Ohio State University

Ohio State University is the third largest university in the country. It was originally founded in 1870 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, a land-grant school. The school changed its name and its focus in 1878 to become a broader, more well-rounded institution. Today, the school has a wide variety of programs. Situated on 1,700 acres in an urban setting, Ohio State enrolls roughly 47,000 undergrads and 14,000 post-grad students. Additionally, over 2,500 students study abroad in more than 40 countries each year.

There are many programs to choose from on the main Columbus campus. Undergraduates have more than 160 majors to select from, while graduate programs include curriculum through the College of Education and Human Ecology, the Max M. Fisher College of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Medicine, and the Michael E. Moritz College of Law. Aside from the many options for different majors, students can also complete a personalized study program and design their own curriculum. All freshmen participate in the Ohio State First-Year Experience.

The school holds an orientation and provides special programming to help students make the transition to college life. Ohio State also runs a community service spring break trip specifically for first-year students. For academic classes, the student to faculty ratio is 19 to 1. Only 32% of classes have less than 20 students in them, so most classes are held with a large number of students. The most popular majors include psychology; finance; human development and family studies; speech communication and rhetoric; and biology/biological sciences.

Ohio State offers a large number of student activities outside the classroom. There are more than 900 student-run organizations on campus, including about 65 fraternities and sororities. About 7% of men and 11% of women are affiliated with the Greek system. Ohio State provides opportunities for community service, including the Pay It Forward program, which supplies students with an online listing of events where they can volunteer. Students can become involved with “The Lantern” (the daily newspaper since 1881) or the literary magazine, “Mosaic.” Ohio State also publishes “The Sundial,” which is one of the oldest running humor magazines in the nation. Many students also belong to improv groups, club sports, or arts and music organizations. One of the school’s biggest groups, with 2,400 students a year, is Block “O.” They act as the official student cheering section at athletic events.

Sports are a large part of Ohio State’s culture. The teams are the Buckeyes, named after the state tree. The football team competes in the NCAA Division I B1G. The men and women’s hockey teams also compete in the B1G and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Other popular teams include men’s volleyball and men’s lacrosse. Ohio State offers individuals a diverse setting with a large population of students who can thrive in and outside of the classroom.