Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Ohio: the 3 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Ohio has 3 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG): For 2026-2027, $4,000/year full-time at most public main campuses (less for part-time).
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Ohio high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Ohio runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores. Choose Ohio First is one of them. 0 of the 2 programs we could read name a GPA, and 0 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) is the award to read first. What Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) pays: For 2026-2027, $4,000/year full-time at most public main campuses (less for part-time). The next program on the table is Choose Ohio First. The table carries the deadline and the renewal rule for each one.
What this table does not tell you. The state agency's own page names 1 more program in a second table below. Some of those pages give no award figure at all, so those rows carry the name and the link only.
Every state scholarship in Ohio
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) | Need-based | For 2026-2027, $4,000/year full-time at most public main campuses (less for part-time); up to $5,000/year at most private non-profit colleges; up to $2,000/year at private for-profit institutions; $0 at community colleges (Pell already exceeds average tuition there) unless the student qualifies as foster youth, a veteran, or for a third-term award | — | — | Ohio resident; enrolled in an associate degree, first bachelor's degree, or nurse diploma program at an eligible Ohio (or certain Pennsylvania) institution; FAFSA required; limited to 10 semesters or 15 quarters of combined state need-based grant aid (OCOG + OIG) | October 1, 2026 (FAFSA) for the 2026-2027 award year | Renewed annually via FAFSA, subject to the 10-semester/15-quarter lifetime limit on state need-based grant aid | Source |
| Choose Ohio First | Merit | Amount and selection are set by the participating Ohio college or university that receives ODHE funding; no statewide fixed amount published | — | — | Must enroll in an eligible STEM certificate, associate, bachelor's, or graduate program (or a STEM-teacher-preparation program) at a participating Ohio college or university; apply directly through that institution, not the state | — | — | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Ohio high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
Other programs the state names
The agency's own page lists these too. Where its page gives no award figure, the row carries the name and the link only.
| Program | What it pays | What the page says | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governor's Merit Scholarship | Up to $5,000 a year, renewable for up to four years | For the top 5 percent of the graduating class at every Ohio public and chartered nonpublic high school, usable at any Ohio public or private nonprofit college. A student the school nominates does not apply | Source |
These rows come from the Ohio agency's own index of programs. A blank award means that index does not state one, not that the program pays nothing.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. In Ohio the earliest date on this table is the one to put on the calendar first.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Ohio offer?
Ohio has 3 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG): For 2026-2027, $4,000/year full-time at most public main campuses (less for part-time).
Does Ohio have a merit scholarship?
Ohio runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores, and Choose Ohio First is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Ohio scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Ohio high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-ohio.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Ohio · Scholarship deadlines