Ohio State’s domestic student enrollment is up 1.1 percent from last Autumn. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Ohio State’s newly released 15th day student enrollment report showcases a 1.1 percent increase in domestic student enrollment for Autumn 2024.
The university’s Columbus campus reports a 0.2 percent decrease in overall enrollment, despite Ohio State’s main and branch campuses having a 0.5 percent enrollment increase when compared to last fall semester. According to the report, there are now 67,255 students enrolled at Ohio State.
Regional campuses have seen an 8.6 percent increase in overall enrollment, with almost 6,000 students enrolled, when compared to Autumn 2024. Newark remains at the top enrollment for regional campuses with 2,877 students, according to the report.
“Initiatives across the regional campuses are contributing to enrollment growth,” Chris Booker, university spokesperson, said in a statement. “These include application fee waivers for students who apply directly to a regional campus as their first choice, along with expedited application reviews.”
Booker also attributed the regional campus growth to the new degree offerings at these colleges, including an engineering technology degree, as well as the experience of a smaller campus.
While the regional campuses have seen a burst in enrollment, the Columbus campus has seen a decrease of 0.4 percent in undergraduate enrollment and a 13.9 percent decrease in new freshman enrollment when compared to last fall semester, according to the report.
For new freshmen, Ohio residents coming to Ohio State’s main campus has decreased 8.2, according to the report. Overall, there has been a 19.7 percent decline in national freshman enrollment coming to the Columbus campus.
In undergraduate programs, the College of Environment and Natural Resources saw a sharp decrease of 15.8 percent in enrollment when compared to Autumn 2024. The College of Arts and Sciences also saw a decrease of 2.6 percent, still remaining the university’s highest undergraduate enrollment college.
The College of Pharmacy has seen a 16.2 percent increase when compared to last autumn, as well as the College of Public Health seeing an increase of 14.2 percent, according to the report.
All professional programs, other than dentistry, saw a slight increase in terms of enrollment, with a 0.5 percent increase in students compared to Autumn 2024.
In terms of test scores, the average ACT of incoming freshmen is 30.6, complementing that of the average SAT score, at 1397, according to the report.
Ohio State adopted a test-optional policy back in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release, but will now mandate all ACT/SAT scores for first-year undergraduates applying to the Columbus campus in the 2026 admissions cycle and on.
Over a 10-year trend, the university has been mostly composed of undergraduate students, with 78.1 percent making up most of the student body from 2022 up until 2025.
“We have incredible momentum right now, and I’m proud that Ohio State is the destination of choice for so many students and families, including many from right here in Ohio,” President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr said in a press release. “True to our land-grant mission, we offer an exceptional education at an affordable cost, and we have exciting plans to elevate our academic excellence and student accessibility even further. It’s a great time to be a Buckeye.”
