Just thought it would be interesting to share this information for rising seniors who are applying to the Ohio State University. for Fall 2017. Here is a link to the revised scholarship requirements:
http://undergrad.osu.edu/cost-and-aid/merit-based-scholarships Good news is that the national buckeye increased from $11,400 to $12,500 per year (to cover the increased percent tuition for OOS over the past two years), but now requires top 25% class rank whereas last year it was top 40% class rank. Plus the ACT requirement increased from 28 to 29 and the old SAT requirement (math and critical reading) increased from 1260 to 1290; and the new SAT requirement of Evidenced Based Reading and Writing + Math score is 1350. Additionally, the smaller scholarships decreased slightly in dollar value while eligibiilty requirements were stenghtened slightly. The trustee went from $1,900 to $1,500 per year (requires 29 ACT/old SAT1290/new SAT 1350 and top 20% class rank), provost went from $2,850 to $2,500 per year (requires 30 ACT/old SAT 1330/new SAT1390 and top 10% class rank) and and maximus went from $5,700 to $5,000 per year (requires 32 ACT/old SAT 1400/new SAT 1450 and top 3% class rank).
Thanks for sharing that information. I notice that in the eligibility link they show that all scholarship minimum GPAs are evaluated after two years. My son is entering as freshman this fall and has the Buckeye and Maximum. I am pretty sure that what we saw is that the Buckeye minimum GPA was evaluated after the first year and the Maximus after the second. I wonder if I’m mis-remembering that. If I’m not, I wonder if they will change that minimum GPA evaluation timepoint for entering freshmen or just for students entering in the fall of 2017.
That’s the second year in a row they’ve shrunk the merit scholarship amounts. Keep this up and soon they’ll just be leaving a $20 bill on your bed at move-in.
@adlgel My recollection is the same as yours–that the national buckeye scholarship renewal will be evaluated after freshman year with minimum gpa requirement of 2.5. And the smaller scholarships renewal will be evaluated after the sophomore year. However, as you point out the revised scholarships for 2017-18 seem to extend the period to meet minimum gpa requirement for renewal of the national buckeye scholarship until end of sophomore year. I don’t know if this applies retroactively to Fall 2015 and Fall 2016 entering classes. Hopefully this issue won’t matter for your son (and thankfully it’s not an issue now for my son who enters sophomore year) but you may want to call the office of enrollment to get clarification.
The national buckeye amount has gone up for 2017.
For others – do note that in-state tuition has been kept flat for 3 years in a row. Point me to another school where this is true. With a modest 2% average raise to faculty and staff in these years, they have about 6% to make up in revenue to match costs. They are trying to get a bit more in from students by decreasing scholarship amounts – can you really blame them for that?
@trackmbe3 yes, we’ve already pointed out to our son that if he can’t get at least a 2.5 freshman year we are going to have bigger issues to deal with but it certainly is a bit less stressful to just know that that scholarship money is guaranteed for two years. I’m guessing they have no plans to apply these increased and decreased amounts of the various scholarships to the freshmen entering in fall 2016 to their scholarship awards for the 2017-2018 and beyond school years.
@osuprof - interestingly though the increase in the National Buckeye more than offsets the decreases in trustee/provost/maximus. So an out of state student awarded any merit scholarship is netting out at least $400 more annually with these new awards. I don’t know what %age of aid is awarded to in-state (therefore Buckeye doesn’t apply) vs. out of state.
@adlgel Remember, out of state tuition will continue to go up at 3.5% - 4.0% annual rate. I believe the fellowship amount for a given class will remain the same. Also, one of the big bummers for out-of-state students who come with National Buckeye is if they do not graduate in 4 years … they have to pay full out-of-state tuition for summers and the possible fifth year.
OSU is playing a careful game between offering good value, attracting students with good records, and collecting tuition dollars … Their highly paid administration at work 
It’s very disappointing how small the merit scholarships are that are offered to in-state kids. I think OSU is losing lots of smart kids to other, more generous schools.
@suzy100: Well, is there evidence that OSU looses in-state students because of finances? Miami’s tuition is 4K higher, Cincinnati is significantly lower in prestige …
I am quite sure the administration had all this analyzed, before reducing merit aid to in-state students.
OSU looses some top student to top private schools that are academically stronger – they are usually from families that can afford high tuition or qualify for significant aid. It also looses some students to Michican/Berkeley/Georgia Tech – again, they are from families that can afford high out-of-state tuition.
I am not downplaying that college costs can still be high for many families or that they will benefit from or deserve more aid. But let us look around objectively and see in-state tuition at Michigan, Penn State, UIUC, Miami (OH) …
Looking at my kids’ high school and in talking with friends whose kids go to other area high schools (all top suburban high schools), Ohio State is a very popular choice (and likely becoming more popular) for high performing Ohio kids.
From what I have seen, President Drake favors need based aid over merit. So it wouldn’t surprise me to see merit based aid reduced over time. Maximus was $6k/year for 2015 freshmen. Last year I believe it was $5,700/year. Looks like for 2017 freshmen it will be $5k/year.
“@suzy100: Well, is there evidence that OSU looses in-state students because of finances? Miami’s tuition is 4K higher, Cincinnati is significantly lower in prestige …”
OSU may very well lose my in-state student because of finances. Miami is much more attractive with the very generous merit scholarships they offer.
Miami was a trendy pick 10-20 years ago. “Ivy of the Midwest” and “Public Ivy.” Compared with Ohio State that is no longer true anymore. So it makes sense Miami offers more merit aid. Ohio State’s incoming freshmen classes have set records the last couple of years in terms of test scores, GPAs, class rank, etc. So at this point, Ohio State seems to be doing fine relative to aid offerings. Doesn’t mean they don’t lose some from time to time. Increase the aid and you still will have kids picking other schools.
I confirmed via email with the Student Services Center the following two items:
- Freshmen entering in the fall 2016 will receive the 2016 scholarship amounts for 8 semesters assuming they meet the minimum GPA criteria. So the $ values will not change for their sophomore year and beyond to match the values that freshmen entering fall 2017 will receive.
- Freshmen entering in the fall 2016 will have all merit scholarship minimum GPA requirements reviewed after their second year.