What Are Otterbein's Advantages?

Liberal Arts Core
Professional schools recommend a broad general education in addition to the science requirements, and liberal arts courses help develop the whole individual in areas that are not within (but are relevant to) natural sciences, such as ethics and psychology. Additionally, some students find their interests growing in careers not related to the medical field, and a liberal arts college makes it easy to move the focus of study to other disciplines.

At Otterbein these core liberal arts classes are our award-winning Integrative Studies Program.

Class Size
Since classes and laboratories at Otterbein are small, and are always taught by professors, students have ready access to information, support, and advice. Each student remains with her/his academic advisor for the whole four years, thus allowing timely progress through the program. Faculty and students get to know each other well, and therefore letters of recommendation have substance and cogency.

Research Opportunities
Students are encouraged and sometimes required to perform an original research study. Although Otterbein is primarily a teaching institution, professors have active research programs. Professors include students in that research, or help place students elsewhere, for hands-on experience in scientific technique and data collection. These projects may serve for independent study, senior seminar, honors or distinction credit. Each year some projects are of sufficiently high standard to be published in scientific journals or to be presented at scientific symposia.

Developing Technical Skills
Faculty have been awarded major grants for instrumentation from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Research Corporation. The labs are extensively computerized and equipped with modern instruments such as an automated DNA sequencer, a Raman spectrophotometer and high-field NMR. The supercomputing cluster, recombinant DNA equipment, tissue culture facilities, analytical chemistry suite, and fluorescent microscopes are all readily available.

Opportunity for Internship Experience
Otterbein is an integral part of the greater Columbus community, and local professional practitioners (some of whom are Otterbein alumni) offer opportunities for internship and shadowing experiences.

Friendly Atmosphere
Ours is an atmosphere of help and support, and healthy competition. In fact, unlike some other schools where the pressure to specialize is extreme, Otterbein encourages pre-professional students to diversify. Here you can get involved in sports, music, theatre, media or any of our dozens of other activities. Students may enroll in service learning courses or projects in the local community, and also in programs involving travel to Belize, Vienna, and other off-campus and international destinations.

Otterbein's beautiful campus is located in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. With a population of 36,000 residents, Westerville has a small town feel but is adjacent to a major metropolitan area.

High Professional School Acceptance Rate
A large proportion of our freshman class has the ambition of working in a medical-related career. However, many find other passions in science as they move through the program, and embark on careers they had not considered in high school. Of the students who are still seriously interested in medicine and related studies in their junior year, over 80% gain admission to the school of their choice, and this number rises to almost all in the year following graduation.

Convinced Yet?
The best way to see campus is by scheduling an individual visit through our Admission Office. We also have several special College Visitation Days scheduled throughout the year. These open houses are usually held on Saturdays and offer a number of informational sessions.

To schedule an individual visit, please contact the Office of Admission at least one week in advance at (614) 823-1500 or (800) 488-8144.