Financial Aid

Welcome to the Office of Student Financial Aid at Ohio State Marion.

Together with the university-wide Student Financial Aid office, we are committed to helping you make your college education affordable. We offer a variety of services and programs designed specifically to help you find ways to meet your educational expenses. Our staff is dedicated to making sure you receive your aid in a timely and efficient manner. If after reading the information below, you still have questions regarding financial aid please contact the Buckeye Link office at buckeyelink@osu.edu or call 614-292-0300. For questions regarding Ohio State Marion specific aid, please email marionsfa@osu.edu or call 740-725-6242.

Your financial aid package may consist of a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and part-time work through the Federal Work Study program.

While you may apply for financial aid at any time, the priority deadline to apply in order to maximize all your possible financial aid options at The Ohio State University is February 1st for students planning to enroll for classes in the following academic year.

FAFSA

The 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is open! Attend one of the following workshops to complete your FAFSA for next academic year and learn more about federal aid. Computers will be available upon request, but you are welcome to bring your own device. You will need the following information to complete your FAFSA:

  • StudentAid.gov account (students and contributors must each have their own account)
  • Your Social Security Number
  • Your 2024 federal income tax returns
  • Records of assets, including any child support received; current balances of cash, savings and checking accounts, and net worth of investments and businesses.
  • Your contributor’s name, birthdate, social security number and email address

Read more about the extended deadlines: https://undergrad.osu.edu/extended-deadlines 

FAFSA Completion Workshop Dates

Tuesday, October 14, 2025 12:30-1:45 p.m. (Library Classroom Building, Room 227)
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 12:30-1:45 p.m. (Library Classroom Building, Room 227)
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 5:00-7:30 p.m. (Room TBD Bryson Hall)

Freshmen: Register here and attend for credit for the First Year Success Series.

graphic art of graduation cap on top of piles of cash

Financial Aid Qs and As

Admission criteria

If you have never attended college, you can be admitted to a regional campus if you are an Ohio resident with a degree from an accredited high school or a GED. Note that:

  • Qualified transfer students must have — at the time of application — a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) on all college course work earned after high school graduation.
  • Home-schooled applicants applying to a regional campus must submit the district’s written acknowledgement of your Home Education Notification Form. Refer to your state’s Department of Education website to determine the specific document your state uses.

Campus-change program

Regional campus students in good academic standing may switch to the Columbus campus any time after they have completed 30 semester hours. Some programs may have more rigorous enrollment criteria, so you’ll work with an advisor to plan and prepare.

  • A reasonable plan for a student to complete 30 semester hours: Enroll in at least 15 hours for autumn semester and 15 hours for spring semester during your first year.

Regional Campus Commitment 

The Regional Campus Commitment will provide eligible new first-year students enrolling at the Lima, Mansfield, Marion or Newark campuses or Ohio State ATI in Wooster with the opportunity to attend Ohio State tuition-free.

Beginning in Autumn 2026, the Regional Campus Commitment program will cover tuition and mandatory fees for low-to-middle income, new first-year students.

To qualify, new first-year students must:

  • Be Ohio residents
  • Enroll at an Ohio State regional campus or Ohio State ATI in Wooster
  • File the FAFSA annually by the priority deadline
  • Maintain full-time enrollment at Ohio State
  • Have a family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $100,000 or less (verified through FAFSA)

This award will be available to students for up to eight semesters, whether they remain at a regional campus/Ohio State ATI or transition to the Columbus campus.

2026-2027 Scholarships

The Ohio State University at Marion is pleased to provide eligible students with a variety of sources for college funding, including nearly $1.1 million annually in campus-based scholarships. Our scholarship program is funded by the generous support of many area residents and organizations.

Award Criteria

  • All award amounts listed below are based on two full-time semesters of attendance (Autumn and Spring), and do not include any other Federal, State or external financial aid for which the student may qualify.
  • Summer semester awards are not available to students graduating from high school in the spring of the same calendar year.
  • The current, full-time, in-state tuition rate for new students is only $9,772 per year ($4,886 per semester).
  • High school graduates who have never enrolled in college courses after graduation will be awarded based upon the following criteria, based upon academic data on file with the Ohio State Admission Office as of the date of admission to the university. Additional academic data received after the date of admission will not result in any change to the student’s award.
  • New admission applicants for the spring semester will be awarded on a funds-available basis only, as it is the final term of the academic year.

First-Choice Incentive for New Freshman

Students who apply directly to Ohio State Marion as their “first-choice” Ohio State campus by February 1 of the year they intend to enter will receive a scholarship based on the chart below. 

Deadline

Award

Apply by November 1

$2,000

Apply by December 1

$1,500

Apply by January 1

$1,000

Apply by February 1

$500

 

George Alber Scholars

Application is open

Freshman students who apply and complete their application* for admission to Ohio State Marion as a degree-seeking student for the fall semester by our April 1 deadline and have a competitive academic standing can be considered for our George Alber Scholars program. Please review the criteria below. 

  • Freshman degree-seeking student with a completed Ohio State Marion application.
  • Minimum of a 3.0 unweighted GPA is required (3.5 GPA is preferable).
  • High School transcript is required and should be sent to ugdocs@osu.edu .
  • Scholarship Application is required and can be found here.

Application and essay prompt is open until April 1st. The essay prompt is: The Ohio State University at Marion community is vibrant and ever-changing. How would you as a George Alber Scholar positively impact our campus community? (Maximum of 500 words)

*All components of the application (online form, $60 application fee or approved fee waiver and official transcript/s) must be received by the deadline in order to be eligible.

**Available until funds are exhausted. Decisions are made on a rolling basis starting in January. "

New Transfer Students

New applicants who apply and complete their application* will eligible for a $1,000 scholarship.

*All components of the application (online form, $60 application fee or approved fee waiver and official transcript/s) must be received by the deadline in order to qualify. Students with fewer than 30 transfer credit hours post high school will be awarded based on their high school class rank.

Please note, new admission applicants for the spring semester will be awarded on a funds-available basis only, as it is the final term of the academic year.

Returning and Incoming Students

Apply for 2026-2027 Ohio State Marion scholarships on ScholarshipUniverse starting in December, 2025. ScholarshipUniverse is a scholarship matching tool that simplified the process of finding and applying for scholarships from both internal and external sources.

  1. Log in at osu.scholarshipuniverse.com using your Ohio State username and password
  2. Answer as many matching questions as possible: as you answer ScholarshipUniverse will alert you to possible scholarship matches. Be sure to continue until you get the following question: “What Ohio State campus are you attending next academic year?” (answer: Marion). Completing this question will allow us to consider you for Marion specific scholarships so it is very important that you complete this question.
  3. Also check the “applications” tab and submit any applications that become available as you answer the matching questions.
  4. Deadline is February 1st, 2026.

Late Fee/Hold Waiver Application

If you have received a late fee or have a financial hold and would like to apply for a waiver of the hold/fee, please submit the application and supporting documentation below. Your application will be reviewed within seven business days.

Additional resources