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Admitted Freshman: Next Steps
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Admitted Freshman - Next Steps
To our admitted students, congrats! Ready to Experience OHIO? What to do next:
To join the Bobcat family, admitted freshmen have important next steps to take. Just read all of the information about each of the steps to prepare for a successful start at OHIO. Please check out our in-person and virtual campus visit options to talk with advisors, faculty and students. You can also ask questions online, receive a phone call or text or participate in an online event.
Fall 2026 Dates
Undergraduate Admissions is ready to help you complete the next steps outlined below. Contact us at admissions@ohio.edu or call 740.593.4100 during business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
| Next Steps | When |
|---|---|
| Activate your Applicant Status Portal | Upon applying |
| Activate your OHIO ID | After being admitted |
| Complete Required Pre-enrollment Discipline and Criminal History Review Form | Immediately upon admission |
| Fund your education/file FAFSA | Beginning October 1 |
| Confirm your intent to enroll | Beginning December 1 |
| Begin searching for a roommate using the MyOHIORoomie roommate matching service | Beginning December 1 |
| Sign up for Bobcat Student Orientation | Beginning February 2 |
| Send any additional test scores for scholarship consideration | January 15 |
| Review financial aid offer | Beginning in March |
| Select a roommate if you wish | Beginning May 1 |
| Choose a room during general room selection | Mid-May |
| Transfer your credits | Before orientation |
| Attend Bobcat Student Orientation | Beginning in June |
| Review student expectations and academic calendar | After orientation |
| Enable OHIO online services | After orientation |
| Request final transcript be sent to OHIO | By June 30 |
| Move in | August 20-21 |
| Learn about health services | Late August |
| Complete online alcohol and sexual assault education courses | Upon receiving access to the modules |
| Start fall semester classes | August 24 |
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Activate Your Applicant Status Portal
After Applying
After you submit your application for admission, you will receive an email with instructions for accessing your . Your applicant status portal is where you鈥檒l find information about required next steps, additional materials required for your application, and invitations to visits and events. Make sure you check your portal regularly to stay up-to-date with OHIO!
Activate Your OHIO ID
After Being Admitted
After you are admitted, it is essential that you . Your birth date and your personal identification (PID) are all you need to officially activate your online OHIO access. Your PID is available in your after your admission decision is released. You need your OHIO ID to take your next steps, including accessing your OHIO email (Catmail) and confirming your intent to enroll, so we encourage you to activate it right away.
Make sure to check your OHIO email regularly. All official correspondence will be sent to your 花季传媒 email account.
Complete Pre-enrollment Discipline and Criminal History Review Form
Immediately Upon Request
The Required Pre-enrollment Discipline and Criminal History Review form is available in your applicant status portal and should be completed immediately.
This quick, simple form is required for all admitted students as part of our commitment to providing the safest possible learning environment at 花季传媒. Disclosing a formal disciplinary action, charge or conviction does not automatically disqualify you from enrollment, but your disclosures will be reviewed. Based on your answers, we may contact you to request further information.
Learn About the Required Pre-enrollment Discipline and Criminal History Review
Fund Your Education
Beginning October 1
花季传媒 is committed to an affordable college education. We are dedicated to helping our students find the financial support they need to discover their promise at OHIO. During the 2024-2025 academic year, our first-year students earned more than $28 million in scholarships, and 99 percent received financial aid.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) serves as your application for all types of financial assistance at 花季传媒. Students should submit the FAFSA as soon as possible. 花季传媒's deadline for first-priority consideration for all federal, state and institutional financial aid is January 15, 2026. Your application for admission serves as your merit-based scholarship application. For best scholarship consideration, freshmen should submit a completed admission application by the deadline of November 15, 2025.
In the MyOHIO Student Center, you can view account details, account balance and payment options. You can also designate authorized users to enable other individuals to view your account details and make payments.
Confirm Your Intent to Enroll
Beginning December 1
To retain any scholarships you have been offered and receive your invitation to Bobcat Student Orientation, you confirm your intent to enroll by:
- Submitting the housing contract and $200 deposit鈥攔efundable through May 1
- OR Submitting the commuter contract
Freshmen are required to live on campus and participate in the associated meal plan. Eligible students may submit a commuter contract to confirm their intent to enroll. (Learn more about housing or review the housing exemption page.) Students who are not required to live on campus may still apply for housing.
Planning to be a Bobcat?
Here's how you let us know that you plan to enroll at 花季传媒 (and become a Bobcat for life!). Confirm your intent to enroll by submitting your housing contract and deposit by May 1.
Our beautiful, historic, residential campus in Athens, Ohio, provides an environment where students live and learn together, build friendships and share their ideas and perspectives. About 8,000 students live in our 36 residence halls and dine in our award-winning campus eateries.
We invite you to come see OHIO for yourself. Register to attend one of our daily campus visit opportunities!
Housing Process Overview
Students do not need to know where they would like to live on campus to complete a housing contract. After completing the application and selecting a meal plan, students will receive pertinent information about housing selection.
- The roommate matching service is available starting in December.
- Students who know with whom they want to live may also select a roommate through beginning May 1.
- The general first-year room selection process will take place May 19-22. (Selection will take place mid-May for students interested in gender inclusive housing and for students who will be participating in an Experiential Living Opportunity, i.e. Fine Arts, Substance Free, Women鈥檚 Leadership and Honors Halls.) Visit the Housing and Residence Life room viewing page to check out each room style.
Students will be assigned a move-in date and time, but may change it through Housing Self-Service. Students must arrive at their scheduled date and time. Keys will not be available for students who arrive outside of their scheduled time.
Sign Up for Orientation
Beginning February 2
Bobcat Student Orientation (BSO) connects you with the people and resources you'll need to transition into OHIO with confidence. Through this required 1.5-day event, faculty, staff and orientation leaders will teach you about the curriculum and the requirements for your major. This is also when you will register for your first-semester courses with the help of an advisor.
Please contact Undergraduate Admissions at 740.593.4100 for assistance with requesting access to sign up for BSO. In-person and virtual orientation sessions are conducted throughout the summer, but not all program dates are open to all majors.
Please review the Preparing for Your Orientation page to ensure you are fully prepared to participate in orientation. Placement tests are critical, so be sure you鈥檝e taken all necessary placement tests before your scheduled BSO program. You should also review the 花季传媒 Undergraduate Catalog 2026-2027 (coming soon!) to learn about available courses. Bobcat Student Orientation includes registering for courses and freshman Learning Communities.
You will learn how to take advantage of the resources and opportunities available to you as part of the OHIO community. Freshmen who have confirmed their intent to enroll will be notified to sign up for BSO.
Transfer Your Credits
Before Orientation
Generally, college-level courses completed with a D- or better from a regionally accredited institution as part of College Credit Plus or dual enrollment programs through a high school are transferable to OHIO. Test credit (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, College Level Examination Program) is also generally accepted, provided you earn the necessary score. To transfer your credit, you must have an official college transcript or score report sent from the college or testing agency directly to Undergraduate Admissions.
Prepare to Join OHIO
Beginning in May
Now you are ready to complete the rest of the tasks required to ensure a smooth transition to your first day at 花季传媒. This includes reviewing the course catalog, enabling your online services, learning about student health services and insurance, taking online alcohol and sexual assault education courses, and planning for transportation to campus.