Public · University
Ohio State University-Main Campus
Columbus, Ohio · Large city
- 60.6%
- Admit rate
- $17,339
- Avg net price
- 88%
- Graduation rate
- $60,409
- Median earnings
Ohio State University-Main Campus is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Columbus, Ohio (large city setting), enrolling 45,638 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Ohio State University-Main Campus's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 60.6%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1310–1480
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.82
Enter a test score to see where you land against Ohio State University-Main Campus's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Ohio State University-Main Campus's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D., the Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders, including the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it also maintains its own register, the Columbus Register of Historic Properties, with 82 entries. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 3 miles to Columbus, OH
- To Great Lakes shore
- 99 miles
- Nearest airport
- 6 miles to John Glenn Columbus (CMH) · major hub
How Ohio State University-Main Campus compares
More selective than 76% · #16 most selective of 65 in Ohio
Higher than 89%
Higher than 94% · #1 of 73 in Ohio
Higher than 92%
Higher than 69% · #13 of 74 in Ohio
Cheaper than 63% · #22 cheapest of 73 in Ohio
Lower than 76%
Lower than 28%
Larger than 99%
Percentiles compare Ohio State University-Main Campus with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Ohio.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate45,63876%
- Graduate14,62824%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women23,74552%
- Men21,89348%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White60%
- Black7.9%
- Hispanic5.8%
- Asian11%
- Other or multiracial16%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 45,638
- Graduate enrollment
- 14,628
- Student–faculty ratio
- 16 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 20%
- First-generation students
- 26%
- Students over 25
- 6%
- Median family income
- $64,714
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $129,474
- Endowment
- $7,903,034,629
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 8,062 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Ohio65%
- Other U.S. states26%
- International8.5%
A regional draw: about 65% of first-years come from Ohio, the rest from elsewhere.
9% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 60.6%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1310–1480
- SAT average
- 1387
- SAT reading
- 640–720
- SAT math
- 670–760
- ACT composite
- 28–32
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.82
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $13,244
- Out-of-state tuition
- $40,022
- Room & board
- $14,738
- Books & supplies
- $1,030
- Total cost of attendance
- $30,305
- Average net price
- $17,339
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 88%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 72%
- First-year retention
- 94%
- Transferred to another college
- 7%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $51,438
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $60,409
- Median debt at graduation
- $19,976
- Students with federal loans
- 29%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 58%
About 15% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 15,097
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 33%
- Application fee
- $60
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FBS
- Football conference
- Big Ten Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 1,091 (555 men · 536 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (21)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 6.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 740
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 356
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (61,443 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$9,807/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 63% — get grant money from Ohio State University-Main Campus itself, averaging $9,815, which softens the sticker price.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 8,027 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $60,409
- Typical debt at graduation
- $19,976
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 33%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 69%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $12,081 (22%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 85°F
- Winter low
- 21°F
- Annual rain
- 44.7″
- Annual snow
- 28.2″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Columbus Wcmh, OH US station (2 mi from campus).
What Ohio State University-Main Campus graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Ohio State University-Main Campus
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Ohio State University-Main Campus side by side →
Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, Indiana · Small city · 61 mi to Indianapolis
- Students
- 44,503
- Admission
- 50%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1364
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $72k
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts · Small city · 20 mi to Springfield
- Students
- 23,671
- Admission
- 60%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1423
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $72k
University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont · Small city · 1 mi to Burlington
- Students
- 11,743
- Admission
- 65%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1374
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $62k
University of South Carolina-Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina · Midsize city · 1 mi to Columbia
- Students
- 29,820
- Admission
- 60%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1297
- GPA
- 3.7
- Earnings
- $62k
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey · Small city · 27 mi to New York
- Students
- 37,751
- Admission
- 58%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- 1410
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $74k
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama · Small city · 31 mi to Columbus
- Students
- 26,816
- Admission
- 46%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- 1345
- GPA
- 4.1
- Earnings
- $65k
Colleges near Ohio State University-Main Campus
Adult and Community Education-Hudson
Columbus, OH · Public · Certificate · 67 students
Columbus State Community College
Columbus, OH · Public · Certificate · 17,549 students
Columbus College of Art & Design
Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 882 students
Franklin University
Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 5,562 students
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 532 students
Ohio Dominican University
Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 760 students
The Spa School
Columbus, OH · Private for-profit · Certificate · 111 students
Aveda Institute-Columbus
Columbus, OH · Private for-profit · Certificate · 290 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














