College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Otterbein University

OHMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1078 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places it in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Otterbein University is a private nonprofit university in Westerville, Ohio, where the degree mix is led by Health Professions and Business. Return is the strongest , though it sits modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts from them.

Aid recipients in the lowest income band pay well below the published cost, and what aid recipients pay on average sits below the median at comparable institutions. Pell students complete at a rate that trails the overall cohort, and mobility is below the levels seen at many peers.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study. A student drawn to Nursing should know it is both the largest program and the best-paid one.

Otterbein University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
84.5%
Six-year completion[2]
67.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$58,068

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$16,478
Median student debt[4]
$26,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$39,500

Otterbein University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Otterbein University is a private nonprofit university in Westerville, Ohio, enrolling 2,157 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the lower third of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four pillars that make up that standing are not tightly clustered, with return the highest and mobility the lowest. The university admits 84.5% of applicants, a rate above the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 79.9% return for a second year and 67.9% complete a degree within six years. Those figures sit against peer medians of 83.4% and 68.8%.

An estimated 15.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time full-time cohort and not the full student body. Return is the strongest pillar and mobility is the weakest, with access and affordability sitting between them.

The shape is a private university where the pillars are spread out, and the earnings picture is the one that sits highest.

Return is the strongest part of Otterbein University’s Azimuth profile, but the four pillars sit below the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places return in the 43rd percentile and access in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Affordability stands in the 38th percentile, whereas mobility, the weakest pillar, is in the 13th percentile.

The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores at Otterbein University fell between 22 and 28. 30.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access.

Azimuth ranks the university #892 for access among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at a rate of 52.4%, which sits 15.5 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (67.9%).

Azimuth ranks Otterbein University #1,272 for mobility. Graduates earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Otterbein University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,078

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 13
Access & reach
National percentile: 39
Affordability
National percentile: 38
Return on investment
National percentile: 43

01 / Otterbein University briefing

Otterbein University cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, Otterbein University brings its published cost of attendance of $48,321 down to an average net price of $19,237, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. The private nonprofit university lists $35,548 in tuition and fees and $13,236 for room and board.

Average financial aid offsets $29,084 from the published price. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, and Otterbein’s sits $8,134 below that figure.

These comparisons describe institutional averages, not an offer to a particular family. Azimuth places affordability at the 38th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published charge is substantial, but aid recipients face a lower average cost than at comparable institutions.

The published cost of attendance at Otterbein University is $48,321 (an average across living arrangements), setting the sticker-price context before aid. For aid recipients, average net price, what they pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,458 for families in the lowest-income band; $12,659 in the lower-middle-income band; $16,478 in the middle-income band; $23,061 in the upper-middle-income band; and $24,620 in the highest-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,162, showing how those band averages differ. Azimuth ranks the university #873 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 60% of the published cost, an average offset of $29,084. For first-time full-time Title IV aid recipients, the average net price is $19,237.

That is $8,134 below the peer median net price of $27,371, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size). Tuition and fees are $35,548, and room and board are $13,236.

Aid coverage and the lower peer-adjusted price point in the same direction. Federal borrowing is common here, with 93.8% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,000. The peer median debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, placing the university’s median $1,801 above that benchmark.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $39,500.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$16,478

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Otterbein University

Federal borrowing is widespread here, and typical debt at completion sits above the comparable-school benchmark. 93.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $26,000. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199; this university's median is $1,801 above that figure.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $39,500.

Return is the strongest pillar at Otterbein University, but earnings and debt figures give the investment picture a mixed cast. Four years after completion, median earnings are $58,068, in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations show that graduates earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students. That gap compares what graduates earn to what the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program-mix earnings scenarios place the downside at $41,557 and the upside at $79,859, with the typical scenario matching the median.

Median federal student loan debt at completion is $26,000, which is $1,801 above the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions. The peer median is the middle value for that group, defined by the same type and size.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Debt above the peer median and lower-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Parents using Parent PLUS loans have median borrowing of $39,500, separate from student federal borrowing. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$26,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$39,500

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$295/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$502/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Otterbein University briefing

Otterbein University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Otterbein University has a mixed return picture, with median earnings of $58,068 four years after completion, in the 44th percentile. Graduates earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth locates this measure in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,753. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,663.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university’s median is $10,182 below it.

Otterbein University graduates report median earnings of $58,068 four years after completion, a schoolwide figure for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places those earnings in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 618 completers.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix range from $41,557 in the downside scenario to $79,859 in the upside scenario, with $58,068 in the typical scenario. Graduates earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 30.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The scenarios and graduate-study estimate describe different modeled paths, while the schoolwide earnings figure sits below the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

At Otterbein University, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $58,068 four years after completion, in the 44th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, and the university is $10,182 below it.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 39th percentile. Graduates earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,753. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,663.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,035. Downside and upside earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix are $41,557 and $79,859.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Nursing is the largest listed field, with 59 degrees awarded and median earnings of $80,188 four years after completion.

Teacher Education had 28 degrees awarded and median earnings of $47,383. These large fields show different earnings figures within the university’s program mix.

Program mix marks a wide span in earnings scenarios. The downside scenario is $41,557 and the upside scenario is $79,859; these are earnings scenarios from the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

Among program completers, four-year median earnings are $80,188 in Nursing, $70,328 in Business Administration and Management, and $62,364 in Health Sciences. The contrast between these program figures gives context for the modeled range.

Graduates of Otterbein University earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete is $26,000, $1,801 above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. The published cost of attendance is $48,321 (an average across living arrangements), but the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $19,237.

Aid covers about 60% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average rather than a personal quote. Net prices by income band show a spread of $12,162 between the lowest and highest bands.

Aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 average $12,458, while those from families earning over $110,000 average $24,620. Parents who borrow separately hold a median of $39,500 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,753
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,663
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$3,910

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Otterbein University briefing

Otterbein University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Admission was offered to 84.5% of applicants to Otterbein University, making the published rate a broad picture of a recent entering class rather than a promise to any applicant. For context, the comparison point is the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Admissions
Admission rate
84.5%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Otterbein University briefing

What are the largest majors at Otterbein University?[12]

Otterbein University’s larger programs span higher and more moderate median earnings four years after completion. Nursing recorded $80,188 in median earnings, with 59 degrees awarded in one academic year.

Business Administration and Management followed at $70,328, alongside 26 degrees awarded. Health Sciences posted $62,364 four years after completion and awarded 26 degrees.

At a more moderate earnings level, Teacher Education reported $47,383 with 28 degrees awarded. The larger programs therefore include several fields with higher earnings alongside a teacher education field with more moderate earnings.

Health Professions makes up 16.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and the largest fields span a wide range of earnings four years after completion. The differences across these large fields make the chosen program central to the earnings picture.

Otterbein University awards bachelor's degrees across 11 programs with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is led by Health Professions, which accounts for 16.9% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 14.1% and Biological Sciences at 8.3%.

The largest single program is Nursing, at 59 degrees awarded, with Teacher Education next at 28 and Business Administration and Management at 26. Nursing is also the highest-earning program, with graduates reporting a median of $80,188 four years after completion.

That figure sits at 0.90x the national median for its field. Business Administration and Management follows at $70,328, a benchmark ratio of 1.03x against its field's national median.

The next-highest earners are Health Sciences at $62,364 and Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at $58,065, with benchmark ratios of 1.02x and 0.91x respectively. Communication and Media Studies rounds out the top five at $51,006, from 19 degrees awarded.

Four of the five highest-earning programs are also among the five largest by degrees awarded. The exception is Teacher Education, which awards 28 degrees a year and sits outside the top earners. Across all fields, 22.3% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 59 degrees awarded
$80,188
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 28 degrees awarded
$47,383
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 26 degrees awarded
$62,364
Business Administration, Management and Operations 26 degrees awarded
$70,328
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 25 degrees awarded
$58,065
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology 25 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Otterbein University briefing

How does Otterbein University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion is uneven: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 67.9%, whereas Pell recipients complete within six years at 52.4%, below the overall rate by 15.5 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 13th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides a modeled comparison. Graduates earn about $3,910 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth puts that measure in the 39th percentile nationally. Lower Pell completion and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Admission runs at 84.5% at Otterbein University, where undergraduate enrollment is 2,157. Among undergraduates, 30.6% receive Pell Grants, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 15.1%.

Azimuth puts the university’s access pillar in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The figures show broad admission alongside Pell Grant participation and a defined, estimated transfer pathway.

06 / Otterbein University briefing

What colleges are similar to Otterbein University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Otterbein University.

Admissions peerOhio University-Main Campus85.0% admitted
Comparison with Otterbein University
MeasureOtterbein UniversityOhio University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,068$70,528+$12,460 vs Otterbein University
Average annual net price$19,237$21,637+$2,400 vs Otterbein University · higher cost
Admission rate84.5%85.0%
Explore Ohio University-Main Campus →
Higher-admission alternativeWright State University-Main Campus96.3% admitted
Comparison with Otterbein University
MeasureOtterbein UniversityWright State University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,068$62,601+$4,533 vs Otterbein University
Average annual net price$19,237$15,415-$3,822 vs Otterbein University · lower cost
Admission rate84.5%96.3%
Explore Wright State University-Main Campus →
Nearby alternativeAshland UniversityNearby option · OH
Comparison with Otterbein University
MeasureOtterbein UniversityAshland University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,068$59,855+$1,787 vs Otterbein University
Average annual net price$19,237$21,988+$2,751 vs Otterbein University · higher cost
Admission rate84.5%76.4%
Explore Ashland University →
Higher-earnings alternativeMarietta College$64,527 earnings
Comparison with Otterbein University
MeasureOtterbein UniversityMarietta College
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,068$64,527+$6,459 vs Otterbein University
Average annual net price$19,237$21,083+$1,846 vs Otterbein University · higher cost
Admission rate84.5%79.3%
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Akron Main Campus$13,946 average net price
Comparison with Otterbein University
MeasureOtterbein UniversityUniversity of Akron Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,068$62,809+$4,741 vs Otterbein University
Average annual net price$19,237$13,946-$5,291 vs Otterbein University · lower cost
Admission rate84.5%59.7%
Explore University of Akron Main Campus →
Similar profileWheaton CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Otterbein University
MeasureOtterbein UniversityWheaton College
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,068$57,675-$393 vs Otterbein University
Average annual net price$19,237$26,975+$7,738 vs Otterbein University · higher cost
Admission rate84.5%87.4%
Explore Wheaton College →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings