How to Apply to Engineering at Ohio State: Direct Entry into Your Major, with Aerospace, Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering Needing Declared Interest, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Students

The Ohio State University (Ohio State) offers its engineering undergraduate programs through the College of Engineering, on the Columbus campus in Ohio’s capital. This guide follows Ohio State’s official information and covers domestic students, international students, students from China and transfer students. One limit up front: the College of Engineering’s own site (engineering.osu.edu) was not accessible, so this guide could not read it. The full major list, ABET accreditation status and any co-op program that would appear there are therefore not covered; admissions and cost information comes from Undergraduate Admissions, Student Financial Aid and the University Registrar. In Undergraduate Admissions’ enrollment criteria, computer and information science is listed under the College of Arts and Sciences rather than Engineering, and this site has a separate article on it, so it is not covered here.

1. What engineering programs are there

• The college: the university’s list of colleges and schools shows the College of Engineering as a separate college, described as preparing students to be leaders in many fields by using technological, professional and personal skills to develop sustainable solutions for crucial challenges.
• Major list: the “Majors and degrees” page on the admissions site is loaded dynamically and could not be read here; the admissions pages name only aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering (see below). For the full list and degree names, see engineering.osu.edu or the “Majors and degrees” page at undergrad.osu.edu.
• ABET accreditation: not stated on the pages read; check the College of Engineering site or ABET.

2. How admission works: direct entry into a major

• University first, then major: Undergraduate Admissions says that once you are found eligible for admission to the university, your academic record is reviewed for enrollment in your major. Some colleges have requirements that are more rigorous than the university’s in class rank and test scores.
• Engineering: the enrollment criteria page says admission to engineering majors is competitive and admitted students are enrolled directly into their major. Applicants interested in the highly competitive majors in aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering must indicate interest on the Common Application. Admitted students may change into any of the other engineering majors by 1 May.
• If you are not enrolled directly: the page says students admitted to the university but not yet eligible for direct enrollment begin in a pre-major program in their intended college or in University Exploration, and international students cannot be enrolled in University Exploration. Neither guarantees entry to the intended major. The engineering entry does not describe a pre-major route; ask the college.
• GPA thresholds: the university has no minimum class rank or GPA and no minimum ACT/SAT score. The pages read do not give any GPA threshold, course grade requirement, capacity limit or guarantee for entering an engineering major, so this is not published there; ask the College of Engineering admissions office.
• Why Early Action matters: the first-year page lists “majors in the College of Engineering” among the things considered for applicants who meet the 1 November Early Action deadline, and the international page “strongly recommends” 1 November if you want to be considered for engineering majors.
• Moving into engineering from another Ohio State college: the conditions are not given on the pages read; ask the College of Engineering.

3. Prerequisites and credit

• University minimum college-prep requirements (first-year page): English 4 units; math minimum 3, recommended 4; natural science with significant lab experience minimum 3; social science minimum 2, recommended 3; the same foreign language 2 units, recommended 3; visual or performing arts 1; plus 1 additional unit in any of these subjects. Going beyond the minimum in math, natural science and foreign language earns additional consideration. Advanced computer science can count as a math or natural science unit if the school categorizes it that way.
• The page stresses that most admitted students exceed the minimums: in last year’s admitted class 99% exceeded the math requirement and 89% the natural science requirement.
• Engineering-specific prerequisites: the pages read set no extra calculus, physics or chemistry requirement for engineering; this is not published there, so check the College of Engineering.
• AP, IB and other credit: the transfer page says Ohio State offers credit for AP, CLEP, IB and DSST exams (details at go.osu.edu/creditbyexam), and the international admitted-student page says that if you took AP, IB, AS-level or A-level exams you should have official scores sent to Ohio State to be considered for credit. How such credit applies to engineering courses is not covered on the pages read; ask the college.

4. Rounds, materials and testing

• Early Action: 1 November 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET, non-binding, autumn term only. Regular Decision: 15 January 2027, with decisions on 5 March. Early Action decisions come on 11 December for Ohio residents and 22 January for non-residents and international applicants. The $100 nonrefundable acceptance fee is due 1 May. Ohio State does not take first-year applications for summer; spring first-year applications close 1 November (1 October for international applicants).
• Application: the Common Application plus the application fee or a fee waiver. The first-year page does not state the fee amount (the transfer page says $60); check the application system.
• Transcript: the high school transcript must include senior-year courses and is best sent electronically by your counselor.
• Testing: ACT or SAT is required (applicants who will have been out of high school two or more years are exempt). Scores must come directly from the testing agency; school codes are ACT 3312 and SAT 1592. Ohio State superscores both tests; the ACT science section and the essay are not required. To be considered for Early Action, test by 3 October (SAT) or 17 October (ACT) and request that scores go to Ohio State when you register.
• Recommendations: optional; your counselor may send up to two through the Common Application or Naviance.
• Review: holistic, looking at course rigor, grades, personal essay, experiences and accomplishments, activities, leadership, work and family responsibilities. Ohio State reports that the middle 50% of admitted students scored 27–33 on the ACT and 1280–1470 on the SAT, and that in last year’s admitted class 94% ranked in the top quarter of their class and 64% in the top 10%. These are university-wide figures, not engineering-specific.

5. Domestic students

• Tuition (2026-27, basic costs page, Columbus campus first-years): Ohio residents $14,050 (instructional and general fees); non-residents $44,271 (includes the out-of-state surcharge); housing and food $15,738 for the most common plan. Ohio residents have tuition, general fees and housing and food held steady for four years (Ohio State Tuition Guarantee), which does not cover the non-resident surcharge, the international surcharge, or program, technology and course fees. First-years on the Columbus campus are generally required to live on campus for two years.
• Extra engineering charges: the Registrar’s 2026-27 fee table (students who began summer 2026 or later) lists an Engineering Program Fee of $2,000 per semester and a Learning Technology Fee of $240 per semester (totals for 12–18 credit hours); Engineering Physics has lower fees. The basic costs page only says tuition and fees vary by mode of instruction and program of study and does not list these two charges separately.
• Ohio residents’ guarantee: the Ohio Guaranteed Admission Program says students in the top 10% of their class are guaranteed admission to any Ohio public college or university if they meet the institution’s unconditional admission standard, and students in the top 5% are guaranteed admission to the main campus of any Ohio public university if they meet deadlines and submit the class rank certification form (ACT/SAT must still be submitted for the Columbus campus but are not used in the decision). The page does not say whether the guarantee also covers enrollment in an engineering major, which is competitive; ask Admissions.
• Scholarships: first-years who apply by 1 November are automatically considered for most university merit scholarships. The National Buckeye Scholarship (non-Ohio residents who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents) is up to $13,500 and can be combined with a Maximus, Provost or Trustees Scholarship ($1,000–$3,000). Ohio residents also have the President’s Ohio Scholarship (perfect ACT/SAT) and the Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship (Pell-eligible, full cost of attendance); Morrill and Stamps Eminence are for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. For need-based aid, file the FAFSA by the 1 February priority date. College of Engineering scholarships were not read.

6. International students

• Who is international: anyone who is not a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, refugee or person granted asylum.
• Materials: the Common Application and fee; transcripts, documents or official copies of examination certificates for the final four years (grades 9–12), uploaded by your counselor through the Common Application, Naviance or another secure service, or emailed to ugdocs@osu.edu (faxes are not accepted), with any non-English documents translated into English by the issuing institution, an authorized translator or a teacher of the language; ACT or SAT; proof of English; recommendations are optional.
• English proficiency: any one of TOEFL iBT 79 or higher for exams before 21 January 2026 or 4.0 or higher on or after that date; IELTS or IELTS Indicator 6.5; Duolingo 120; ACT English 21; or SAT EBRW 550 (international page). The first-year page instead lists SAT Reading Test 27 or higher; the two pages differ, so check the application system. You are also exempt after three full years at a U.S. regionally accredited high school, or if you are a citizen of or hold a bachelor’s degree from Australia, Belize, British Caribbean, British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Ghana, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, the United States or Wales. Ohio State’s American Language Program requires a separate application and does not offer conditional admission.
• Proof of funds: after you are admitted and accept, submit the signed Visa Request Form and support documents to receive the I-20 or DS-2019; for autumn, by the first week of June, along with your passport page. Documents sent before admission are not reviewed. The page does not give a required amount; follow the form’s instructions or ask Admissions.
• Costs (2026-27, single international student, basic costs page): tuition $47,374 (including an annual International Undergraduate Student Fee of $3,103), housing and food $15,630, books, supplies and equipment $1,020, health insurance $4,108 and personal expenses $4,046. Students must buy the university’s student health insurance unless exempt. The engineering program and learning technology fees above are extra.
• Scholarships: the merit scholarship page says international students are not eligible for the university’s first-year merit scholarships. The Student Financial Aid international page points to Scholarship Universe (matching Ohio State and external scholarships) and college or department scholarships, with the FAFSA and a Scholarship Universe profile by 1 February (it does not say whether international students can file a FAFSA), and short-term university assistance approved by the Office of International Affairs.
• Credential evaluation: the pages read do not mention credential agencies or country-specific conversions; this is not published there.

7. Students from China

• Gaokao: the international application pages read do not mention the Gaokao and have no China-specific page; whether and how it is used is not published there, so ask Undergraduate Admissions through undergrad.osu.edu.
• Transcripts: submit grade 9–12 transcripts or official copies with English translations (by the school, an authorized translator or a teacher of the language). The pages do not say whether academic proficiency test (huikao) results are needed.
• Testing and English: ACT or SAT is required; English requirements are above, and China is not on the exempt list.
• Interviews and agencies: the pages mention no interview and no China-specific guidance; not published there.

8. Transfer students

• Who counts as a transfer student: anyone who attended another college after high school. International transfer applicants have a separate page.
• Deadlines: Columbus campus spring 2027 admission 1 November 2026, autumn 2027 admission 1 March 2027, summer 15 May 2027; international transfer applicants spring 1 October 2026 and autumn 1 March 2027. The application fee is $60, nonrefundable.
• Admission basis: with 30 or more semester hours (45 quarter hours) after high school, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher from all institutions is typically competitive, with grade trends and performance in major-related courses considered. With fewer than 30, holistic review of college work, the high school record and ACT/SAT (if required).
• Entering an engineering major: the transfer enrollment criteria say students with at least 30 transferable semester hours including credit for at least one calculus course and a GPA of 3.0 or higher enroll directly in their major, except those who applied to aerospace, biomedical or mechanical engineering, who enroll as pre-majors. Students with fewer than 30 hours are considered under the first-year criteria. Students with more than 30 hours but below a 3.0 GPA, or without credit for Math 1151 or equivalent, are enrolled in Science, Technology and the Environment Exploration; international students cannot be enrolled in University Exploration.
• Credit: courses from regionally accredited institutions that are non-remedial and graded C- or better transfer; in a few cases D or D+ may transfer. Transferology shows how courses transfer.
• Testing and scholarships: ACT/SAT is not required if you have earned one or more graded college credits after high school or will be out of high school two or more years. Transfer students are not eligible for university merit scholarships.

Checklist

Domestic students:

• By 1 November 2026 submit the Common Application, transcript and ACT/SAT (needed to be considered for engineering majors); if you want aerospace, biomedical or mechanical engineering, indicate it on the application
• Take as much math (4 units recommended) and lab science (3 or more units) as you can
• By 1 February file the FAFSA and create a Scholarship Universe profile

International students (including students from China):

• Same timeline as domestic applicants, with spring entry due 1 October; ACT or SAT is required, and English scores must meet the levels above
• Translate transcripts into English; ask Admissions how to submit the Gaokao
• After admission and the $100 acceptance fee, submit the Visa Request Form and funding documents

Transfer students:

• Columbus campus: 1 November for spring, 1 March for autumn; international transfer applicants 1 October for spring
• For direct entry into an engineering major: 30 semester hours including at least one calculus course and a GPA of 3.0 or higher; the three most competitive majors start as pre-majors

Sources: The Ohio State University, Undergraduate Admissions: first-year steps; Who gets in and college prep; Enrollment criteria by college; International first-year steps; International who gets in; International after you are admitted; Ohio Guaranteed Admission Program; Transfer steps; Transfer admission criteria; Transfer enrollment criteria; International transfer; Basic costs; Registrar: 2026-27 fee table; Merit scholarships; Student Financial Aid: international scholarships; Colleges and schools. Deadlines are labeled spring and autumn 2027 and costs are 2026-27 figures. The College of Engineering’s own website could not be accessed and was not read; check Ohio State for the latest details.