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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In advance of Friday night's football game between Ohio State and Northwestern, here's a look at the two Big Ten universities by the numbers -- sports, money and academics.
The data is from the U.S. Department of Education and cleveland.com/datacentral research.
The game is a matchup between one of the largest state universities in the country, Ohio State, and the only private school in the Big Ten (and on OSU's schedule this year), Northwestern.
Which school has higher tuition and graduation rates? How about the number of faculty or total students?
Scroll below to learn answers to those questions and more.
Cost to attend
An Ohio resident without scholarships or other aid would pay close to $50,000 less a year to attend Ohio State than Northwestern in tuition, fees, room and board, according to federal data from the 2018-19 school year, according to federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Here's the breakdown:
- Tuition: Northwestern, $54,568; Ohio State, $10,726 in-state and $30,742 out of state.
- Room-and-board on campus: Northwestern $16,626; Ohio State $12,474.
Real cost to attend
Published private school tuition rates in some cases are almost fake numbers. At Northwestern, most students receive grants or scholarships. A better comparison than posted tuition rates is what students actually pay, after scholarships and aid.
The average net cost for Northwestern students was $27,540 in 2017-18.
The average net cost for in-state students at Ohio State was $18,694.
Football wins
Over the last 10 seasons, Ohio State ranks second nationally in winning percentage, behind Alabama, with a record of 115-19 from 2009-18.
Northwestern ranks 44th with a record of 77-52.
Top 25 finishes
Ohio State has had nine top 25 finishes in the last 10 seasons, tied for second best nationally with Clemson and LSU. Only Alabama has finished in the AP top 25 in each of the last 10 seasons.
Northwestern has finished four of the last 10 seasons ranked in the top 25, including 21st in the final poll last season.
Graduation rates
Campuswide, 59% of students graduate Ohio State within four years and 84% within six, according to federal data based on students who started school in 2012.
At Northwestern, the graduation rates are 84% within four years and 95% within six years.
Football attendance
Ohio State last season ranked third in the country in attendance with an average of 101,947 per game, behind only Michigan (110,737) and Penn State (106,572).
Northwestern averaged 43,873 a game to rank 46th nationally.
Enrollment
Ohio State has 61,170 students at its Columbus campus, including 48,820 undergraduates.
Northwestern's enrollment is 22,127, including 8,642 undergraduates, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Sports and athletes
At Ohio State, 1,181 students participated on 31 sports teams during the 2017-18 school year.
For Northwestern, 487 students were part of 19 teams.
Note; The figures for Ohio State are slightly different than what was reported in previous comparisons as part of this series. Data from NCAA reports was used for those comparisons. But Northwestern, as a private school, does not make its NCAA report available to the public. There are some reporting differences, including treatment of cross country, indoor track and outdoor track as one team by the National Center for Education Statistics
Teaching faculty
Ohio State, with 4,065 full-time teaching faculty and 2,382 part-time, reports a student-to-teacher ratio of 19-to-1.
Northwestern reports a student-to-teacher ratio of 6-to-1, with 2,282 full-time teaching faculty and 364 part-time.
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See more data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.
Previously
- Spending on sports up sharply in the Big Ten
- OSU and Florida Atlantic by the numbers
- OSU and Cincinnati by the numbers
- OSU and Indiana by the numbers
- OSU and Miami by the numbers
- OSU and Nebraska by the numbers
- OSU and Michigan State by the numbers
Also
- Cleveland Browns and New York Jets franchises by the numbers and all-time stars, including time as the New York Jets.
- Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans franchises by the numbers and all-time stars, including time as the Houston and Tennessee Oilers.
- Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams franchises by the numbers and all-time stars, including the Rams' first years in Cleveland.
- Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens franchises by the numbers, including Ravens ties to Cleveland
- Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers franchises by the numbers, including both teams' ties to the All-America Football Conference
- Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks franchises by the numbers, teams that began play 30 years apart.
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