The Ohio State University (OSU) recently announced an opportunity for low-income students to receive free tuition if qualified as well as current and future scholarship opportunities for incoming and transfer students.
Following the new free tuition commitment, OSU’s first-year student enrollment spiked by nearly 20%. According to OSU’s Office of Academic Affairs, this increase stems from OSU’s new developing framework designed to enhance the “affordability and accessibility [of an Ohio State degree] for more low-to-middle income students.”
Derek Faasse, the university’s director of undergraduate admission, said that financial aid at the university comes in two main forms: scholarships based on academic accomplishments in high school and need-based financial aid based on the students’ income or their family’s.
The latter is calculated using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); however, academic scholarships become more attractive to students when they can see the amount of money receivable, judging by their performance in high school.
“Giving every student a scholarship is a great way to attract students,” said Faasse. “It’s a great way to remove that barrier that might already be there based on the cost of a private university.”
The various scholarships and awards the university offers is “a good way” Faasse’s office promotes admission to “get on” weary high school students’ “radar.”
The university does not just offer monetary opportunities to incoming students; they also have the Preferred Pathway award offered to students who transfer from Columbus State Community College with a 3.0 GPA and are eligible for the pell grant, similar to OSU.
“Every student that’s accepted to Capital University gets a minimum $20,000 scholarship … that’s if they’re a first-year or if they’re a transfer student,” said Faasse.
Eligible students are able to receive the university’s built-in GPA-based scholarship, as well as Preferred Pathway award, which covers all tuition. “[It’s] a good opportunity for those students that have the highest financial need to attend college to get that barrier removed in order to have a smooth transition from Columbus State to Capital University,” said Faasse.
Many transfer and incoming students take advantage of this opportunity, as it is a common way to make schooling more affordable.
Jacob Denney, a student from the university, regarded their experience as “cost free.”
“I didn’t know it was going to be basically cost-free for me. [A university faculty member] told me that if I commuted, that everything else would be cost free because Columbus State already was giving me a scholarship,” Denney said.
Faasse said Columbus State remains the university’s “largest transfer feeder.”
“We’re above 25% for first-year students coming right from high school, and we’re also up in transfer students coming from community colleges,” Faasse said.
As OSU and other colleges continue to implement more financial aid opportunities as cost-of-living increases and wages continue to plummet, the university strives to provide multiple opportunities for lower income students as well.
