Ohio Scholars Program

Now Open - OSP Application for Academic Year (AY) 2025-2026

Welcome to The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Ohio Scholars Program homepage! OFIC partners with private, liberal arts institutions around the state to offer scholarships to students like you, as well as to sponsor campus initiatives that together can make an impact in the great state of Ohio. The scholarships we offer students are funded by a variety of donors who earnestly desire to support students by enabling them to further their education. More information about OFIC can be found here.

OFIC launched the OSP application in the 2023-2024 academic year as one way to practice good stewardship of the funds received by our donors to select students who meet complex criteria and to supplement established best practices gained from decades of scholarship experience. We are seeking to do the same for the 2025-2026 academic year to find the best qualified students for the available scholarships we have to offer.

Scholarship eligibility criteria can vary by program. However, all applicants within the Ohio Scholars Program must meet the following criteria:

  • Be an Ohio resident.

  • Be a full-time undergraduate student during the full 2025-2026 academic year.

  • Maintain a minimum 2.8 cumulative GPA.

  • Attend an OFIC member college or university during the full 2025-2026 academic year.

  • Submit a current, unofficial transcript within application.

  • File the FAFSA and submit your FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly SAR).

Availability of awards is dependent on eligibility, competition, number of candidates, and continued donor support..

The deadline to apply is May 1, 2025. You may edit a submitted application at any time prior to the deadline.

Scholarship Requirements

Q&A’S

  • Complete the online application on the Ohio Scholars Program website.

  • You may edit your submitted application at any time prior to the deadline mentioned above. A reminder email will be sent to all applicants at the beginning of April to prompt application updates as necessary.

  • The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) was founded in 1950 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization representing higher education in Ohio. OFIC believes all students who enroll at a member campus deserve the opportunity to complete their college education. Every day we connect and partner with corporations and foundations to make this dream possible by helping to keep education affordable through scholarships, internships and career opportunities. Our goal is to facilitate an exceptional appreciation of independent higher education and its impact on the state of Ohio’s citizens, economy, and culture.

  • Yes. Your personally identifiable information is kept secure. Only OFIC employees have access to this information. To protect the information being gathered, the scholarship application site has security measures in place including firewalls, encryption, and authenticated access to internal databases where needed.

  • Scholarship recipients will be carefully selected by the OFIC Scholarship Team based on how well applicants' academic achievements and career goals match our donors’ preferences.

  • All applicants will be notified of the final results by August 15, 2025. Scholarship recipients will receive an award notification by email that includes with instructions for submitting a thank you letter to be written to the individual donor.

  • Award funds will be distributed directly to the scholars' institutions at the beginning of August 2025. Note that funds may be held by a member campus financial aid office until enrollment and eligibility are confirmed, as well as verification of a thank you letter.

  • Yes, as long as the student continues to meet all eligibility criteria and a thank you letter is submitted. Each year eligibility is reviewed and enrollment is verified through the financial aid office, and failure to meet eligibility criteria may result in the revocation of an award.

  • Thank you letter submission information will be sent with award notifications in August 2025. We accept letters submitted through the same platform used to submit the application.