Ohio Northern University

Private · Moderately Selective · OH

Photo: ProClasher97 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationOH · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads2,489

Student:faculty13:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate59%

6-yr grad rate75.5%

Drop-out rate15.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$40k

Out-of-state tuition$40k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity19.6%

Gender diversity45%

International1.6%

IdentityUnited Methodist

Overview

Ohio Northern University is a private university in the small village of Ada, Ohio, historically tied to the United Methodist Church. It is unusual for a school its size in offering a cluster of accredited professional programs, pharmacy, engineering, and law, alongside a traditional liberal arts core, all on one small-town campus. That combination gives ONU a distinctly pre-professional, career-focused identity relative to other schools of similar scale.

Academics

The Raabe College of Pharmacy is the university's flagship program and one of the more established six-year PharmD tracks in the country, drawing students from well beyond Ohio. The T.J. Smull College of Engineering and the Dicke College of Business Administration are similarly strong, and the Claude W. Pettit College of Law is one of the few law schools attached to an undergraduate-focused university this size. Class sizes stay small, and faculty mentorship is close across all five colleges.

Campus & student life

Ada is a genuine small town, so campus life is largely self-contained, with Greek life playing a substantial role in the residential and social scene. Athletics compete in NCAA Division III as the Polar Bears, and engineering and pharmacy students in particular describe a demanding, cohort-based workload.

Getting in

Applications are reviewed holistically, but professional programs like pharmacy and engineering have their own preparation expectations, with strong math and science coursework valued more heavily than in a typical liberal arts admit. Merit scholarships are a significant part of ONU's pitch to strong students.

After graduation

ONU has a long-standing reputation for strong licensure and placement outcomes out of pharmacy and engineering specifically, with many graduates staying in Ohio and the broader Midwest. The law school's local bar passage and small size give it a distinct, regional alumni footprint.

Worth knowing

Having pharmacy, engineering, and law under one roof with a small undergraduate population is genuinely unusual, and it shapes campus culture toward practical, career-driven ambition rather than the more exploratory feel of many liberal arts colleges its size.

onu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate74.4%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1175–1400 · ACT 24–29

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying