Ottawa University-Ottawa

Private · Moderately Selective · KS

Photo: Ichabod (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationKS · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads870

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate19.7%

6-yr grad rate27.9%

Drop-out rate41.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$36k

Out-of-state tuition$36k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity49.8%

Gender diversity38.2%

International5.5%

IdentityAmerican Baptist

Overview

Ottawa University's residential campus in Ottawa, Kansas traces its founding to 1865, established in partnership with the Ottawa Tribe, whose land grant helped create the school; it remains affiliated with the American Baptist Churches. The Kansas campus is the traditional residential core of a university that has grown well beyond it, with additional adult-oriented and online campuses operating in several states.

Academics

The residential campus emphasizes business, education, and ministry-related programs, along with athletic training and other applied majors, taught in a small-college format distinct from the university's separately run adult-degree campuses.

Campus & student life

Ottawa is a small Kansas town, and the residential campus has a traditional college feel, including NAIA athletics that are a significant part of student life for a school its size.

Getting in

The Ottawa campus admits primarily traditional-age students through a standard undergraduate process, separate from the rolling, adult-focused admissions used at the university's other locations.

Worth knowing

Because Ottawa University operates several distinctly different types of campuses under one name, students should be clear this profile is specifically the traditional residential Kansas campus, not the adult or online divisions, which run on different calendars and serve a different population.

ottawa.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate83%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 750–1000 · ACT 16–22

Test policyoptional

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying