Ohio College Tour – 5 Schools, 1 Day

The true beauty of exploring a state is exploring it through its colleges. All you need is a rental van, a map (or let’s be honest…GPS) and you’re good to go! Oh let’s not forget the ever important coffee…remember to get coffee. We began our Ohio college tour with Ohio State University and ended about 12 hours later back at our hotels. Take a look at the colleges we explored, some fun facts and make sure to check out pictures!

A note about acceptance rates: Keep in mind acceptance rates are not all equal. You want to dive deeper and look at the percentage of out-of-state students accepted, early or regular acceptance rates and by program. If you search Freshman Admission Profile in any university or college you will be able to find all-encompassing data. Happy searching!

Ohio State University: Go Buckeyes! The Buckeyes, also the state free, comes from the poisonous seed that resembles the eye of buck deer. Ohio State is a powerhouse for sports and spirit and is the flagship school for the state. If you want a big school with
It’s of spirit and pride and student involvement, this is one for you. Ohio state received just under 50,000 applicants last year and enrolled about 7,800. Average ACT 28 and 95% of the students accepted were in the top 25 percent of their class. 30% of students are from out-of-state and has a 90% retention rate (remember, retention rate means the percentage of students that come back after their freshman year…a high retention rate means they are HAPPY with their experience at the college). OSU has a holistic admissions review process and look at a number of factors including strength in college-prep curriculum (a.k.a. the classes you choose to take), GPA, test scores, ability to contribute to a diverse campus community, leadership, co-curricular, work experience and more. Check out apply.osu.edu for more information. Admissions are trying to determine academic aptitude and university citizenship potential in their applicants. They want to look at the class as a whole and create a strong, diverse community.

Ohio Wesleyan University: Private, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. I really enjoyed this hidden gem in Ohio! About 1850 undergraduate students and 95% of students receive merit and need-based financial aid. Community service is big on campus and it is included in the Colleges that Change Lives book for character development and happy students.  A little bit of an academic, nerdy vibe and small. Notable programs include journalism and fine arts. They offer amazing studios. If you are looking at schools like RISD and Savannah College of Art and Design, check out Wesleyan. 62% acceptance rate.

Fun random fact: We parked at Wesleyan and paid ONE quarter for AN HOUR of parking. That is UNHEARD of in Los Angeles, impressive 🙂

College of Wooster: Ranked #62 in National Liberal Arts Colleges and #22 for best undergraduate teaching. Private and has just about 2,000 students. What does a small school give you? Access to professors and resources and small classrooms = great for learning! 55% acceptance rate (Higher acceptance rate if apply early). DIII sports. Offers independent study major (students are able to explore an interest and create a capstone project with a faculty member as a mentor. Apart of Colleges that Change Lives book. Offers pre-professional degrees and lots of majors including B.A. in Music and is a residential campus. Charming and small! Moderately difficult to get in, more than 75% of freshmen accepted were in the top 50% of their high school class.

Kenyon College: Selective, liberal arts college with just over 1,600 students. Beautiful campus with deep traditions that make it a fun community to be a part of. Kenyon has a small, charming downtown area the campus and community are basically all the same. Kenyon recognizes traditional liberal arts and sciences and interdisciplinary studies. Accepts about 25% of its applicants. Ranked #25 in National Liberal Arts colleges. Kenyon values writing and academics highly.

Oberlin College: Small, liberal arts college. 29% acceptance rate. Stats for Colleges of Arts and Sciences – Average 3.6 un-weighted, 3.9 weighted GPA, 96% of students enrolled in top 25% of their class. Conservatory of Music stats – conservatory has just under 600 students enrolled.

ACT	30-33
SAT critical reading	670-750
SAT mathematics	650-760
SAT writing	660-750

• The oldest continuously operating Conservatory of Music in the United States.
• Eight undergraduate majors, including private study in 42 areas encompassing performance, composition, musicology, and music education

Oberlin’s downtown area is small and charming!

Although our college tour primarily small liberal arts colleges, Ohio has quite an offering in terms of colleges. Enjoy the photos and as always, dive deeper into each college directly on their website. Look at specific majors, requirements, admissions etc. Check out some of the colleges at our College Connections Fair on October 10, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at BHHS.