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Affordability

By re-evaluating and leveraging programs and tools like the following, the Office of Strategic Enrollment Management is working to increase effectiveness, remove financial barriers for students, coordinate scholarship strategies with colleges and continue to reduce debt loads for all students.

The President’s Ohio Scholarship Program

The President's Ohio Schoalrship Program will recognize students who earned a perfect ACT or SAT test score from a single test date with a full cost of attendance scholarship and a $5,000 supplemental award to support educational opportunities.

Criteria: The President’s Ohio Scholarship Program is awarded to new, first-year Ohio resident applicants to Ohio State’s Columbus campus who:

  • Score a perfect ACT (36) or SAT (1600) test score on a single test date
  • Submit all application materials, including a competitive application, official test scores and all other supporting materials by the November 1 priority deadline

The $5,000 Enrichment grant is accessible after the first year of successful study and can be used to support enriching educational opportunities such as study abroad, research or other hands-on learning experiences.

To maintain eligibility for the award package, students must be enrolled full-time and maintain the GPA requirement for the University Honors Program or Ohio State Scholars Program, based on program selection.

The Regional Campus Commitment

The Regional Campus Commitment will provide eligible new first-year students enrolling at the Lima, Mansfield, Marion or Newark campuses or Ohio State ATI in Wooster with the opportunity to attend Ohio State tuition-free. Beginning in Autumn 2026, the Regional Campus Commitment program will cover tuition and mandatory fees for low-to-middle income, new first-year students.
To qualify, new first-year students must:

  • Be Ohio residents
  • Enroll at an Ohio State regional campus or Ohio State ATI in Wooster
  • File the FAFSA annually by the priority deadline
  • Maintain full-time enrollment at Ohio State
  • Have a family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $100,000 or less (verified through FAFSA)

This award will be available to students for up to eight semesters, whether they remain at a regional campus/Ohio State ATI or transition to the Columbus campus.

Buckeye Bridge Program

The Buckeye Bridge Program is a strategic initiative between Columbus State Community College and The Ohio State University. The program provides eligible CSCC associate degree graduates:

  • Guaranteed admission to Ohio State’s Columbus campus
  • Full tuition and mandatory fee coverage (up to eight semesters) or until completion of the first bachelor’s degree
  • Coordinated onboarding and support services to promote low-to-no debt bachelor’s degree completion

CSCC students are expected to transfer to Ohio State within three semesters after completing their associate degree.

Criteria: To qualify, students must:

  • Be Ohio residents
  • Complete an associate degree at CSCC in spring 2026 or later
  • File the FAFSA annually by the priority deadline
  • Maintain full-time enrollment at Ohio State
  • Have a family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $100,000 or less, verified through FAFSA

Buckeye Opportunity Program

All eligible Ohio resident undergraduate students on all campuses who qualify for a Federal Pell Grant and show significant need receive enough student financial aid to cover the full cost of undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees. Learn more.  

Choose Ohio First 

Led and funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program is part of Ohio's strategic effort to bolster the state in the global marketplace of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM).  

Through Choose Ohio First, The Ohio State University offers the following programs: 

  • Advancing an Inclusive Biotech Economy in Ohio (Columbus) 
  • Computer Science (Columbus) 
  • Innovators for a New STEMM Workforce (Columbus) 
  • Innovators for a New STEMM Workforce BSET (Lima, Mansfield, and Marion) 

Learn more 

Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship 

Full cost of attendance scholarships for high-need undergraduate students from Ohio who demonstrate academic merit. Each year 176 Ohio students receive this scholarship, with an attempt made to award two students from all 88 Ohio counties. Learn more. 

President’s Affordability Grant 

Need-based grants of up to $2,250 per year in extra support to low- and moderate-income Ohio undergraduate students at all campuses. Learn more. 

ScholarshipUniverse 

A tool that matches applicants and current students to thousands of internal and external scholarship opportunities. Used together with the Free Application for Student Financial Aid, ScholarshipUniverse empowers students to find the most financial aid opportunities for a more affordable education. Learn more. 

Tuition Guarantee  

Rates for tuition and mandatory fees are set for each class of first-year undergraduate students on all campuses and frozen for four years, which provides certainty about the cost of attendance. For Ohio residents, the guarantee also includes the cost of on-campus housing and dining. Learn more.