is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 54% of the total applicants. The accepted students often average between 1210 and 1430 SAT scores, or an ACT average between 28 and 32.
Housing
- 24% of students living on campus
- Guaranteed housing for freshmen
- Freshmen and sophomores required to live on campus
The Ohio State University – Columbus provides suitable housing for students both on and off-campus. The on-campus housing scheme includes 41 residence halls in the university’s North, South, and West regions. The dormitories and on-campus accommodations offer separate apartments to undergraduates, families, masters, and professional students, and up to 24% of the entire student population live on campus. The university also offers subsidies on off-campus accommodations affiliated with the institution, and over 70% of the student population lives off-campus. First-year students must stay in dormitories for their first two years at the university.
Life as a Student
Life on the Ohio State University – Columbus campus revolves around learning new things, but the university offers more than academic excellence. Ohio State has over 1000 registered student organizations, and most of these organizations offer membership to interested students. The students’ organizations include fraternities, sororities, social clubs, political parties, religious groups, art clubs, etc. The school has a fully functional press team in charge of The Lantern, the school’s daily newspaper. The institution’s intercollegiate sports team is called the Ohio State Buckeyes, and they have several prestigious awards and honors to their name. They currently compete in the Big Ten Conference and Division I of the NCAA.
TOP MAJORS
Finance
Communications
Psychology
Marketing
Accounting
Biology
SERVICES
Health and Safety
- 24-hour trained security on campus
- Student security patrol
- Late night ride/safe escort service available
Student Services
- Health Center
- Legal Advice
- Psychological Counseling
- Women's Center
Athletics
Varsity
Varsity
Baseball
Basketball
Cheerleading
Fencing
Football
Golf
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Riflery
Soccer
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Track and Field
Volleyball
Wrestling
Cross-Country Runnning
Basketball
Cheerleading
Crew
Fencing
Field Hockey
Golf
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Riflery
Rowing
Soccer
Softball
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Track and Field
Volleyball
Cross-Country Running
Club
Club
Triathlon
Archery
Badminton
Baseball
Bowling
Basketball
Crew
Equestrian Sports
Fencing
Field Hockey
Football
Golf
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Racquetball
Riflery
Rowing
Rugby
Sailing
Skiing (Downhill)
Soccer
Squash
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Weight Lifting
Water Polo
Triathlon
Archery
Badminton
Bowling
Basketball
Cheerleading
Crew
Equestrian Sports
Fencing
Field Hockey
Golf
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Racquetball
Riflery
Rowing
Rugby
Sailing
Skiing (Downhill)
Soccer
Softball
Squash
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Weight Lifting
Water Polo
Intramural
Intramural
Sand Volleyball
Softball
Table Tennis
Sand Volleyball
Table Tennis
FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION
Ohio State University provides various opportunities for students to earn merit-based scholarships based on certain required criteria and Ohio State provides a tuition guarantee that keeps in-state tuition, mandatory fees, and housing and dining rates flat for four years.
*All costs below are estimates and may differ based on your circumstances.
- Tuition and Fees (Resident) - $11,936, (Out-of-State) - $35,019
- Room and Board - $13,352
- Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (Resident) - $25,288, (Out-of-State) - $48,371
HISTORY
The Ohio State University at Columbus is a public land grant research institution founded in 1870 in Columbus, Ohio, in the Midwestern region of the United States. Also referred to as OSU, the university is considered a “Public Ivy,” and it is a flagship of the university system of Ohio. The university was previously known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College before the Morrill Act of 1962, named it a state land-grant university and the ninth university in Ohio. Back then, the college only offered agricultural and mechanical-related programs and served as an institute for vocational studies.
The idea of the college focusing on agricultural and mechanical practices alone was disputed by the state’s agricultural interest and several other bodies. These interests were heard when the then governor of the state, Rutherford B. Hayes, oversaw the founding of the Ohio State University as a public land grant university. The school retained its agricultural and mechanical discipline for a while and maintained its location in a farming community on the northern coast of Columbus. The university officially took in a class of 24 students on September 17th, 1873, and graduated its first class five years later in 1878. Additionally, the university began accepting graduate students in 1880. OSU expanded further, and the school founded its law school in 1891, and other colleges followed soon after.
The Ohio State University – Columbus was elected into the Association of American Universities in 1916, and the university has made giant strides since then. Today, Ohio State is one of the leading research institutes, with its main campus covering a total area of 1,665 acres in downtown Columbus. It has over 61,000 students across its 17 schools and colleges, with 46,984 undergraduate students and over 14,300 postgraduate students. The university is also officially a space-grant and sea-grant research institution, with an endowment of $6.8 billion in 2021—one of the world’s largest. Ohio State has produced 5 Nobel prize laureates, 6 U.S Senators, and 15 U.S Representatives, and a total of 108 Olympic medalists have been affiliated with the school as alumni. The institution’s motto is a Latin phrase that translates to “Education for Citizenship.”