When is the Ohio State early action deadline?

Nov. 1, 2026 for autumn 2027. Early Action is nonbinding; Ohio residents get a decision on Dec. 11, and non-Ohio residents and international applicants on Jan. 22. Regular Decision closes Jan. 15, 2027, with decisions March 5. Nov. 1 is also the deadline to be automatically considered for most Ohio State merit scholarships, engineering majors, and Honors and Scholars programs.

Does Ohio State require the SAT or ACT?

Yes, for first-year applicants to the Columbus campus (unless you'll have been out of high school two or more years). Ohio State superscores both the ACT and SAT. To be considered for Early Action, the last test dates are Oct. 3 (SAT) and Oct. 17 (ACT), with scores sent directly to Ohio State.

What ACT score do you need for Ohio State?

Ohio State has no minimum, but the middle 50% of admitted students scored 27 to 33 on the ACT and 1280 to 1470 on the SAT, per Ohio State. 64% of last year's admitted class ranked in the top 10% of their high school class. The fall 2026 entering class averaged 28.6 on the ACT and 1300 on the SAT.

Ohio State Admissions for Ohio Residents: Nov. 1 Early Action (Decisions Dec. 11), 70% of Freshmen From Ohio, Required Test Scores and the Top-5% Guarantee

Ohio State admissions for Ohio residents run on a deadline that's days away: Early Action closes November 1, and Ohio residents who meet it hear back on December 11. Nov. 1 is also the cutoff for automatic consideration for most of Ohio State's merit scholarships. 70% of the 8,585 new first-year students on the Columbus campus this fall came from Ohio. And Ohio State requires an ACT or SAT score from Columbus applicants.

The figures below are from Ohio State's undergraduate admissions pages and its autumn 2026 enrollment report.

Fall 2027 deadlines (Columbus campus)

	Deadline	Decision
Early Action (nonbinding)	Nov. 1, 2026	Dec. 11 (Ohio residents); Jan. 22 (non-residents, international)
Regular Decision	Jan. 15, 2027	March 5
Financial aid priority (FAFSA, Scholarship Universe)	Feb. 1	--
Acceptance fee	May 1, 2027	--

Source: The Ohio State University, Columbus campus first-year application information.

Why Nov. 1 matters most: Ohio State says Early Action is when you're considered for university merit scholarships, the Morrill Scholarship Program, the President's Ohio Scholarship Program, Honors and Scholars programs, engineering majors, Nursing Direct Admission and the Stamps Eminence Scholarship. Ohio State doesn't admit first-year students for summer.

Ohio residents apply once for all Ohio State campuses; apply to your first-choice campus only.

Test scores are required

Ohio State requires an ACT or SAT score for first-year Columbus applicants (unless you'll have been out of high school for two or more years). It superscores both tests. For Early Action, the last test dates were Oct. 3 (SAT) and Oct. 17 (ACT), with scores sent straight from the testing agency.

Admitted students	25th-75th percentile	10th-90th percentile
ACT	27-33	23-35
SAT	1280-1470	1180-1530

Source: Ohio State, "Who gets in?"

Last year's admitted class: 64% ranked in the top 10% of their high school class and 94% in the top quarter. Ohio State has no minimum GPA, class rank or test score.

The top-5% guarantee

Under Ohio Guaranteed Admission, students in the top 5% of their Ohio high school class are guaranteed admission to the Columbus campus once they submit a complete application by the deadline and send the Class Rank Certification Form to ugdocs@osu.edu. They still need to submit test scores, but Ohio State says those scores aren't used in their admission decision. See Ohio Guaranteed Admission.

Who enrolled in fall 2026

8,585 new first-year students on the Columbus campus, up 375 from 2025.
70% from Ohio.
Average ACT 28.6 and SAT 1300.
3,256 new first-year students on the regional campuses, up 6.1%.

Paying for it

Buckeye Opportunity Program: Pell-eligible Ohio residents with significant need, on any campus, get enough aid to cover tuition and mandatory fees.
Regional Campus Commitment (new for fall 2026): Ohio residents with family income of $100,000 or less who start at Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark or ATI in Wooster get remaining tuition and mandatory fees covered for up to eight semesters, even if they move to Columbus.
President's Ohio Scholarship: Ohio residents with a perfect 36 ACT or 1600 SAT on a single test date who apply by Nov. 1 get a full cost-of-attendance scholarship.
Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship: full cost of attendance for 176 high-need, high-achieving Ohio students a year, with an attempt to award two in each of Ohio's 88 counties.
Other universities' programs: see Ohio free tuition programs to compare Ohio State with Cincinnati, Kent State, Akron and others. For how Ohio high schools prepare students, see Ohio high school college readiness.
State aid: the Governor's Merit Scholarship ($5,000 a year for the top 5%) and OCOG (up to $4,000 at public universities).

Ohio State's tuition guarantee freezes tuition and mandatory fees for four years for each entering class; for Ohio residents, it also covers on-campus housing and dining rates.

What this means for you

Submit by Nov. 1 for Early Action, merit scholarships and engineering.
Send test scores. Ohio State requires them; it superscores.
In the top 5%? Send your Class Rank Certification Form for guaranteed admission.
File the FAFSA by Feb. 1 for Ohio State's need-based aid.