The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) vs Ohio State

Envision yourself as a college student, surrounded by vibrant campuses and a diverse student body. As you embark on your academic journey, it's essential to find the university that aligns with your aspirations and goals. Two prominent institutions, The Pennsylvania State University and Ohio State University-Main Campus, offer distinct experiences and opportunities. While both excel in academics and research, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into the specifics and discover which university resonates with your unique aspirations.

	Ohio State University-Main Campus	The Pennsylvania State University
Overview
Location	Columbus, Ohio	University Park, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	94.0%	87.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	57.2%	92.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $65
SAT range	1250 - 1440	1140 - 1360
ACT range	26 - 32	25 - 31
Students submitting SAT score	21.0%	32.0%
Students submitting ACT score	64.0%	6.0%
Total number of applicants	58,180	96,686
Total number of admissions given out	33,269	89,207
Admitted students who chose to enroll	8,423	16,049
Yield rate	25.3%	18.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,796 Out of state: $50,879	In state: $38,270 Out of state: $55,848
Average net price	$19,474	$24,012
Tuition	In state: $11,018 Out of state: $34,101	In state: $18,368 Out of state: $35,946
Room & board	$13,392	Room/dormitory: $7,360 Meal plan: $5,618
Available payment plans	Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	72.0% Average amount $11,830	51.0% Average amount $9,884
Students receiving federal student loan	36.0% Average amount $5,228	49.0% Average amount $5,305
Students taking out private loans	6.0% Average amount $17,841	13.0% Average amount $19,837

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	47,106 Men 50.3% Women 49.7%	73,476 Men 53.7% Women 46.3%
Graduate students	14,571 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	15,438 Men 51.7% Women 48.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	25.1%	34.1%
International students	9.1%	10.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	15,129	20,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Ohio New York Illinois New Jersey Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Maryland Virginia

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Education Business Public Administration and Social Service	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Health Professions Social Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	18:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	88.0%	72.3%
Dropout rate	3.8%	25.7%
Transferred out	7.1%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Dentistry (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $232,029 Year 2: $248,619 Year 3: $267,734 Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $177,325 Year 3: $228,908 Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $116,968 Year 2: $121,226 Year 3: $143,684 Veterinary Medicine (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $155,311 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $132,262 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $108,826 Year 2: $104,749 Year 3: $125,137 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $99,951 Year 2: $120,498 Year 3: $122,881 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,639 Year 2: $108,577 Year 3: $115,825 Physics (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $79,371 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $107,219 Optometry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $89,790 Year 2: $99,983 Year 3: $105,922 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $85,188 Year 2: $87,470 Year 3: $100,687	Information Science/Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $109,295 Year 2: $120,549 Year 3: $125,527 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,798 Year 2: $95,930 Year 3: $120,289 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,190 Year 2: $97,959 Year 3: $113,544 Mining and Mineral Engineering (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $98,403 Year 3: $108,754 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $100,372 Year 2: $100,455 Year 3: $107,874 Systems Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,574 Year 2: $99,291 Year 3: $104,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,304 Year 2: $97,855 Year 3: $104,056 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $92,512 Year 2: $94,864 Year 3: $103,461 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $92,632 Year 3: $98,201 Nuclear Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $89,155 Year 3: $94,780

Compare Similar Colleges

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The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) vs Ohio State

Ohio State University-Main Campus

The Pennsylvania State University

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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