Why Transfer to Ohio State?

Ohio State University, transfer students, academic programs, financial aid, housing support, student life, campus visit, scholarships, career services, student organizations

Summary

In this conversation, Melissa Swafford and Molly Sprague discuss the various aspects of transferring to The Ohio State University. They cover the academic opportunities available, the importance of planning for transfer, financial aid options, housing support, and personal insights from Molly's experience as a transfer student. The discussion emphasizes the vibrant student life and resources that Ohio State offers to ensure a smooth transition for transfer students.

Takeaways

• Ohio State offers over 200 majors and 500 minors.
• Columbus provides a vibrant city life for students.
• Planning ahead is crucial for a successful transfer.
• Specific GPA requirements exist for popular majors.
• Scholarship Universe helps students find financial aid.
• Pell-eligible students can benefit from the Buckeye Opportunity Program.
• Ohio State has a two-year live on requirement for students.
• Transfer students can find community through clubs and organizations.
• Campus visits include tours and transfer overviews.
• Personal experiences highlight the benefits of transferring to Ohio State.

Transcript

Speaker 2 (00:05)
Welcome to Transfer Take 5. Today, we'll explore five aspects of transfer to The Ohio State University. I'm Melissa Swafford, Director of the Tri-C Transfer Centers, and today I'm joined by Molly Sprague from The Ohio State University. Thank you for joining me, Molly. This is great. A great place to start for our students out there. Why should a student consider transferring to Ohio State?

Speaker 1 (00:21)
Thanks so much for having me.

Yeah, great question. So Ohio State is one of the largest, most comprehensive universities in the world. So many different opportunities in terms of major. We have 200 plus majors. So chances are when students are looking to see if we have what they're interested in, we probably have exactly what they're looking for or something pretty close to it. Over 500 different minors and specializations that they can tack on to that major. So they can explore different opportunities.

For a lot of students, if they're interested in, you know, maybe business, but they love like the psychology behind marketing, they can do both and kind of tap into both areas of interest. And so in addition to that, with us being located in a larger city, so many different opportunities for internships or maybe post-grad job opportunities, and each individual college has their own career services office that students can work with to explore those different opportunities there.

Speaker 2 (01:30)
That's great. And Columbus itself, what are the some of the things that students take advantage of why they're going to Ohio State?

Speaker 1 (01:38)
Well, this is where I get a little biased because I'm a Columbus native. So sorry if I go off on a little tangent here. I love that city. But there are so many different opportunities. Students aren't going to be bored. They're not going to want to go home on the weekends just because there's nothing to do. It's not a small college town. So we have a lot of different concert venues around, some of which are located right on campus in the Schottenstein Center or even in the SHU.

So a lot of students will go to different shows. We have the Ohio Theater if they want to catch a Broadway show. So many different restaurants. A lot of new concepts come to Columbus, especially in the short north area, which is about a mile and a half, two miles from campus. And so a lot of students are going out and exploring the city when they're not studying or in class.

Speaker 2 (02:20)
That's great. Always good to have something to do. So thinking about, you know, we work with all of our students and their transfer planning. What are some of the most important aspects of planning for transfer and the process for Ohio State that students should be aware of?

Speaker 1 (02:22)
things to do.

Definitely plan ahead is always my biggest recommendation. It's never too early to start. I love when students, especially their first semester, maybe at a different school or community college, if they're planning on transferring to Ohio State, start looking into it because there are some nuances when it comes to some of the popular majors such as business or engineering or nursing, which are some of the definitely the most popular for Ohio State. But generally speaking,

in terms of transfer, if you have 30 or more credits completed after high school graduation, you have a cumulative college GPA of a 2.5, you're considered competitive for admission. However, when it goes back to business or engineering, they have additional criteria that students should be aware of. For example, business, you should have a cumulative college GPA of a 3.1.

30 or more credits completed and you need to have a C or better in Calc 1 or Business Calc. And then also with your English Composition 1 course. For engineering, you need to have a cumulative 3.0 GPA, a C or better in Calc 1. And then you also, we recommend that you have 30 or more credits completed as well.

Speaker 2 (03:46)
Yeah, and I know it varies. So I think one question that our students often get, so this is really helpful, is can I get into Ohio State? So the 30 more credits with a 2.5, they would be competitive as a transfer student for general admission. And then with the others, that's where planning comes into place with you and with us. And we have transfer guides. We also have, you have transfer guides.

Ohio State for Business, as well as engineering and nursing, so we can help students with that. What are some deadlines students should be aware of?

Speaker 1 (04:21)
Yeah, so we have for domestic applicants three different start terms that they could apply for, that being in the fall, the spring, and then in the summer. And for international applicants, they can start in the fall or in the spring. And they all have different deadlines. A big one for the fall would be May 15th. For students thinking about transferring in for the summer, they have typically March 1st.

And then for students thinking about transferring for the spring, it's usually right around November 1st.

Speaker 2 (04:55)
Right. And I think one of the other things that's always top of mind for our students is affordability and what scholarships are available. So how does Ohio State make getting an education there affordable?

Speaker 1 (05:07)
Sure. So we don't offer merit-based scholarships for transfer students like we do for first year. However, we have a really nice portal that we use. It's called Scholarship Universe, which can be found on our financial aid website. And so with that, students don't need to be admitted into the university to have access to this, but they need to have submitted their application because once they do that, then we will have, they'll have their specific Ohio State login credentials that they'll use to access the Scholarship Universe portal.

And what that is is students fill out a questionnaire and they're matched with all different scholarships that they're eligible to use specifically at Ohio State. They're internal, external scholarships, but it's a really nice one-stop shop where students can have access to thousands of different scholarship opportunities. And then of course we recommend every student file the FAFSA. Make sure you're putting Ohio State down as one of the schools to receive financial aid.

However, we have a priority deadline of February 15th. And so it's really important that students get that information in. And then for students who are Pell eligible, we have something called the Buckeye Opportunity Program, where whatever financial aid or scholarships don't cover for tuition or mandatory fees, Ohio State bridges that gap to cover the rest.

Speaker 2 (06:29)
And that really makes it affordable for our students that are Pell-eligible. So, awesome. So, one of those things that goes to affordability is housing. So, for our students who are at Tri-C, who are relocating to Columbus, housing is an important part. And I know there's lots of help for on-campus as part of the transfer planning process, but Columbus is a big city. What support is there for students to look for off-campus housing?

Speaker 1 (06:34)
Definitely.

Yeah, great question. So that's a good plug for me to mention that we do have a two-year live on requirement for students. So we base it off of when you graduated high school. However, for transfer students, it's on a space available basis. So that's where our office of off-campus and commuter services comes into play. They're really great. That's their bread and butter. That's what they focus on is finding off-campus housing opportunities for students and then also engaging off-campus students into campus life.

And so that's where I refer a lot of transfer students that I work with to visit and get in contact with them. They have a really nice portal where it's kind of like a Zillow or a realtor.com in terms of off-campus housing options, where they can go and they can put their budget, they can put what they're looking for, and it's filtered through Ohio State this office. And so they go, they vet the landlords to make sure that students are.

or having safe, reliable options in terms of off-campus housing.

Speaker 2 (07:56)
That's a great benefit that Ohio State is bringing because I think that's one of our students' concerns of navigating that off-campus living part. So, Molly, I know you had shared with me that you were a transfer student yourself and transferred to Ohio State. So, you know, we share kind of what your transfer experience was, but what are three aspects or three takeaways from your experience that you would want a transfer student who's planning now for Ohio State to know?

Speaker 1 (08:26)
Yeah, and I'll be completely honest with you. When I was a senior in high school, I had no interest in attending Ohio State. Like I said, I'm a Columbus native. So everybody went to Ohio State and I wanted to do something different. And then of course ended up transferring to Ohio State and completing my degree anyway. But something that I think that I would tell my younger self and definitely what I share with students, three aspects is the brand recognition of Ohio State. You can go anywhere in this world and show off your Ohio State degree.

and they're going to recognize that name and it has so much respect behind it. Number two, just the different opportunities that come with attending a large school like Ohio State. There are so many different resources to help students during their four years or during their time in undergrad. When it comes time for maybe thinking about that next step, maybe students are thinking about going into law school, med school, graduate school.

or maybe they're ready to jump right into the workforce. And Ohio State does such a great job to ensure that their students are ready for that next step. Number three, there are so many different opportunities to get involved. I know I was really nervous when I transferred because a lot of my friends that were living on campus, found their friend group. And it's a little different for transfer students, but we have over 1,400 different clubs and organizations for students to get involved with and different job opportunities. And that's where I met a lot of my friends during undergrad.

I'm really into running, so I joined a run club when I was a part of Ohio State, and I still keep in contact with those people. So I think when I'm talking to students and they're a little nervous about meeting people, there's so many different opportunities for them to kind of find their community on campus.

Speaker 2 (10:06)
So if a student is thinking Ohio State might be a good fit for me and they wanted to come visit and experience it, what would you suggest they do?

Speaker 1 (10:16)
So we have our campus visit website. It's just campusvisit.osu.edu. And that has, you can go in, you can filter out different things of what you're looking for. So specifically for transfer students, we host monthly transfer overviews and tours where you get to sit through a 40 minute overview of the transfer process. And then also you get to hear from exploration, which is for students who are maybe still deciding on what they want to major in.

but then also talk a little bit about transfer credit. So goes through all of those different nuances. And then you get to go on a 90 minute walking tour where you get to see things like a classroom, the library, our RPAC, which is our recreation facility on campus. And so that's a really good opportunity to get a feel if that's the right place for you. And then we also offer transfer open houses, both in the spring and in the fall.

Speaker 2 (11:07)
Well, thank you so much for spending time with us and sharing your knowledge and expertise about Ohio State.

Speaker 1 (11:14)
Thank you so much for having me, Go Bucks!