<p>WhistlePig, both Ohio State and Penn State are substantially more selective than Minnesota, though UMN has been closing the gap recently. UMN was actually the last Big Ten public U. to abandon an open admissions policy. </p>
<p>Ohio State was second to the last (did it in '87) but had originally wanted to move to selective admissions in the early 60s. They were prevented from doing so by a populist, anti-intellectual Governor (and two of the other state universities teaming up to stab OSU in the back) who kept getting reelected over and over (finally left office in '82). Considering that this Governor, Jim Rhodes, had flunked out of Ohio State his freshmen year, one has to wonder what personal grudges played a part in his ridiculous policy towards Ohio State.</p>