“BGSU is ranked the No. 1 university in Ohio for student experience”
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university founded in 1910 and located in Bowling Green, Ohio, about 20 miles south of Toledo and roughly 90 minutes from Detroit. Classified by Carnegie as an R2 high-research-activity doctoral institution, BGSU enrolls about 17,600 students across seven colleges — Arts and Sciences, Schmidthorst College of Business, Education and Human Development, Health and Human Services, Musical Arts, Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering, and the regional Firelands campus in Huron — and offers more than 200 undergraduate majors plus a growing portfolio of master's and doctoral programs. The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse ranking has named BGSU the #1 student experience in Ohio for several consecutive years, driven by BGSU's emphasis on public good, undergraduate research, and experiential learning. BGSU's College of Musical Arts is one of the most distinctive programs at any US public university — home to the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, a doctoral program in contemporary music, and a student-run marching band that is BGSU's largest student organization. The Schmidthorst College of Business is AACSB-accredited and well-regarded for supply chain, finance, and analytics; the College of Health and Human Services houses Ohio's only public program in Forensic Science; and BGSU's aviation studies program trains collegiate pilots in partnership with North Star Aviation. Research strength includes nationally recognized programs in photochemical sciences, glass arts (through the Toledo Museum of Art partnership), sociology, and popular culture studies — the last of which is the home discipline of BGSU's nationally unique Department of Popular Culture. Student life revolves around Freddie and Frieda Falcon, the Bowling Green Falcons (NCAA Division I, Mid-American Conference for most sports; Central Collegiate Hockey Association for ice hockey), a vibrant Greek life, and more than 300 student organizations. For international students, BGSU offers automatic merit-based scholarships, a dedicated International Programs and Partnerships office, an on-campus intensive English program, and a cost of attendance that remains well below private and coastal-public benchmarks.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
National Universities
US News 2026
Top Public Schools
US News 2026
Research Activity
Carnegie Classifications (2021)
Public University in the Midwest (would choose again)
Wall Street Journal
Student Experience in Ohio
Wall Street Journal
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourcePriority Consideration (First-Year)
Recommended for full merit consideration
Regular Decision (First-Year)
Fall 2026 general admission deadline
International Fall Deadline
All international credentials must be submitted
Aviation Studies
Flight Technology and Operations priority deadline
Nursing Direct Admission
Fall direct-admit deadline
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Domestic
$14,460
/yr
Out-of-State / Intl
$22,448
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
4 years
One of the largest and most respected university music programs in the country, with audition-based admission into performance, music education, composition, jazz studies, and the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music.
4 years
Schmidthorst's signature business major, consistently ranked among the top US undergraduate supply-chain programs, with near-100% placement into Midwest manufacturers, logistics firms, and Fortune 500 recruiters.
4 years
Professional-pilot degree with flight training through a partnership with North Star Aviation; graduates enter regional-airline pipelines with restricted ATP eligibility and strong STEM-OPT eligibility for international F-1 students.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $22,448
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
