Columbus, OH · Public · 45,638 undergraduates · urban

Ohio State University

Moderately selective

Ohio State gives undecided students a formal academic unit rather than leaving major exploration as an informal advising status.

Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0

Institutional profile

Well established Strong in academic standing, and solid in affordability.

Academic standing Strong

Affordability Solid

Career outcomes Steady

Mobility Solid

Student experience Steady

Admission: 50.8% admitted
Price by income: Resident and nonresident prices differ
Completion: 82.2%

What sets Ohio State University apart

Academic design

University Exploration offers seven advising tracks, including focused pathways in STEM, business, health, education, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Campus pattern

The Exploration Living-Learning Community places major-exploring students together and brings academic advising and exploration programming into their residence hall.

A signature opportunity

University Exploration.

Can I get in?

50.8% admitted

Put the academic record first, then make the intended direction and school-specific fit concrete.

Recent applicant pool

70,028

About 51 in every 100 applicants were admitted.

Admission rate 50.8%

Entering class

Academic range

SAT middle 50%1330–1480

12401580

ACT middle 50%29–32

2734

Of admitted students, 14% submitted an SAT, and 35% submitted an ACT. The SAT range comes from a small share of admitted students and does not describe the full class.

Academic benchmarkModerately selective

Admission by residency

The same either way

Degree-seeking, first-time, first-year students · Fall 2025

Ohio State University admitted 45.1% of Ohio applicants and 46.4% of applicants from other states. Both groups were admitted at close to the same rate. Ohio students took 68% of the seats in the entering class.

In-state45.1% admitted

11,395 admitted from 25,273 applicants

Out-of-state46.4% admitted

19,914 admitted from 42,898 applicants

International66.1% admitted

8,738 admitted from 13,221 applicants

In the season card

Where your GPA sits in the entering class

The full entering-class GPA distribution for Ohio State University, in nine bands from 4.0 down, with your own record marked on it.

See where I land

In the season card

What Ohio State University weighs when it reads a file

See how this college describes the role of grades, testing, essays, recommendations, activities, and demonstrated interest.

Course rigor
GPA
Test scores
Essay
Recommendations
Extracurriculars
Demonstrated interest

See what counts here

What moves the application

The evidence that separates a strong file

Show preparation for this curriculum

University Exploration offers seven advising tracks, including focused pathways in STEM, business, health, education, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Make institutional fit specific

Ohio State gives undecided students a formal academic unit rather than leaving major exploration as an informal advising status.

Use the application route carefully

Keep academic direction and school-specific choices coherent across the application.

Give commitments a clear through-line

Activities and recommendations should show sustained contribution, not a collection of disconnected credentials.

How to apply

Rounds, route, and required materials

Build the calendar around the earliest realistic application round and assemble each required item once.

Early ActionNov 1

Regular DecisionJan 15

Fee and waiver$60 application fee

Fee waiver: u.s. only

Major and program admission

Some fields have their own entry path.

The college admit rate above covers the university as a whole. These requirements apply only to the named program.

ArchitectureAdmits separately