My son (OSS from IL) is currently a Soph at OSU Fisher (Finance/Econ). He had good HS stats (easy direct admit to Fisher) but he got zero OSU merit aid, even though the OSU scholarship page explicitly stated he could qualify for it based on his stats. We also have a higher EFC.
He got merit scholarships from all the other schools he applied to - Indiana, Michigan State, Colorado, Miami Ohio …
OSU waited until the very last minute to send out their financial aid package. When we called the OSU financial aid office, they stated that, for scholarship selection, he was only compared against the very small # of students that came from his particular IL HS (which in all fairness were the brainiacs of his high school). So I know 2 of his HS friends did get scholarships.
By the time we were notified (at the last minute) there was no merit $, he was hook, line and sinker into the Fisher program, which btw is excellent, so we committed full OSS pay to OSU.
Anyhow, I have been annoyed by this all year… But again, he is thriving at OSU and he could not be happier that he is there. It’s the perfect school for him.
We also did have a financial perk from OSU in that they accepted every single one of his AP scores for credit, and he had a lot of AP “3” scores we didn’t think would count anywhere. So he didn’t need to take Gen Ed or some of the intro business courses… I consider that a form of scholarship as he was able to start as a 2nd semester sophomore in higher level courses (e.g. he is currently in 400 level Econ) and should graduate in 4 years or less with 2 degrees.
@saillakeerie You are very correct about the increased number of Ohio high stats kids choosing tOSU. Mine is about to be one of them. Our school had a meeting for all of the senior parents of athletes a couple of days ago. An oddly large number of the top 30 kids academically happen to be varsity athletes this year (15 of them), so this was a chance for a bunch of parents of high stats seniors to be in the same room. Rare opportunity.
We parents got to talking (our kids have been in the same classes for years) about the college visits over the summer. Every kid and parent visited a large swath of schools. tOSU nailed their tour and delighted all. We took a straw poll and every single kid applying to tOSU EA. Most are either 1) applying to top 20 school ED, but will go to OSU if that fails, or, 2) OSU is their #1 and only app. A couple of the athletes were being recruited, but didn’t like any of the colleges recruiting them. So, likely at least 10 of those 15 kids will go to tOSU.
We live in a fairly affluent suburb and there are many unexpectedly happy senior-parent wallets here. Depending on majors chosen, with their stats some of the kids will end up paying $2k in tuition. My son has one of those targeted majors and I actually would feel guilty paying that little. I don’t mean for that be as arrogant as I am sure it reads - it is just when you’ve prepared yourself for a tuition bill of $30k+, and when you know that there are lots of kids across the state trying to figure out how to pay for any tuition at all, a $2k tuition bill seems ridiculously low.
@cypresspat - Yes, this is happening with my DD. She has near perfect stats (1580 SAT, 800 SATII, 4.0 GPA, Natl. Merit, etc.) and is applying to engineering at both Northwestern (ED) and OSU (EA)… I wouldn’t mind if she doesn’t get into NU ($70K with no merit given - yikes) so we can be unexpectedly wallet happy with OSU and merit aid - but alas it will probably be NU…
My son is so happy at OSU and many of the top students/athletes from his IL HS elected to go there as well… Every one of them is flourishing at OSU, so the school counselors continue to highly recommend OSU to students…
I’m not sure how OSU is trending in rankings, but I feel they are really attracting a lot of high quality IL students in recent years… High stat IL kids are picking OSU over Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Penn, which I don’t think was happening as much in the past…
@Scubaski1, my son’s first choice was Northwestern as well. Until we visited tOSU. He isn’t even applying to Northwestern at all anymore. He has 35 ACT, 4.45 GPA and numerous AP classes. Better bang for your buck at tOSU. Plus, living near Northwestern, that would feel like he didn’t ‘go away’ for school. Hoping he gets into tOSU.
@cypresspat, yes we are in Illinois, so out of state. He is looking to major in Neuroscience. He really doesn’t want to apply anywhere else so I am hoping an ACT score of 35 is enough.
@uofmmom He should be super competitive. OSU has a long history of strong Neurosciences; some pretty famous neuro folks have been at OSU. That’s a good choice for him.
Is he aiming for the honors college? Mine is, but I am on the fence about it. He is seeking an engineering major, and because the honors program at tOSU is decentralized (each college designs and manages its own), engineering honors is supposed to be over-the-top-brutal. But he isn’t fazed by that and he likes the idea of choosing classes before everyone else. His older brother is an alum and is insisting he live in south campus, which would limit him to a single dorm if in honors. Not sure the benefits outweigh the costs.
@cypresspat - my daughter is currently in honors engineering at OSU. It is a ton of work and very difficult, but it is worth it! If the kids are willing to work super hard, they will succeed and learn a lot. It doesn’t matter if they stay in Honors all the way until engineering, but don’t underestimate the value of early scheduling, and they really take care of the honors engineering students.
@4momOhio Grateful for your feedback. My kid is a total grind, and I want him to have fun, too. He will work hard, either way. I totally get the advantage of early registration. That is huge. But the one older student I know in honors engineering recommended against it. She felt it restricted her choice of courses too much. Just one person, but food for thought. If he is accepted into honors (a BIG if), I will want him to research it carefully. Engineering is plenty hard! It is not like he’ll be in class with weak students not be challenged.
“Ohio State’s Buckeye Opportunity Program covers the cost of tuition and fees for Ohio students who qualify for Pell Grants. The program is part of an overall commitment of more than $150 million in need-based aid to students since 2015.”
If they come from relatively wealthy families, I find it hard to believe they will pay $2K/yr. tuition. Merit-based awards are not that much ($3K max/yr. unless they get Morrill or Eminence). And if wealthy, would not qualify for need-based aid.
@overit2024 I know two upperclassmen at OSU who have several stacked merit scholarships, bringing their cost to almost nothing (one is a nursing student, the other engineering). The Ohio First (or something like that) program is about $5k, but only for kids in specific majors. Wouldn’t call either family wealthy, but probably upper middle class? I can’t speak for any major other than engineering, which I have researched only online, but there seems to be a lot of $ for engineering majors after freshmen year. Perhaps that is because freshmen are still technically not engineering majors until sophomore year. We are fortunate and feel that $11k is the deal of the century but fully recognize that room and board added in is quite a big sum, and limiting for a lot of families.