Ohio State Tuition Guarantee

The Ohio State Tuition Guarantee applies to incoming first-year undergraduate students at each of Ohio State's campuses.

Students who transfer to Ohio State will also join the guarantee program if they began their college career as a first-year student at another institution in autumn semester 2017 or later.

This program does not apply to: students who first enrolled in college prior to 2017, non-Ohio resident students, international students, non-degree-seeking students, exchange students, or students participating in College Credit Plus, Advanced High School or other pre-enrollment or postsecondary option programs.

For Ohio residents the guarantee includes in-state tuition, mandatory fees and housing and dining. Tuition and mandatory fees include the instructional and general fees on all campuses and the student activity, recreation, COTA and student union fees on the Columbus campus.

For Non-Ohio residents the guarantee includes tuition and mandatory fees. Tuition and mandatory fees include the instructional and general fees on all campuses and the student activity, recreation, COTA and student union fees on the Columbus campus. The guarantee does not cover non-resident surcharges or housing and dining for non-resident students.

The Ohio State Tuition Guarantee holds in-state tuition, mandatory fees, housing and dining rates flat for four academic years. The specific four-year rates are set for each entering class of new first-year students.

Exceptions may be made to extend the guarantee for students in academic programs that require more than 121 credit hours and generally require more than four years to complete. In addition, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, for situations such as military service and medical emergencies.

In the semester prior to the guaranteed rate’s scheduled expiration, students will receive notification of the upcoming expiration along with information about how to submit an appeal. 

Students who enroll in spring semester would be charged the current academic year’s tuition guarantee rate for the next four years.

First-year undergraduate students who start during the summer term, will temporarily be assigned to the prior Autumn’s Ohio State Tuition Guarantee group. First-year students will then be moved in Autumn to the succeeding academic year cohort guarantee rate for the next four years.

The tuition guarantee may be extended for students in programs that require more than 121 credit hours and generally take more than four years to complete. Students may appeal to extend the length of their guarantee in these cases. 

In the semester prior to the guaranteed rate’s scheduled expiration, students will receive notification of the upcoming expiration along with information about how to submit an appeal.

Exceptions may be made to extend the guarantee for students in academic programs that require more than 121 credit hours and generally require more than four years to complete. In addition, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, for situations such as military service and medical emergencies. To qualify for an extension, the change of major must have occurred within a student’s first year.

Exceptions may be made to extend the guarantee for students in academic programs that require more than 121 credit hours and generally require more than four years to complete. In addition, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, for situations such as military service and medical emergencies. To qualify for an extension, the additional major must have been declared within a student’s first year.

Unless an exception applies, students who do not complete in four years will have tuition and fees revert to the least-expensive guaranteed rate (the rate that rising fourth-year students would be paying). That continues each year, moving to the next cohort’s guaranteed rate.

Exceptions may be made to extend the guarantee for students in academic programs that require more than 121 credit hours and generally require more than four years to complete. In addition, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, for situations such as military service and medical emergencies.

In the semester prior to the guaranteed rate’s scheduled expiration, students will receive notification of the upcoming expiration along with information about how to submit an appeal. 

Students who transition to Columbus from an Ohio State regional campus would pay the Columbus campus guaranteed rate that corresponds to their four-year cohort. For instance, students who change campuses in their second year would pay the same rate paid by second-year students at the Columbus campus.

Students who became new first-year college students in autumn semester 2017 or later will join the guarantee in effect for students who started at Ohio State at the same time. 

For example, a student who transferred to Ohio State in autumn 2018 after one year at another college or university would be considered in their second year of the guarantee that began in autumn 2017. 

Students who began at another college before autumn 2017 will not be part of the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee. In those cases, the rates in place for continuing Ohio State students will be in effect. 

The Ohio State Tuition Guarantee includes tuition and mandatory fees. Tuition and mandatory fees include the instructional and general fees on all campuses and the student activity, recreation, COTA and student union fees on the Columbus campus. The guarantee does not cover non-resident surcharges, international student fees or housing and dining for non-resident students.

If a student becomes an Ohio resident for tuition purposes during their time at Ohio State, they would be covered by the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee from that point forward and would no longer pay the non-resident or international surcharge.

Federal and state education policies consider students a new first-year student when they first enroll in a college or university after receiving a high school diploma. Therefore, students who earned credit through College Credit Plus (or similar programs) while in high school are considered new first-year students and are included in the corresponding tuition guarantee cohort. 

Students who were approved for a gap year will be included in the guarantee that began one year prior to when they started at Ohio State.  Students may appeal to have their guarantee extended so they would have access to four full years of enrollment at the tuition guarantee rates.

In the semester prior to the guaranteed rate’s scheduled expiration, students will receive notification of the upcoming expiration along with information about how to submit an appeal. 

The guarantee applies to in-state undergraduate tuition, mandatory fees, room and board. Based on a student's academic progress and completion of program requirements, students will transition from an undergraduate student status to graduate student status as determined by the academic program. For most BS/MS combined programs, this transition occurs in year four of the program. This transition allows a student's course work to begin applying to the MS portion of their degree. As a student transitions to graduate student status, they will be charged graduate student tuition and fees, and their eligibility for the tuition guarantee program will end. 

It depends on each student’s individual circumstances. Students may see if their financial aid package was adjusted by selecting or searching for My Financial Aid in Buckeye Link.