The Ohio State University

Yesterday morning I attended the annual OSU breakfast where their staff provided updates to local counselors about the latest in admissions. With OSU being the school that Kilbourne students most frequently apply, I thought you might be interested in some of these statistics.

- The 2010 class has over 6600 students and approximately 53% were in the top 10% of their class. The average ACT of these students that will be attending is 27.7 and the average SAT is between 1230-1235 (out of 1600).

- For the students that they accepted, 54% were in the top 10%. The ACT Middle 50% was 26 to 31. (Remember, that means 25% of their acceptances scored less than a 26 on the ACT. Of course, that also means that 25% were higher than a 31.) The SAT Middle 50% was 1170 to 1380 (out of 1600).

- One of the biggest areas of influence that they stressed multiple times during the meeting was the fact that over 93% of the students they accepted had exceeded the minimum requirements in math, science and foreign language. The strength of curriculum is one of the primary areas that you can control and they look closely at that as a deciding factor when making their admissions decision.

As I mentioned at Wednesday's senior night meeting, the deadline for admissions is February 1st. If you want to be considered for scholarships, you must apply by December 1st. All of the materials must be RECEIVED at OSU before the deadline that you are trying to meet. That includes your transcript and your test scores. So, please remember that your transcript will need to be mailed several days prior to December 1st so that they have it in their office on time. And, of course, that you need to provide your transcript release form at least 10 days in advance of when you want it mailed so that we can get it through the entire process.

Admissions into the Honors College is by invitation only and typically they are students in the Top 10% of their class with an ACT of 30 or higher and an SAT of 1340 or higher.

OSU prides itself on the Scholars Program which includes 14 programs of academic and professional pursuits including themed housing. These are not based upon a specific major, but rather an area of interest or passion. All main campus applicants are eligible to apply to the scholars program if interested.

The Morrill Scholars Program is run by the Office of Minority Affairs and provides some very impressive scholarship opportunities for minority students. This year only 1 recommendation letter will be needed for this program. There are minimum standards for applying, but the average recipient has had a 3.9 GPA, been in the top 6% of their class, and had an average ACT of 29.3. If you might be a candidate for this scholarship, I strongly encourage you to begin working on the scholarship NOW! Your deadline will be December 1st and ideally your application for admission will have been reviewed well before that date.

Their single essay question, Why are you considering the Ohio State University, has remained the same this year. Be sure that you are giving them information about why OSU is a good fit for you and you for OSU. They are looking for far more than OSU is in your backyard, you have always been a Buckeye, you love going to the football games, and everyone in your family has always gone to OSU.

Don't forget that the branch campuses are a very impressive alternative. If you attend a branch, your transcript still simply says OSU and once you complete at least 45 quarter hours with at least a 2.0 GPA at a regional campus then you are automatically accepted to transfer onto main campus.