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The Ohio State University · Ohio

Ohio State scholarships and merit aid

Public flagship with one of the most punitive single-test perfect-score awards in the country (President's Ohio Scholarship: full COA + $5K for a single-sitting 36 ACT or 1600 SAT). Most merit awards are non-stackable and gated by the November 1 early-action deadline; transfers and international students are excluded.

Verified Jul 20261 month ago· PT

The short answer

Is Ohio State worth a closer look?

Ohio State is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 7 published awards, and 3 are based on those numbers.

See our full reasoning

Worth optimizing for if your student is a high-stat non-resident chasing the stackable Buckeye path. A long-odds reach if you are banking on the full-COA perfect-score award, which is Ohio-resident only.

Ohio State is the rare flagship where out-of-state applicants get a published, stackable automatic path. National Buckeye (up to $13,500/yr) is the only OSU merit award that combines with another institutional scholarship, layering on top of the Maximus/Provost/Trustees band ($1,000-$3,000/yr) for a best-case non-resident automatic ceiling of up to $16,500/yr, roughly $66,000 over four years. That ceiling needs two things at once: Buckeye AND the top Maximus tier. If the second award lands at the bottom Trustees tier, the stack only adds $1,000/yr. Within the Maximus/Provost/Trustees band itself, the marginal lift from bottom to top tier is +$2,000/yr (a tripling, $1,000 to $3,000). The cost-of-attendance cap bites: outside scholarships are folded into the package and reduce institutional aid if the total exceeds COA. The full-COA President's Ohio award (full COA + $5,000 enrichment) demands a perfect 36/1600 on a single test date, superscoring does not count, and is Ohio-resident only. Nov 1 is the automatic merit deadline; Stamps Eminence needs a separate Nov 10 application or it is forfeited.

Merit tiers73 based on grades or scores
First-year students with school awards26%First-year students, CDS 2024-2025
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

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Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where you landAutomatic merit aid by ACT compositeEach bar marks the ACT score range that qualifies for the tier.
President's Ohio Scholarship ProgramFull cost of attendance
ACT 36SAT 1600

Not on this ladder: Stamps Eminence Scholarship Program, Morrill Scholarship Program — Distinction, Morrill Scholarship Program — Prominence (non-residents), Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship, National Buckeye Scholarship, Maximus, Provost, and Trustees Scholarships — application required, holistic, or scored on a different axis.

View as table
TierACT compositeAward
President's Ohio Scholarship Program36Full cost of attendance + $5,000 enrichment grant (accessible after first year)
Full cost of attendance…Full cost of attendance + $5,000 enrichment grant (accessible after first year)

President's Ohio Scholarship Program

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
SAT
1600
ACT
36
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

New first-year Ohio resident applicants to the Columbus campus who score a perfect ACT (36) or SAT (1600) on a single test date. Submit complete application + official scores + supporting materials by November 1.

How to keep it

Renewable with full-time enrollment and the GPA requirement of the University Honors Program or Ohio State Scholars Program (program-dependent).

Notes

The single most punishing perfect-score award in the country: superscoring is allowed for admission consideration but the President's Ohio Scholarship requires the perfect score on a single test date. The $5K enrichment grant unlocks after the first year and funds study abroad, research, or hands-on learning.

Source

Full cost of attendance for 8 semes…Full cost of attendance for 8 semesters + up to $5,000 enrichment grant after first year

Stamps Eminence Scholarship Program

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Must indicate interest in University Honors Program or Ohio State Scholars Program. Separate Stamps Eminence application due November 10, three days after the November 7 application deadline window. Common App, separate essay, and video introduction required.

How to keep it

8 semesters of full-time enrollment.

Notes

Competitive merit selection on top of admission. The November 10 Stamps deadline is independent of the November 1 early-action merit deadline; missing November 10 forfeits Stamps Eminence even if the student is admitted by Nov 1.

Source

Full cost of attendance

Morrill Scholarship Program — Distinction

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

U.S. citizens and permanent residents dedicated to scholarship, leadership, service, and civic engagement. Indicate interest in MSP on the admission application + complete the MSP essay + include leadership/service/civic engagement on the Activity List. Strongly recommended to meet the November 1 early action deadline.

How to keep it

Renewable with continued eligibility under MSP guidelines.

Notes

Top tier of the Morrill Scholarship Program. Distinction covers full COA; Prominence covers in-state tuition + nonresident surcharge for non-residents; Excellence covers in-state tuition for Ohio residents. The MSP review weighs leadership and civic engagement heavily; pure stats-only applicants without that record are unlikely to land Distinction.

Source

Value of in-state tuition…Value of in-state tuition + non-resident surcharge

Morrill Scholarship Program — Prominence (non-residents)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Non-resident U.S. citizens or permanent residents committed to MSP's leadership, service, and civic engagement criteria. Indicate MSP interest on admission application. November 1 early action deadline strongly recommended.

How to keep it

Renewable with continued MSP eligibility.

Notes

Effectively eliminates the non-resident tuition penalty for selected non-Ohio MSP recipients. Functions as a tuition-free path for OOS applicants who hit MSP's holistic bar without needing perfect stats.

Source

Full cost of attendance

Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Pell-eligible Ohio residents who apply to Ohio State, complete the FAFSA, and demonstrate significant academic merit. Automatic consideration upon application + FAFSA. November 1 early action deadline strongly recommended.

How to keep it

Renewable with continued enrollment and MSP/SFA eligibility.

Notes

176 students per year, with an attempt to award two students per Ohio county. Functions as Ohio's flagship Pell-bridging scholarship: combines academic merit screening with Pell eligibility. Significantly under-applied because qualifying families often don't realize they're auto-considered if they file FAFSA + apply by Nov 1.

Source

Up to $13,500/year…Up to $13,500/year (up to $54,000 four-year value)

National Buckeye Scholarship

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Non-Ohio residents (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) with highly competitive GPA, class rank, curriculum rigor, and ACT/SAT scores. Automatic consideration for applicants who apply by November 1.

How to keep it

Four-year award; standard renewal terms apply.

Notes

The headline OOS automatic award. Critically: National Buckeye is the ONLY Ohio State merit scholarship that can stack on top of others, specifically with the Maximus, Provost, or Trustees Scholarships. All other named OSU merit scholarships are explicitly non-combinable.

Source

$1,000–$3,000/year…$1,000–$3,000/year ($4,000–$12,000 four-year value)

Maximus, Provost, and Trustees Scholarships

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Both Ohio and non-Ohio residents (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) with highly competitive GPA, class rank, curriculum rigor, and ACT/SAT scores. Automatic consideration for applicants who apply by November 1.

How to keep it

Four-year award with standard renewal terms.

Notes

Tier names (Maximus = top, Trustees = bottom) reflect competitive depth. Stacks with National Buckeye for non-Ohio residents; total OOS automatic stack potential is up to $66,000 over four years ($54K Buckeye + $12K Maximus). For Ohio residents, these awards do not stack with the President's Ohio, Stamps Eminence, Morrill, or Land Grant Opportunity scholarships; the student receives whichever is largest.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Ohio State's published information.

  • cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$2,000/yr ($3,000 Maximus - $1,000 Trustees)

    Ohio State publishes a tier ladder where crossing Non-resident, bottom Trustees tier vs top Maximus tier changes the marginal value by +$2,000/yr ($3,000 Maximus - $1,000 Trustees). A tripling within the Maximus/Provost/Trustees band ($1,000 to $3,000), not a doubling.

  • renewalPresident's Ohio Scholarship Program: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable with full-time enrollment and the GPA requirement of the University Honors Program or Ohio State Scholars Program (program-dependent). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

  • capHard $57,675 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at Ohio State cannot push the package past $57,675. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What families often miss

  1. The OSU policy is explicit: 'Apply for admission by the November 1 early action deadline to be automatically considered for most merit awards.' Applications submitted after November 1 are NOT considered for automatic merit awards including the National Buckeye, Maximus, Provost, Trustees, and the Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship. Stamps Eminence has its own November 10 deadline. Missing November 1 forfeits the entire automatic merit pool; admission may still happen, but merit consideration is gone for that cycle.

  2. Ohio State superscores test results for admission consideration generally, but the President's Ohio Scholarship explicitly requires a perfect ACT (36) or SAT (1600) on a SINGLE test date. A student with a 36 superscore built across multiple sittings (35-36-35-36) does not qualify. This is unusual; most automatic-merit programs accept superscores. Families should not assume superscoring extends to this award.

  3. Most OSU institutional merit scholarships are explicitly non-stackable. An Ohio resident who qualifies for both President's Ohio and Morrill Distinction receives whichever is larger, not both. The only stackable pair: National Buckeye ($13.5K/yr) + Maximus, Provost, or Trustees ($1K-$3K/yr) for non-residents. Families budgeting against multiple OSU awards stacking together will overestimate institutional aid by the value of the smaller award.

  4. OSU's published policy is unambiguous: 'Incoming first-year students to the Columbus campus compete for university-funded merit-based scholarships. International students are not eligible.' Transfer students are also explicitly excluded from university merit award consideration. International applicants and transfers should treat OSU as a sticker-price decision unless they qualify for departmental awards (which are smaller and not part of the central merit ladder).

  5. The admission application by November 1 covers automatic merit consideration. But Special Eligibility Scholarships, departmental awards (some, not all), and external matches require an active Scholarship Universe profile. The February 1 priority date applies to the FAFSA + Scholarship Universe combined. Students who skip Scholarship Universe lose access to the matched-external pool entirely, which often funds smaller-but-stackable outside awards.

See award cutoffs and special programs

What your student actually lands at Ohio State

Outcomes mapped to named OSU merit tiers and the one stacking exception. Awards are non-combinable unless noted; the student otherwise receives whichever is largest.

Student profileLikely outcome
Both residencies, competitive statsMaximus/Provost/Trustees — $1,000-$3,000/yrTiered by competitive depth; Maximus is the top step at $3,000/yr, Trustees the bottom at $1,000/yr. Stacks only for non-residents via National Buckeye.
Non-resident, highly competitive GPA/rank/rigor/scoresNational Buckeye — up to $13,500/yr (~$54,000 / 4 yr)The only OSU merit award that can combine with another institutional scholarship.
Non-resident, best-case automatic stackNational Buckeye + top Maximus tier — up to $16,500/yr (~$66,000 / 4 yr)Ceiling requires BOTH Buckeye and the top Maximus tier. A bottom Trustees tier stacks to only $14,500/yr. Only published stackable institutional path.
Non-resident MSP, strong leadership/service/civic recordMorrill Prominence — in-state tuition + non-resident surcharge valueHolistic, not stats-only; erases the OOS tuition penalty for selected recipients without a perfect score.
Ohio resident, perfect 36 ACT / 1600 SAT on one sittingPresident's Ohio — full COA + $5,000 enrichmentSingle-sitting perfect score required; superscoring does NOT apply. Enrichment grant unlocks after year one.

Where the dollars actually move

Each delta is the difference between two named OSU tiers above. The non-resident stacking exception drives the computable per-year jumps; the perfect-score threshold is the page's sharpest gate.

ThresholdMarginal value
Non-resident, bottom Trustees tier vs top Maximus tier+$2,000/yr ($3,000 Maximus - $1,000 Trustees)A tripling within the Maximus/Provost/Trustees band ($1,000 to $3,000), not a doubling.
Non-resident, National Buckeye alone vs Buckeye + top Maximus tier+$3,000/yr ($16,500 - $13,500)This +$3,000 is contingent on also landing the TOP Maximus tier. Stacking with the bottom Trustees tier adds only +$1,000/yr ($14,500 total). The stack alone does not guarantee +$3,000.
Ohio resident, 35 ACT (superscore) vs genuine 36 single sittingFull COA + $5,000 enrichment (President's Ohio)Not a smooth cliff — a binary gate. Miss the single-sitting perfect score and this award is off the table entirely. Ohio-resident only.
See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Three profiles. First: Ohio residents with perfect single-sitting test scores (36 ACT or 1600 SAT), where the President's Ohio Scholarship Program covers full COA + $5K enrichment. Second: Pell-eligible Ohio residents, where the Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship covers full COA for 176 students per year (about two per Ohio county). Third: high-stat OOS applicants who can hit the Nov 1 deadline; National Buckeye ($13,500/yr, $54K over four years) stacks with Maximus/Provost/Trustees ($1K-$3K/yr each), the only stackable combination Ohio State allows.

Cost of attendance$28,893–$57,675 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$57,675
In-state, on-campus$28,893
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food

Billed costs (tuition & fees plus housing & food). Ohio State does not itemize books, transportation, or personal expenses for domestic students.

Ohio State cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Ohio State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Ohio State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$4,885
$30,001–$48,000$5,751
$48,001–$75,000$9,807
$75,001–$110,000$20,461
$110,001+$27,359
All income levels (average)$17,339

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$13,244
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$40,022
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$17,339

That works out to roughly a 43% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $30,305 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Ohio State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
88%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
94%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$19,976 (~$212/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$60,409
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
19%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
31%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Ohio State applies a federal cost-of-attendance cap to the total aid package. Most institutional merit scholarships are explicitly non-combinable; the student receives whichever is largest. The single exception: National Buckeye stacks with Maximus, Provost, OR Trustees Scholarships. External scholarships are revised into the package once received and may reduce institutional aid if total exceeds COA.

Ohio State's published rule on the merit scholarships page: 'These scholarships cannot be combined, except for the National Buckeye Scholarship.' That means an Ohio resident who qualifies for both President's Ohio (full COA + $5K) and Morrill Distinction (full COA) does not get to stack; the higher of the two prevails. For non-residents, the National Buckeye + Maximus/Provost/Trustees stack is the only combinable institutional merit path. External (outside) scholarships are flagged separately: federal regulations require they be considered part of the overall package, which cannot exceed COA. Once an external award is applied, financial aid may be revised, typically a reduction of self-help (loans/work-study) first, then institutional grants if needed to stay under COA. OSU does not participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program directly but will honor Corporate National Merit scholarships.

Source

More school data

From the Ohio State Common Data Set 2024-2025:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Ohio State’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
26%of admitsget merit
Average award$7,425Covers ~13% of $57,675 cost of attendance

At Ohio State, roughly 1 in 4 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $7,425 — about 13% of total cost.

Where you standACT composite landscapeThe mid-50% admit band shows where most admitted students score. The merit zone shows the score range that qualifies for at least one automatic merit tier.

Merit starts at ACT 36+, which is above the 32 75th-percentile admit. Merit at this school is reserved for stronger-than-typical applicants.

SAT mid-50%1280–143025th / 75th percentile
ACT mid-50%26–3225th / 75th percentile
Receive institutional merit26%First-year students
Average merit award$7,425Across recipients

Source: Common Data Set

Other Ohio State scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountVariable (state-funded STEMM scholarship)EligibilityState-funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education for STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine) majors at Ohio State Columbus, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark campuses. Apply through the Ohio House of Science and Engineering (OHSE).

External-but-state pipeline scholarship; requires a separate application via OHSE rather than Scholarship Universe. Often missed by families because it lives outside Ohio State's main scholarship hub.

Source

AmountVariableEligibilitySecond-year students on the Columbus campus who enroll in STEP, the Second-Year Transformational Experience Program.

Not a freshman award. Activates in the second year for students who complete the STEP program coursework, adding funding for a designated transformational experience (study abroad, research, internship). Worth flagging because it's a second-year merit lever for students who didn't land a top freshman award.

Source

AmountValue of in-state tuition for Ohio residentsEligibilityOhio resident MSP applicants who hit MSP's leadership/service/civic-engagement bar but rank below Distinction or Prominence tier.

Effectively a full in-state-tuition scholarship for in-state MSP recipients who don't hit the Distinction tier. Often overlooked because families assume MSP is a single-tier program.

Source

AmountVariableEligibilityAll admitted Ohio State students with active accounts. Matches based on profile and current academic status.

Scholarship Universe matches students to OSU and over 10,000 external scholarships. The February 1 priority date is the controlling deadline for full consideration. Some departmental scholarships at colleges like Engineering or Fisher are NOT in Scholarship Universe; students must contact the college office directly.

Source

Ohio State merit aid FAQ

  • What is the President's Ohio Scholarship Program and who qualifies?

    It's Ohio State's signature single-test perfect-score award: full cost of attendance + a $5,000 enrichment grant (accessible after the first year) for new first-year Ohio residents who score a perfect ACT (36) or SAT (1600) on a single test date. The score must be from one sitting; superscored composites do not qualify. Application materials, including official scores, must be submitted by the November 1 early action deadline.

  • Can Ohio State merit scholarships be stacked?

    Almost never. The published rule is that merit scholarships cannot be combined, except the National Buckeye Scholarship, which can stack with the Maximus, Provost, or Trustees Scholarships for non-residents. Every other named OSU merit award is single-recipient: a student who qualifies for two non-stackable awards receives whichever is larger.

  • How does Ohio State handle outside scholarships?

    Federal regulations require that external scholarships be counted as part of the overall financial aid package, which cannot exceed cost of attendance. Once an external scholarship payment is applied, OSU may revise the financial aid package, typically by reducing self-help aid (loans, work-study) first, then institutional grants if total aid would otherwise exceed COA. Outside aid usually adds value rather than displaces institutional merit, but can crowd out grant aid for students near the COA ceiling.

  • What's the deadline for Ohio State scholarship consideration?

    Three dates matter. November 1 is the early action deadline that gates most automatic merit consideration (President's Ohio, National Buckeye, Maximus/Provost/Trustees, Land Grant Opportunity, and recommended for MSP). November 10 is the separate Stamps Eminence application deadline. February 1 is the FAFSA + Scholarship Universe priority date for need-based aid and the broader matched-scholarship pool.

  • Are transfer or international students eligible for OSU merit scholarships?

    No. International students are not eligible for university-funded merit-based scholarships at the Columbus campus. Transfer students are also explicitly excluded from university merit award consideration. Both groups should treat OSU as a sticker-price decision for institutional aid purposes; departmental scholarships at the college level may still be available case-by-case.

  • Does Ohio State participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program?

    No. Ohio State does not participate as a sponsoring institution with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. However, OSU will honor Corporate National Merit scholarships for students who accept admission. National Merit Finalists who otherwise qualify often prove to be strong candidates for OSU's competitive selection scholarships (Stamps Eminence, MSP), but the NMF status itself does not trigger an OSU merit award.

See sources and other schools

How Ohio State compares

  • 241 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    Ohio State is in a recognizable cluster (241 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 667 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Ohio State is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

  • 63 of 749 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

    Ohio State is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Ohio State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

How Ohio State compares

Families looking at Ohio State typically also evaluate three Big Ten peers and one private benchmark:

  • Michigan's Go Blue Guarantee. U-M's headline aid story is need-based for in-state residents under $125K (Go Blue Guarantee = full tuition + fees). Ohio State's headline is merit-based: perfect-test, Pell-eligible, or high-stat OOS. The two flagships are complementary, not interchangeable, and the Nov 1 EA deadline at OSU is firmer than U-M's process for institutional aid consideration.
  • Alabama's automatic OOS ladder. Alabama publishes a fully automatic out-of-state merit table from 25 ACT upward; Ohio State's National Buckeye + Maximus/Provost/Trustees stack is automatic but requires the Nov 1 deadline and tops out at $54K + $12K over four years. For OOS families that miss Nov 1 or want lower stat thresholds, Alabama is structurally cheaper.
  • UChicago's no-loan need-based packaging. UChicago is need-only and significantly more selective; Ohio State is the merit-friendly Big Ten alternative for high-stat applicants who didn't hit UChicago's admission bar but want a flagship-academics outcome at a fraction of UChicago's $90K+ COA.
  • WashU's Danforth Scholars Program. WashU's full-tuition Danforth Scholarship is the closest competitive-merit peer to Stamps Eminence at OSU. Both are Nov-deadline competitive selections; WashU's award pool is smaller and more selective, OSU's Stamps Eminence selection is gated by Honors/Scholars Program eligibility on top of the Common App + separate essay + video introduction.
Want a side-by-side comparison? Build a personalized playbook and we’ll compare likely costs across Ohio State and any peers you want to evaluate.

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