Admission

Apply for free!

To align with our mission of affordability and accessibility, we're covering the $60 application fee for first-year applicants who apply directly to a regional campus between October 1 and December 1. Our regional campuses are already dedicated to providing Ohio students and families with an excellent college education at one of the lowest tuition rates in the state.

Just enter fee waiver code RCW2026 when prompted in the online application to your regional campus of choice by December 1.

This fee waiver code is exclusively available for first-year applicants to an Ohio State regional campus in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, or Newark, or ATI in Wooster. Note: If you’re planning to apply to the Columbus campus, you should submit the Common Application and not an application to a regional campus.

Admission criteria

If you have never attended college, you can be admitted to a regional campus if you are an Ohio resident with a degree from an accredited high school or a GED. Note that:

• Qualified transfer students must have — at the time of application — a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) on all college course work earned after high school graduation.

• Home-schooled applicants applying to a regional campus must submit the district’s written acknowledgement of your Home Education Notification Form. Refer to your state’s Department of Education website to determine the specific document your state uses.

Campus-change program

Regional campus students in good academic standing may switch to the Columbus campus any time after they have completed 30 semester hours. Some programs may have more rigorous enrollment criteria, so you’ll work with an advisor to plan and prepare.

• A reasonable plan for a student to complete 30 semester hours: Enroll in at least 15 hours for autumn semester and 15 hours for spring semester during your first year.

Preparing to apply

Read about applying step-by-step: Freshmen applicants  |  Transfer applicants