The ins and outs of transitioning to the Columbus campus

Emma Skinner
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:34:23 +0000
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The Newark campus in 2017, a satellite campus where students commonly transfer from. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University at Newark

Transitions in life are never easy, even when moving from a satellite campus to Ohio State’s Columbus location.?

Former President Ted “Walter” Carter Jr. announced in September Ohio State’s 10-year-plan, the Education for Citizenship 2035 initiative, where students at Ohio State’s satellite campuses will be able to move to Columbus at no additional cost for families with an adjusted gross income, or AGI, of $100,000 or lower, per prior Lantern reporting.?

Here is a step by step process to transition to the Columbus campus. Shannon Peltier, assistant director of academic advising, and Cece Albon and Jacob Glorioso, off-campus specialists, shared what students should do to be successful.

Ohio State considers all campuses to be equally important. When researching the various locations, realizing that the Columbus campus is not listed as the main location can help ease a possible campus transition.

“This helps highlight the importance of our regional campuses in meeting Ohio State’s mission of educating citizens throughout Ohio without implying that any campuses are more or less important than the others,” Peltier said in an email.

To be eligible for a campus change, students must have a minimum Ohio State cumulative GPA of 2.0 and 30 credit hours completed after graduating high school, according to the campus change website.?

Some majors have extra requirements for joining its program and questions can be directed to an academic advisor, according to Campus Change, a resource built to help regional students transfer to Ohio State’s main campus.??

Students can reach out to their regional campus advisor or learn who their new assigned advisor is through Buckeye Link.

If a student is able to change campuses but did not meet admission requirements for their major or program of choice, the request will be forwarded to University Exploration, and they will follow-up after reviewing the students academic record.?

If a student meets the program requirements, campus change requests are typically approved around the end of the semester, according to an email from Campus Change’s help team.

After Spring semester grades are posted, students can schedule Autumn 2026 courses at the Columbus campus, according to its website.

If a student fails to meet requirements by the end of their final semester at the regional campus, they will be denied the campus change.?

If denied, the student can meet with their campus advisor and explore an action plan to complete the requirements for changing campuses.?

If the student has already scheduled their classes for the Columbus campus, they will be dropped from these courses and need to reschedule them for their regional campus. If a student is still in the process of finishing their requirements, approval happens after final grades are posted, according to Campus Change’s website.

Students can take courses at other universities during the summer semester to meet campus change requirements, but the switch will not be approved until Ohio State receives the students’ official transcript, according to Campus Change.?

Another important aspect to recognize in the campus switch is housing. The main campus and regional location of Wooster require students to live on campus for two years, with exceptions outlined in Ohio State’s housing regulation rules. Students should submit housing applications to the university as soon as possible.?

If students would like to live off campus as an underclassman, they will need to prove one of the following circumstances. These include if they will live with a parent, relative or legal guardian within 25 miles of campus, is a part of a Ohio State Greek life and if they plans on living in the organization’s respective house, be a resident in a scholarship or academic residential living unit not a part of the residence hall system, according to Ohio State Housing.

Ohio State Housing also provides in-person and online walkthroughs for students to learn about the off-campus housing search process. The Off-Campus Housing Network Housing Search also provides available in-network properties in the University District that meet city code.

For more individualized support, Housing Consultations can help students find off-campus housing.?

Albon and Glorioso are off-campus specialists who gave this specific information on off-campus housing in an email.?

Students can select their living option — on or off-campus — in the housing application in the Ohio State Housing portal.?

The deadline to submit your housing preferences was March 2. If? students missed the deadline or have questions, contact Ohio State Housing via email or phone number.

Following Campus Change guidelines, in April, students who met the March 2 deadline will get to choose their roommates. Housing will share information on how to create or join a roommate request when the process is available in the housing portal. The Room Select process will be based on randomly generated timeslots, and all students in a verified roommate request will receive the same timeslot for room selection.

A $300 space reservation fee and a $50 filing fee for students new to university housing, will be billed to your student account upon submission of a student housing contract, according to Ohio State’s tuition page. This fee will be held pending on-campus residence during the Spring Semester. If a student is currently living in university housing, which includes satellite campus dorms and apartments, their current space reservation fee will be used to cover this fee.

If a student is currently living off-campus, please ensure to pay these fees via your university account no later than March 31. Students can find out if they were charged via email or by looking at their statement of account through Buckeye Link.?

Tuition between the Columbus campus and the satellite campus differs. Students should put thought into whether this switch is right for them academically and financially. Billing updates may take time after campus change approval due to systems updating information, students should contact Buckeye Link if they have any questions.

When moving to Columbus, students are encouraged to remain in contact with friends they made at their satellite campus, Amanda Donahue, who manages Campus Change and Transfer Student success initiatives, said in an email. She said this allows students to explore the city and campus together.

“We know that moving from one campus to another can feel overwhelming, and we want to ensure students feel supported every step of the way,” Donahue said.?

Her office provides an in-person welcome event, success coaching, newsletters, and additional student support for anyone moving campuses to help build community, connect with resources, and build confidence, she said.

?“Some students find the change to a larger campus intimidating,” Donahue said.

Julia Miller, a first-year in communication and criminology at the Newark campus, said she hopes to become a criminal defense attorney.?

Although she enjoys the smaller campus — as she said she has easily connected with professors and students — she has been hard at work to move to the Columbus campus for more opportunities.?

She said the process has been difficult because she is balancing school work and her social life with following the correct process to move campuses.

“It has been lowkey hard to focus on. I know it is happening, but with all my classes, work and social life, it has been hard to keep it as a priority,” Miller said. “I wish we had more emails or flyers.”

Miller said having people who know the process would be helpful so that she doesn’t fall behind on deadlines.

“I know we all want to go to Columbus, but I just wish there were more resources and people who are willing to talk about it,” Miller said. “Especially adults, because I know a lot of people are falling behind on deadlines.”?

Miller said in Columbus, there will be more distractions but also more opportunities.

“I feel that when I move to Columbus, there will be a lot of chaos and distractions,” Miller said. “There are more ways to make connections in Columbus, but you really have to push yourself here to meet new people. It gets you out of your comfort zone.”?

Glorioso said? for Campus Change students to attend Preview Day. Held before the academic year begins, the event is designed for first-time commuter, transfer and campus change students. The event allows students to familiarize themselves with the Columbus campus before classes start through a variety of presentations, activities and a resource fair, along with plenty of chances to meet and interact with peers.?

This year’s Preview Day will take place on Thursday, Aug. 20 in the Ohio Union, Glorioso said. Registration is required and it will open during the summer semester, students can visit its website for more information about the event.?