Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college of approximately 1,700 students located just thirty miles outside of Ohio’s capital city. OWU was founded almost 175 years ago in 1842, welcoming its first freshmen class of 29 male students in 1844. In 1853, the Ohio Wesleyan Female College was founded. In 1877, the two universities merged, and Ohio Wesleyan has been a co-educational university ever since.
With an average faculty to student ratio of 11:1, Ohio Wesleyan students have the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with their caring, highly renowned professors and work closely with their peers. The school offers a total of 87 majors and students may earn a degree in Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts or Bachelor’s of Music. A little over 25% of students graduate with degrees in multiple majors, one of the highest percentages in the country. We love that for high school students who have a 3.0 GPA or higher at the end of their junior year, submitting SAT or ACT scores is optional.
Since the 19th century, Ohio Wesleyan has made connections with several universities internationally, and is one of the most well known universities to recruit and enroll international students, creating a highly diverse student body. So if traveling to other countries is on your college wish list, you’ll have the opportunity to study abroad in both the summer or during the academic year in a wide variety of programs and countries throughout Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia.
One of Ohio Wesleyan’s most unique elements is an on campus housing option known as Small Living Units, or SLU’s, available to sophomores in good academic standing. The university describes SLUs as “intentional communities” of students who are passionate about a mutual interest, want to explore it more deeply with the people they live with, and desire to educate the campus about it. While living in an SLU requires a significant commitment, it can be a fulfilling experience for those who want to learn what it takes to build a positive community and make an impact on campus. There are currently seven SLUs on campus, and existing Small Living Units must formally propose their house in order to be renewed for the following year.
The university has a wide variety of traditions and activities that make the campus a fun, tight knit community. OWU has 23 varsity sports teams, is a competitive member of the NCAA Division III, and nearly three quarters of its students participate in varsity, intramural, and club sports. OWU has a rich literary history, and some of its oldest student organizations are its literary clubs. The school’s student-run weekly newspaper, The Transcript, and its annual literary publication of student work called The OWL, are two of the oldest college literary publications in the country.
Ohio Wesleyan takes great pride in providing students with a holistic education that educates them on both a personal and academic level. The intimate, inclusive atmosphere of OWU is sure to appeal to many students looking to for a quality college education that prepares them for life far beyond their four years on campus.
