After you are admitted

Download this section as a checklist.

Check your BuckeyeMail email account

Check your BuckeyeMail even if you haven't decided on Ohio State.

We're sending important, time-sensitive information — like your housing contract — to your BuckeyeMail account. Check BuckeyeMail several times a week at buckeyemail.osu.edu. Log in with your Ohio State username (lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu) and password.

What if I haven't activated my username yet? Get instructions.

Keep checking your personal email, too: We may still send important information there.

If you don’t end up enrolling at Ohio State, your BuckeyeMail account and all data will be removed at the end of the semester for which you applied.

Accept our offer of admission and pay your acceptance fee

Pay this $100 nonrefundable fee by May 1. Housing and orientation materials are emailed in the order fees are received.

To pay your acceptance fee, or decline the offer of admission

Follow the directions on your notice of admission, which is emailed to you as soon as you’re admitted to Ohio State. You can also pay the fee through your Applicant Center. Upon paying the acceptance fee, your financial support documents will be reviewed.

Note: As a condition of enrollment, all admitted applicants are required to answer a question regarding disciplinary and felony history prior to paying the acceptance fee.

To delay your admissions term

Contact Undergraduate Admissions before the application deadline for your desired term to discuss your options. Read our Gap Year Policy.

Submit proof of financial support

International students and their families or sponsors are responsible for all tuition and living expenses at Ohio State. To show that you can meet the financial responsibility of attending Ohio State and to receive the appropriate visa eligibility documents (I-20 or DS-2019), admitted international students must submit Ohio State’s Visa Request Form, signed by each supporter (yourself or your family) or agency sponsor, in addition to required support documents.

Do not submit the Visa Request Form or support documents until after you are admitted and have accepted your admission. Documents submitted before that will not be reviewed.

Download the Visa Request Form and follow the directions carefully. Submit required documents using our Admissions Uploader. You'll receive an immediate confirmation once you successfully submit your documents.

We have mocked up sample forms to show how to complete the Visa Request Form correctly:

• Sample form if you have personal support for your education

• Sample form if you are self-sponsored

Deadline: If you are admitted for autumn term, submit your documents by the first week of June. If you are admitted for spring term, submit your documents by the first week of November.

Submit a copy of your passport picture page

Once you have been admitted, submit a copy of your valid passport picture page using our Admissions Uploader. You’ll be asked to log in with your Ohio State username (lastname.#) and password.

Deadline: If you are admitted for autumn term, submit your passport picture page by the first week of June. If you are admitted for spring term, submit it by the first week of November.

Check your Applicant Center frequently

Log in to your Applicant Center with your Ohio State username (lastname.#) and password. Click Application Status to view details about any incomplete To Do Items.

Check for missing documents or outstanding fees and provide all required items by the deadlines given.

Finish strong, and submit your transcripts

Final high school transcript

Your admission is contingent upon our review of your final high school transcript. If you fail to maintain the high academic standards under which you were admitted, your admission to Ohio State may be canceled. Ask your school official to send your official final transcript or graduation certificate indicating your graduation date as soon as possible after graduation. Note: If your final transcript does not include your graduation date, you must submit a copy of your graduation certificate (with English translation) or final examination certificate in person or by mail.

If you’ve taken AP or IB classes or AS-level or A-level examinations, you may be able to receive credit for your test scores. To find out if you can earn credit for your AP, IB, AS-level or A-level results, remember to have your official scores sent to Ohio State.

University transcript

If you have earned university credit while in high school, ask each institution you attended to send an electronic transcript to Ohio State so that we can begin evaluating your transferable credits. (Exception: You do not need to provide a transcript for course work completed at Ohio State.) Do this around the time you pay your acceptance fee. Emailed or faxed transcripts will not be accepted.

Important: If you’re still taking university classes at that time, also request that a final electronic transcript be sent to Ohio State as soon as your grades have posted.

Foreign language documents must be translated into English by the issuing institution, an authorized translator or a teacher of the language. Any additional requirements will be posted to your Applicant Center, so be sure to check your application status regularly after you've applied.

Download the What Happens Next brochure.

Check BuckeyeMail for housing updates and more

We're sending important, time-sensitive information — like your housing contract — to your BuckeyeMail account.

• Log into buckeyemail.osu.edu with your Ohio State username (lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu) and password.

• Check your email several times a week.

What if I haven't activated my username? Get instructions.

Keep checking your personal email, too: We may still send important information there.

Apply for your student visa

Once we have received sufficient financial documentation and a copy of your valid passport picture page and you have paid your acceptance fee, Ohio State will instruct you to download your visa eligibility documents (I-20 for a F-1 visa or DS-2019 for a J-1 visa).

Apply for housing

Incoming first-year students are required to live on campus for their first two years. Exemptions or exclusions from this policy must be approved by Housing and Residence Education.

Students admitted for autumn semester

Housing information for autumn semester students is emailed to students’ BuckeyeMail accounts starting in mid-March. We process housing contracts in the order we receive them, with the first contracts typically submitted in mid-March. Housing assignments are sent beginning mid-July. New students are typically assigned to 4-person rooms.

Students admitted for spring or summer terms

Housing information is emailed after you have been admitted but no sooner than two months before the start of the desired term.

Read "What Happens Next"

You'll receive the What Happens Next brochure along with your visa eligibility document. "What Happens Next" contains information and requirements about housing, orientation, placement tests and more. Please read it carefully.

Complete the vaccination requirement

Complete the university vaccination requirement before the start of your first semester. Learn more.