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Oregon State University
Most applicants get into Oregon State University — 77.3% were admitted — so the real questions are cost, fit and outcomes, covered below.
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Oregon State University sits in Corvallis proper — a public campus woven into the city rather than walled off from it. It carries a land-grant charter — the 1862 mandate that ties it to agricultural and practical education.
Its highest-earning path is Computer Science, where graduates median $121,405 four years out. Faculty pay averages $137,244 a year here — a rough proxy for what the school spends on the teaching itself. Most of its 30,743 undergraduates commute — campus empties by evening — yet 87.8% of first-years return, which says something about what daytime here is worth.
Oregon State University won't look at test scores — here the GPA calculator is the tool that matters. Bring your saved semester numbers and see what they average.
Admissions
Oregon State University does not use test scores in admissions at all: the 77.3% who got into Oregon State University did it on GPA, coursework and application alone. No score range exists to publish.
In the Fall 2023 cycle, Oregon State University received 29,025 applications and admitted 22,886 (78.8%), with 4,689 enrolling.
How Oregon State University compares
| Oregon State University | Oregon median | National median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance rate | 77.3% | 88.3% | 77.2% |
| Tuition (in-state) | $14,400 | $22,220 | $19,591 |
| Median earnings (10 yr) | $64,010 | $57,671 | $53,781 |
Ten years after enrolling, the median Oregon State University student earns $64,010 — 11% above the Oregon median of $57,671 for college-goers.
Cost, size & completion
As a public university, Oregon State University prices by residency: $14,400 in-state versus $38,190 out-of-state — a $23,790 gap that makes state lines part of the decision.
30,743 undergraduates make Oregon State University a large campus: broad course catalogs and big intro lectures come as a package.
70.1% of Oregon State University students finish a bachelor's within six years — 15.2 points above the national 54.9% — and the single best predictor that the $14,400 price above buys a degree, not just enrollment.
Top majors by earnings at Oregon State University
| Bachelor's program | Median earnings, 4 yrs after completion |
|---|---|
| Computer Science | $121,405 |
| Construction Engineering | $105,964 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | $105,359 |
| Physics | $103,167 |
| Industrial Engineering | $101,653 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | $100,182 |
| Engineering, Other | $94,278 |
| Nuclear Engineering | $94,105 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $93,740 |
| Chemical Engineering | $92,741 |
| Civil Engineering | $89,822 |
| Management Information Systems and Services | $88,149 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | $87,699 |
| Manufacturing Engineering | $85,369 |
| Agricultural Engineering | $81,691 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | $78,427 |
| Chemistry | $78,417 |
| Accounting and Related Services | $75,219 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | $73,660 |
| Marketing | $73,205 |
| Mathematics | $72,318 |
| Agricultural Business and Management | $72,311 |
| Forest Engineering | $72,107 |
| Economics | $70,436 |
| Food Science and Technology | $63,531 |
| Political Science and Government | $63,354 |
| Public Health | $62,633 |
| Communication and Media Studies | $61,096 |
| Design and Applied Arts | $60,434 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services | $59,184 |
| Plant Sciences | $57,950 |
| Psychology, General | $57,650 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | $57,451 |
| Sociology | $56,865 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services | $56,800 |
| History | $56,790 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | $56,074 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | $55,805 |
| Apparel and Textiles | $55,367 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | $55,245 |
| Agriculture, General | $53,547 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | $53,349 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | $53,109 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | $52,798 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy | $52,730 |
| Social Sciences, General | $51,005 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | $50,421 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | $49,910 |
| Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management | $48,077 |
| Biology, General | $47,221 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | $46,044 |
| Animal Sciences | $45,959 |
| Anthropology | $45,184 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology | $44,201 |
| English Language and Literature, General | $42,541 |
| Music | $41,073 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General | $35,819 |
Median earnings for these 57 Oregon State University programs come from a different federal cohort than the campus-wide $64,010 above — compare rows to each other, not to that 10-year figure. 31 additional Oregon State University programs have earnings withheld under federal privacy rules.
Frequently asked questions
What GPA and test scores do you need for Oregon State University?
Oregon State University doesn't look at test scores; its 77.3% admission rate turned on transcripts, coursework rigor and the application itself.
What is Oregon State University's acceptance rate?
78.8% in the Fall 2023 cycle — 22,886 admitted from 29,025 applicants.
How much does Oregon State University cost?
In-state tuition is $14,400; out-of-state students pay $38,190. Fees, housing and aid move the real total in both directions.
What do Oregon State University graduates earn?
Federal data puts median earnings at $64,010 ten years after enrolling. The table above breaks this down by major.
Similar colleges in Oregon
- Pacific Northwest College of Art — 74.9% admitted
- Bushnell University — 67.3% admitted
- Lewis & Clark College — 78.5% admitted
- Warner Pacific University — 71.1% admitted
Run your own numbers
Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Jun 2026), IPEDS ADM2023/HD2024. Retrieved 2026-09-01. Figures reflect the latest federal cohorts, which lag the current admissions cycle.