Otterbein University > Otterbein Collegiate Institute

Why should students enroll in OCI?

The Otterbein Collegiate Institute (OCI) is an opportunity for high-achieving central Ohio high school students interested in taking college-level courses during their junior and senior year of high school, to begin building their college credits.

Taking advantage of Otterbein's nationally-recognized curriculum, supportive campus and convenient location, the OCI allows for students to take courses at an affordable and discounted cost of just $100 per credit hour! A typical semester course at Otterbein is four credit hours.

"Otterbein gave me a more challenging environment than high school. I was surrounded by students who wanted to learn and treated me just like the other college students." - Kelsey Walker, Westerville North High School

There are many reasons to enroll. Here are a few of them:

Location close to home

Small, friendly and easy-to-navigate campus
Our first-year students put Otterbein in the top 10 percent of schools in the country for its "supportive campus" in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

Convenient

Get a jump start on your college career

Affordable

Rigorous coursework
Our first-year students put Otterbein in the top 10 percent of schools in the country for its "level of academic challenge" (NSSE).

Parking located close to the buildings where classes are held

Treated like an Otterbein student with access to the dining hall and cafe shops, bookstore, parking pass, athletic events (free) and more

"OCI has been a wonderful asset for Dominic. He has grown exponentially from this experience. I believe that this is outstanding and a great confidence builder, and the cost is an exceptionally good value." - Ronald Baer, parent

What courses are available?

Students have the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of 1000- and 2000-level courses offered on Otterbein's campus, including but not limited to:

American Experience to 1865 (HIST 1100)

Art History (ARTH 1000)

Calculus II (MATH 1800)

Chinese (CHIN 1000)

Media Writing (JAMC 1500)

Multivariable Calculus (MATH 2700)

Political Philosophy (POLS 1150)

Psychology for Non-Majors (PSYC 1000)

Public Speaking (COMM 1100)

Screenwriting Across Genres (ENGL 1164)

Spanish (SPAN 1000)

Note: course registration may be limited by pre-requisites and other criteria.

Students typically take on course per semester, although, with permission, certain high-achieving students can take more than one course. A full list of Otterbein's course offerings can be found at www.otterbein.edu/courseofferings

How do students apply?

For student to be considered for this competitive opportunity, they need to submit the following information to the Office of Admission:

Application for Admission - application fee waived! Available at www.otterbein.edu/apply

Official high school transcript (sent directly from the high school/district)

ACT, SAT, PLAN or PSAT scores (optional, unless a student has below a 3.3 accumulative GPA). Otterbein's codes for sharing test scores are: ACT 3318; SAT 1597

Students will be notified of the admission decision within three to four weeks after the application deadline.

Application deadlines:

Fall Semester: March 30

Spring Semester: October 1