The clock tower chimes. Students clothed in scarlet and gray litter the campus. The sun beams off historic University Hall and shines on groups of students sitting on the green Oval, ready to share the day’s adventures. There truly is no place like The Ohio State University. Many students have come to this realization, giving Ohio State the fifth highest undergraduate population. And that population is only growing.
Ohio State enrollment is reaching an all-time high. For the 2024-2025 academic year, Ohio State enrolled 9,530 students into their freshmen class. The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has grown first-year enrollment by over 20% in the past two years. With the increased admittance rate, the college has adapted and grown their resource library to accommodate each students’ needs.
Enrollment Growth
In the fall of 2022, CFAES started working with the Office of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) on the Buckeye Agricultural Leaders Pathways (BALP) initiative. One goal of this initiative is to notify quality and competitive applicants of their admission decision early.
“[The BALP initiative allows] the college to make connections earlier in the process, creating connections with admitted students and positively impacting the student’s decision to enroll,” said Jill Hampshire, director of undergraduate recruitment and enrollment at CFAES.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the university made test scores optional for applicants.
Hampshire attributes the growth in enrollment to the BALP initiative, test optional applications and robust communication and recruitment programming.
The Ohio State college network and CFAES departments meet monthly to discuss best recruitment practices and keep each other updated on enrollment statuses.
“It’s nice,” Hampshire said. “We aren’t competing against each other for students but rather supporting one another in an effort to yield more. It takes a village to recruit and yield a class.”
On the Columbus campus, CFAES hosts “Experience Ohio State for a Day” visits. During these visits, prospective students get a well-rounded experience of Ohio State, touring the CFAES campus, spending one-on-one time with a student host and meeting with two departments of their choice.
Housing Challenges
On the university level, Ohio State faced challenges with providing the appropriate amount of housing for students. With a higher demand for student housing and the unforeseen closure of Lawrence Tower, Ohio State had to be creative in their approach to solving this issue.
The university implemented a master leasing program, where students can live off-campus in hotels and apartment complexes leased by the university. Matthew Swearingen, a third-year student and residential advisor for the master lease complexes, said that this method takes the pressure off traditional housing while still providing students with the resources they need.
“I’ve seen student life already planning for what the future could look like,” Swearingen said. “I think it’s going to continue to be a very exciting opportunity for undergraduate students to be served by housing staff.”
Adapting to Change
Going forward, Hampshire said that enrollment growth and retention is a goal for both the Columbus and Wooster campuses. Currently, the Columbus campus has a first-year retention rate of 94%.
“Because student success is a priority, resources like advising and peer mentoring have prepared for the increase,” Hampshire said. “The college does a great job.”
All first-year students are required to participate in the peer mentor program. The program matches first-year students with upperclassmen volunteers who help them navigate their first semester of college.
“It’s a big jump for us,” said Sarah Williams, academic program services consultant for CFAES. “We haven’t seen that big of a spike in several years. It’s a positive experience for us because we’re able to provide more opportunities for those students.”
Another program that helped with first-year retention is the living-learning community. In the living-learning community, students live on a dorm floor with other CFAES majors.
The program hosts monthly meetings focused on educating students about the college’s resources and connecting them to faculty and staff. The living-learning community also holds weekly socials where students can participate in fun activities with their peers.
“Students do have a little bit of trepidation about living on campus, especially coming to a big city and university,” Williams said. “A living-learning community hones in on what they’re comfortable with, and it has a feeling of being at home.”
Going Forward
Hampshire said applications have increased by nearly 50% from autumn 2022 to autumn 2025.
Despite this rapid growth, studies show that the amount of students choosing to go to college is decreasing. Additionally, the number of students who will be 18-years-old between 2025-2030 is at a 12% decline.
“Where we can have the greatest impact is on yield,” Hampshire said. “The college is continuing its efforts to increase outreach to admitted students, build even stronger relationships and award more scholarship dollars to those students who have been admitted.”
The welfare and success of students is at the heart of CFAES, and they will provide the resources necessary to make sure each need is met.
“My hope for incoming students is that they find comfort and a great friend group on campus,” Williams said. “I want them to feel like a Buckeye and that this is where they need to be. That’s our guiding compass.”