It is not uncommon for students to be undecided about which major they want to pursue. Ohio State’s University Exploration program provides support and guidance to students exploring our more than 175 areas of study. Specialized advisors help students conduct self-assessments, filter through potential academic options, and connect to a desired career path and corresponding area of study. Once a student has selected a major, he or she will enroll in the college for that area of study.

Most students who have decided upon a major are admitted directly to their degree-granting colleges upon admission to the university. Some are admitted directly to their majors, while others, who have prerequisites to meet, are admitted as pre-majors.

Undecided students are enrolled in University Exploration, where advisors guide them through self-assessment and goal analysis to help them decide on a major. Generally, students are required to select a major by the junior year.

Students and families learn more about specific colleges and requirements during orientation.

Students enrolling in degree-granting colleges, whether as majors or pre-majors, work with advisors who are especially familiar with their intended areas of study. While completing general curriculum requirements, exploring students are assigned to advisors who help them assess their interests and talents. Every student at Ohio State has an academic advisor to help with selecting classes and planning a program of study. Academic advisors are available to students throughout their college years.

Our undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 19 to 1, although class sizes at Ohio State vary a great deal. While taking introductory-level courses, students are likely to have some large classes. These larger classes are divided into smaller sessions – called recitation sections – that meet at least once a week throughout the term. Overall, 73 percent of our first-year classes have fewer than 50 students. And, as students move into their degree programs, classes more specific to their majors are generally smaller.

Students are generally taught by professors who are scholars in their fields. The university’s full-time faculty, more than 3,000 strong, includes internationally respected teachers and researchers. In addition, teaching associates (TAs) teach many lower-level courses while pursuing their master's or doctoral degrees. Our TAs are exceptional scholars who are passionate about their fields. All TAs whose native language is not English must undergo a rigorous screening process and pass English proficiency tests before they may teach.

A good question, but one that has no single answer. Some students finish in four years of full-time enrollment (two semesters per year) or fewer. Depending upon their majors and whether they enroll full or part time, participate in a co-op or internship, or study abroad, today’s students (at Ohio State and nationwide) often take more than four years to earn their degrees.

Statistically speaking, more than 80 percent of Ohio State’s incoming first-year students graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years (and nearly 60 percent within four years).

The rate varies considerably from student to student and depends on factors such as academic ability, major area of interest, and economic conditions. Generally, success in high school and on the ACT or SAT is a good predictor of degree success. For example, students graduating in the top 10 percent of their high school classes with high ACT or SAT scores graduate at a rate of over 90 percent.

Students are required to live in university residence halls if they are unmarried, enrolling as full-time freshmen, and within a year of high school graduation. (The exception to this is students whose families live in central Ohio, who may choose to commute to campus.) On-campus housing may be available for transfer and upperclass students. The university has a wide variety of residence halls located across campus.

New students are strongly encouraged to live on campus. In addition to the friendships that develop, students living in residence halls more readily make connections to the academic community. Research shows that students who live on campus have higher grade point averages and are more likely to graduate than their off-campus peers.

Many students find campus living more rewarding when they can live with students who share their interests, lifestyle, or academic commitment. A learning community is a unique residential experience that creates social, cultural, academic, and/or leadership opportunities both in the classroom and across campus. Learn more about learning communities.

Students can request a particular roommate when they complete the housing contract. We generally can match mutually requested roommates provided all students’ contracts and preferences are received by the end of May. Students indicate their preferences for roommates, visitation patterns, learning communities, and special accommodations on the housing contract.

Housing information for autumn semester students is e-mailed starting in late March in the order that acceptance fees are received. This information includes details about living on campus and instructions for completing the online contract. Housing information is e-mailed to a student's Ohio State e-mail account, so it is important that students activate their OSU Internet Usernames and set up delivery preferences prior to April. (Students manage Ohio State Usernames, passwords, and e-mail delivery at my.osu.edu.)

We process housing contracts in the order we receive them. Assignments for new autumn semester students are announced beginning in mid-July. We fully consider each request for roommate preference, visitation pattern, learning community, and accommodation. To improve the chances of having their requests met, students should complete and return all housing materials promptly. Students may request one to three roommates, but the majority of new students are assigned to four-person rooms.

Every residence hall room or suite has a cable television hookup that includes all the major networks, ESPN, CNN, MTV, BET, the International Channel, and a movie channel. Plus, all (except the Alumnae Scholarship houses) are furnished with a combination refrigerator/freezer/microwave. All residence halls or complexes have a laundry room, study room, and recreation room, and all have wireless connectivity.

Full-time professional staff and other support personnel live in each residence hall complex and provide leadership and assistance to students in adjusting to college life. Plus, each complex has a staffed reception desk to serve residents and provide mail delivery.

Ohio State offers flexible dining plans to meet the diverse schedules of students: Unlimited, Block-O (450 or 600), and Traditional. All meal plans are all valid at Traditions (our all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities), and each plan has options for also dining at over 25 other locations on campus, including coffee cafes, quick-service, fast-casual, and table-service alternatives. Visit University Residences and Dining Services for plan descriptions, dining locations, menus, and more.

The student's BuckID, the official university ID, serves as the access card for using dining meal plans. It also separately holds a debit card account balance (Unlimited and Block Plans include a deposit to this account) that can be used at any one of the 100+ local merchants that accept BuckID, including dining locations, washers and dryers, bookstores, and vending machines. Additional deposits can be made at any time online, over the phone, or at convenient locations around campus. While BuckID dollars remain until graduation, all meal plans expire at the end of each semester.

Although not required, almost all students living in the residence halls bring a computer to campus. While the university offers many public computing sites, nothing beats the convenience of having a computer at your disposal day and night. Another incentive to bring a computer is ResNet, our high-speed data network, which is available at no charge via a wired or wireless connection in every room.

For those students who bring laptops, wireless “hot spots” are located throughout campus.

Commuters can take advantage of the cozy lounge space, kitchen, and locker lottery offered by the Ohio Union; a special commuter-only session during summer orientation; the Commuter Student Organization, which advocates for the needs of commuters; and more. Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement coordinates Commuter Services.

When you consider its geographical size, location, and population size, Ohio State's Columbus campus is a very safe place. We try to ensure the safety of the campus community by making sure the grounds are well lit, well patrolled, and well traveled. Still, crime occurs on our campus, as it does on all college campuses. The university has a significant number of resources to prevent and deter crime, and we encourage students to take personal responsibility for their safety by taking advantage of these resources. Lean more about campus safety.

The Ohio State Department of Public Safety—which includes University Police, Student Safety Services, Security and Protective Services, and the Emergency Management and Fire Prevention Division—is the principal provider of security. The department offers a wide variety of crime prevention, fire safety, emergency planning, and security programs, including training in theft prevention, alcohol/drug awareness, sexual assault
prevention, and personal defense. Bicycle registration, a community watch program, and an escort service are also part of campus safety programming. The University Police Division is a full-service law enforcement agency, serving the campus community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Police Division is supplemented by Security and Protective Services officers who patrol residence halls and select academic buildings.
Lean more about campus safety.

Ohio State publishes crime statistics annually, in compliance with the Clery Act. Download a pdf of our Campus Security and Fire Safety Report on the Department of Public Safety's Clery Act web page. You may request a hard copy of the report from Public Safety by calling (614) 292-2121.

The Student Safety Service, under police direction, offers a crime watch escort service from approximately 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., seven days a week during academic terms. To use the service, students simply call and ask for an escort from their present location to their destination. Escorts can be either by foot or by van to any campus or off-campus location. The service is free, and university police train all escorts.

University police present sessions to first-year students in college survey courses on public safety programs and services available, as well as on procedures and regulations students should know. The residence halls offer special programs on safety as well as on assault, theft, and rape prevention. The halls are equipped with early-warning smoke and fire detection systems, and fire evacuation drills are conducted periodically, under the guidance of the Emergency Management and Fire Prevention Division.

Students are issued keys at check-in each term, and every hall has established procedures and guidelines to help ensure the safety of its residents. All hall entrances are locked 24 hours a day, and only students carrying a current university ID are allowed to enter. Visitor and guest policies vary from hall to hall, but all hall guests must register after 9 p.m.

Many students come from small towns, where they may not be accustomed to taking precautions. It's a good idea for students to make crime prevention a habit before they come to college by taking responsibility for locking doors and windows at night, always locking their car doors, and engraving valuables with a name and identification number. Most campus crimes are crimes of opportunity; crime can be reduced if students take actions to deny or reduce the opportunities. University Police are glad to answer any of your questions about campus crime prevention. Contact them at (614) 292-2121 or visit police.osu.edu.