Quad

Head-to-head

Ohio State
U. Wisconsin-Madison

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    U. Wisconsin-Madison grads earn $13.4K more ten years out than Ohio State's ($73,792 vs. $60,409)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Ohio State costs about $7.2K less per year on average than U. Wisconsin-Madison ($30,715 vs. $37,931, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  3. 3

    Ohio State has 9 pts more first-gen students than U. Wisconsin-Madison (26% vs. 17%)

    First-generation students
  4. 4

    Ohio State's grants cover 23% of its full price on average, vs. 14% at U. Wisconsin-Madison

    Aid generosity
  5. 5

    U. Wisconsin-Madison graduates 7 pts more of its students than Ohio State (89% vs. 82%)

    Graduation rate
  6. 6

    U. Wisconsin-Madison's yield is 7 pts higher than Ohio State's

    Yield rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

U. Wisconsin-Madison admits 45%, Ohio State 61%; U. Wisconsin-Madison's yield is higher, at 29%.

Acceptance rate
Ohio State61%
U. Wisconsin-Madison45%
Quad's selectivity
  • Ohio StateVery selective
  • U. Wisconsin-MadisonVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
Ohio State
1310–1480
U. Wisconsin-Madison
1380–1520
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • Ohio StateGPA, school record, rank, and prep program required
  • U. Wisconsin-MadisonGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

Ohio State is a bit larger than U. Wisconsin-Madison (45,638 vs. 36,902 undergrads) and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Ohio State45.6K
U. Wisconsin-Madison36.9K
Pell Grant share
Ohio State20%
U. Wisconsin-Madison16%

Majors and faculty

Finance leads at Ohio State, and Computer and Information Sciences at U. Wisconsin-Madison; Ohio State has 16 students per faculty member to U. Wisconsin-Madison's 18.

Students per faculty member
Ohio State16 to 1
U. Wisconsin-Madison18 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • Ohio StateFinance, General8%
  • U. Wisconsin-MadisonComputer and Information Sciences, General8%

What each costs

Ohio State costs about $7.2K less a year than U. Wisconsin-Madison on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Ohio State$30.7K
U. Wisconsin-Madison$37.9K
Aid generosity
Ohio State23%
U. Wisconsin-Madison14%

What each pays off

U. Wisconsin-Madison's former students earn more, a median $73.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Ohio State$60.4K
U. Wisconsin-Madison$73.8K
Graduation rate
Ohio State82%
U. Wisconsin-Madison89%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; U. Wisconsin-Madison got more selective while Ohio State got less.

Applications, 10-year change
  • Ohio StateGrowing+98%
  • U. Wisconsin-MadisonGrowing+159%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;University of Wisconsin-Madison (Fall 2026), Fall 2026About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why