Ohio State University-Main Campus
Columbus, OH
Ohio State University-Main Campus is a public research university in Columbus, Ohio, a large city, with 45,638 undergraduates. Engineering is its signature field: 15% of its bachelor's degrees, about twice its share across the colleges we cover. 88% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $60,409 ten years after starting.
Ohio State University-Main Campus admitted 35,588 of 70,028 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (50.8%).
- Acceptance rate
- 50.8%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $13,244
- $40,022 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $17,339
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 29–32
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Ohio State University-Main Campus is known for
Measured by the 11,674 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Engineering
14.8%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 6.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Finance and Financial Management Services8177.0% of degrees$97,986+18% vs $83,343 nationally
- Research and Experimental Psychology6465.5% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Biology4864.2% of degrees$64,324+12% vs $57,214 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies4784.1% of degrees$62,096+10% vs $56,359 nationally
- Marketing4784.1% of degrees$81,119+17% vs $69,303 nationally
- Computer Engineering4553.9% of degrees$123,731+13% vs $109,015 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
Columbus, OH
Undergraduates
45,638
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
16 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
8%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Ohio State University-Main Campus
Three things Ohio State University-Main Campus published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
14% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 35% sent an ACT. Ohio State University-Main Campus files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Ohio State University-Main Campus asks for no supplemental essay.
Of the 1 prompt we track for this application, none is one you would have to write.
Source: the prompts we track for this application
Families paid $17,339 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
50.8%
35,588 admitted of 70,028 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 650–720Math 680–760
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
29–32
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
14%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
35%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at Ohio State University-Main Campus?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Ohio State University-Main Campus costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $13,244 ($40,022 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $30,305. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $17,339 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$13,244
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$40,022
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$30,305
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$17,339
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $30,305 full cost.
- Under $30k$4,885Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$5,751Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$9,807Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$20,461Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$27,359Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
88%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
94%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$60,409
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$19,976
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What Ohio State University-Main Campus says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Essays on this application
1 essay prompt on the application.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
Guides for Ohio State University-Main Campus applicants
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Ohio
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Ohio Wesleyan University50.7%
- Wilberforce University52.7%
- The College of Wooster54.3%
- Central State University46%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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