I currently live in-state and plan to apply to Ohio State University in the upcoming fall, and am planning to major in either mathematics and/or education. I have a composite score of 35 on the ACT, but my writing score is only a 25 (or an 8 on the old scale). I scored a 211 on the PSAT and currently hold a 4.45 GPA weighted (3.99 unweighted). All of my classes throughout high school have been either Honors or AP credit courses. I am decently involved in athletics, extracurriculars, and service work, such as National Honor Society. What are my chances of getting a full ride here?
It’s hard to tell. They only offer very limited full ride scholarships. I believe they award 25 Eminence Scholarships. The Morrill Scholarship has a component requiring the applicant to have diversity-based leadership and service. I also think there are about 15 or so Stamps scholarships awarded. Obviously they are very competitive. My D had stats like yours, was a NMF, and did not receive any of the really big scholarships. Give it a try, but don’t count on it. (Also, I think you need to apply by November 1.)
They generally award Eminence to about 25 people and they choose around 5 of those people to award the Stamps Scholarships to (so you have to get Eminence first to be nominated for Stamps). I don’t know much about Morrill. You have to apply to OSU by November 1st to be considered for any of these scholarships, but Eminence has an additional application that was due at the beginning of February.
A lot of those scholarships depend on your community service and extraordinary EC’s, publications, etc. It is hard to tell what they will consider enough; judgment is often on results and not effort alone. If you are budget constrained look at the NMF full tuition ride schools like Alabama (almost full ride for engineering), Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma - there is a decent sized list. If you are a good enough athlete that is another possibility.
Depends which scholarship you apply for. Their highest stats-based (automatic) scholarship is 1/2 tuition, which I think you’d get based on your stats (are you in the top 3% of your class?). Other full-rides are Eminence and Morrill. I got full tuition from Morrill and am interviewing for the full-ride with stats similar to yours (+ very average ECs) so if you have a “diverse” background, are good at writing (it’s heavily essay-based), or are involved in diversity-related activities I’d apply for that. Eminence is VERY selective and probably depends a lot more on generally outstanding ECs and a great essay. If you have average extracurriculars and no diversity-based hooks, then the most you would probably get is the half-tuition Maximus scholarship.