by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of students will not be asked to pay the full sticker price of a school. Rather, they are offered a financial aid plan that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The total cost of going to Ohio State University-Main Campus can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can Ohio State deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep reading to find out what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Ohio State University-Main Campus.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
At Ohio State University-Main Campus, 80% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 6416 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 70% | $13,151 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 69% | $10,821 |
| Federal Pell grants | 19% | $5,780 |
| State/local grants | 14% | $3,712 |
| Federal student loans | 31% | $5,237 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. Across the undergraduate body at Ohio State, some 62% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $12,876 (across roughly 28548 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 62% | $12,876 |
| Federal Pell grants | 20% | $5,739 |
| Federal student loans | 29% | $6,241 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $12,966.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $6,646 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $10,115 |
| Over $75,000 | $25,978 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
The net price represents the average annual cost a title-IV-receiving student pays after grant aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $17,339 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,292 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Ohio State’s net price tool: sfa.osu.edu/incoming-freshmen/about-aid/net-price-calculator.
Graduating students at Ohio State carry a median federal student debt of $14,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $14,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,976 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $211.78/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at Ohio State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,350 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,700 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,643 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $15,984 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,250 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,500 |
| Independent students | $15,000 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Ohio State.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Ohio State:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 157401 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $4,039,733,772 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 874 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $11,267,315 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $12,892 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 51 |
| Total DoD amount | $172,914 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,390 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.