The newest Bearcats are learning they’ve been accepted for fall 2025. It is a good time to check emails, phones and computers for an admissions notice. 

This year UC surprised five students from three Cincinnati area high schools with in-person visits to offer an official acceptance letter to the university, a scholarship and a celebration which included members of UC’s Bearcat Bands, the Bearcat Mascot and university officials with congratulations and UC swag.

Officials from the university's regional colleges UC Blue Ash and UC Clermont also surprised area students on Decision Day. 

“Decision Day has become a celebration of this city’s future,” explains Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management. “We are celebrating UC’s future students and our future leaders for Cincinnati, our state and nation.”

The value of a UC education continues to be a powerful attraction  — more than 30,000 applicants have applied to become Bearcats.

“Not only does this represent our largest applicant pool ever, but also our most diverse,” explains Miner. “We have seen a 20% increase in applications from Black students and a 13% increase in applications from Latinx students.”

UC also saw a 16% increase in applications from international students.

“One of UC’s values has been to increase the number of people in this region with a bachelor’s degree to create a more educated workforce,” says Miner. “Specifically, this year, UC saw a 25% increase in applications from students who would be the first in their family to attend college.”

Meet UC’s newest Bearcats

Greetings for the newest Bearcats got a boost with thousands of emailed welcome videos aided by artificial intelligence-generated technology.

Throughout the day all admitted students will receive a personalized welcome video that uses AI, a first for the university.

Each student will be receiving a video created individually for them that features everything from their name on the scoreboard in Nippert Stadium to a personalized welcome from Bearcat cheerleaders.

“Over the past few years, we have prided ourselves on the Decision Day surprises at local homes and high schools,” says Miner. “Those in-person surprises are wonderful. But these videos allow us to deliver that same personal connection to all of our new Bearcats.”

Two students within the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) district received the Marian Spencer Scholarship, which includes a full ride to the university. Both are students at Withrow High School in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

First announced in 2021, the Spencer scholarship covers undergraduate tuition, housing, living expenses, service-learning opportunities and more for high-achieving CPS students.

Spencer Scholars will also receive career coaching, participate in service-learning experiences, and form a living-learning community, housed together on campus in Marian Spencer Hall.

Marian Spencer, a Cincinnati civil rights icon, is a UC alumna who was instrumental in desegregating Cincinnati’s Coney Island as well as Cincinnati Public Schools. She went on to become the first African American woman elected to Cincinnati City Council in 1983.

Harsh Minhas already knows he wants to be a cardiologist someday.

The senior at CPS’s Withrow University High School started a club for students with an interest in careers in medicine. He is also class president at Withrow, a member of the school’s Quiz Team, student senate and the National Honor Society.

“We are first-generation students,” says Nikita Minhas, the older sister of Harsh and also a UC student. “He wants to be a cardiologist because he wants to help people. He has specificity for heart patients because they suffer a lot. Treatment is very expensive in the United States and he would like to see that change.”

Nikita, a pre-medicine major and Darwin Turner Scholar, says Harsh and their parents moved from the state of Punjab in India to Cincinnati about five years ago. Harsh speaks Hindi, Punjabi and English and is studying Spanish. He enjoys basketball and rugby. Harsh volunteers for the American Red Cross, works as a cashier at a grocery store and is an accounting intern at Cincinnati Children’s. He was part of the Cincinnati Police Summer Cadet Program.

He is already taking college-level courses at UC and will officially start his undergraduate education with 45 credits. Harsh will study pre-medicine at UC and is a recipient of the Marian Spencer Scholarship.

“Harsh is very funny, outgoing and a brilliant person,” says Nikita Minhas. “He respects everyone. Open-minded and always ready to help, Harsh is trustworthy. His academic excellence and innovative ideas reflect a sharp intellect and determination to succeed. He is genuinely compassionate, always willing to lend a helping hand or support someone in need.”

Nikita Minhas says her parents left India to offer better opportunities for her and her brother, Harsh. “Their hard work and resilience is the reason we’re able to stand proud today,” she added.  “They have taught us the value of determination, humility, and gratitude. Everything we achieve is because of them.”

Amber Hunter, a guidance counselor at his high school, says Harsh has a bright future on the horizon.

“I have had the pleasure of getting to know Harsh over the past couple of years and can honestly say he is one of those students that is destined for greatness,” says Hunter. “He is one of those incredibly unique students who is naturally inquisitive, a problem-solver and a born leader. He looks out for his family, his friends and complete strangers. He walks with purpose, speaks with passion and approaches life with intentionality.”

Oliver Tiani Vessah came to the city from his native Cameroon just as he entered high school. He was forced to leave what was familiar to join his two sisters, Aicha and Laetitia, in Cincinnati. His father died when Oliver was young. His mother remains in Africa.

“I came to the United States after high school so it was a bit different,” says sister Aicha Tiani Vessah. “But when you are forced to go into this country where you don’t really know anyone except your sister, you have to start everything from scratch. That to me takes a lot of courage, and not everyone is able to do it.”

Oliver has thrived. A senior at Withrow, he is a member of the school’s National Honor Society, serves as a soccer team captain, is a theater stage manager and serves as an interpreter for French-speaking African students trying to adjust at Withrow.

Oliver also takes college-level classes at UC and will start his undergraduate experience with some college credits. He hopes to study finance at UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business. 

Oliver is a recipient of the Marian Spencer Scholarship. 

“Oliver has so many ambitions,” says sister Aicha. “From one topic to the next he is ready to achieve. I still remember him as a baby and now he’s taller than all of us and achieving one milestone and on his way to achieve another. It feels great to see this. 

“As his sisters, we are very proud of him.”

Aicha says her brother was soft-spoken and shy when he first arrived in the United States. In Cameroon, he was more popular since many children in the neighborhood would come to the family home to socialize because the family had the internet.

Things changed in the United States, explains Laetitia Tiani Vessah, Oliver’s oldest sister. 

“Cameroon is a bilingual country and we all learned English in school,” says Laetitia, “but when we are home, we speak French. 

“I don’t have to tell you that if you are different in high school not everyone is necessarily immediately accepting,” she adds. “I do think it was an interesting journey to see someone who was very outgoing now come and have to figure out how to break out of that shell.”

The perks of the internet in Cameroon didn’t carry the same weight in the United States since access is relatively widespread.

“So, it’s not like you can say, I have these things and people will want to hang out with me,” says Laetitia. “You truly have to put yourself out there.”

Oliver has worked part-time as a finance intern at Cincinnati Children’s. He helped develop a tracking system that provided real-time updates and progress checks to assist his team in processing final reports for 54 departments at the hospital.

Oliver’s sisters say he is “courageous, responsible and ambitious.”

Nick Kolbinsky has always been a stellar student earning high marks. He is a senior at La Salle High School, an all-male Catholic school primarily serving students in the western and northern suburbs of Cincinnati.

“The cool thing is because he’s interested in his studies he likes to learn,” says Melissa Kolbinsky, his mother, who is also a teacher at a Cincinnati middle school. “I know students are concerned about their grades. He is concerned, but he is really interested in learning.”

Nick is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Club, Key Club and the school’s Senior Leaders program. He has been named business student of the year from Colerain Chamber of Commerce.

He’s involved in clothing drives, food drives and performs community service to help others. At UC, Nick hopes to study finance in the Lindner College of Business. He received a $6,000 UC scholarship on Decision Day.

“Nicholas has been a Bearcat fan since his early years when he would attend basketball games at the Fifth Third Arena,” says mother Melissa. “His Bearcat enthusiasm continues today after having attended several seminars and visits to UC with the Lasallian Scholars Institute and taking College Credit Plus classes through UC.”

Melissa says her son has a strong sense of justice.

“He maintains this belief through his actions and [has] a steadfast conviction of fairness and opportunity for all,” she says. “Nicholas is an academic who is serious about his learning, yet he has a great sense of humor that is funny and clever.”

Owen Herzog knows anything worth having is worth working hard to achieve.

The senior at La Salle is enjoying his fourth year as part of the school's volleyball team and has been active in the La Salle Sports Network, a student organization that provides live stream coverage and photography of La Salle athletics.

He loves photography and often has a camera with him even if he is just hanging out with friends. He’s been experimenting with videography and loves anything outdoors — hiking, fishing and kayaking. Owen is a member of the National Honor Society and also has an internship with the IT Help Desk at La Salle.

Owen hopes to study information technology at UC and possibly minor in media production. He is also the recipient of a $6,000 UC scholarship matched by another scholarship from UC's Early IT program.

“Owen is the most driven, determined person I know,” explains Suzie Herzog, Owen’s mother. “Even from a very young age, if he didn't learn something as quickly as he wanted, whether it was academically or in athletics, he would work and work and work until he got it right.

“When Owen was a freshman at La Salle, he decided he wanted to start taking College Credit Plus (CCP) classes,” she adds. “He researched and spoke to his counselors and figured out what classes he wanted to take. He took some CCP classes this past summer and has been taking additional CCP classes during the school year, on top of his full class load at La Salle.  

“I always knew that his incredible work ethic and determination would help him achieve any goal he wanted to accomplish in life. And I couldn't be more proud of all of his hard work.”

Those who know Owen describe him as “quiet, calm, kind and empathetic.”

Jamiyah Turnage is a senior at North College Hill High School. She is described as a dedicated and driven student whose passion for learning shines brightly in everything she does. 

“With a heart full of curiosity and an unwavering commitment to her goals, she approaches her studies with both discipline and joy, always striving to grow and evolve,” explains Kristen Brown, a teacher at North College Hill.

“Her kindness and compassion create a warm, supportive environment for everyone she encounters, always ready to lend a hand or offer encouragement,” Brown adds.  “What truly sets her apart is her resilience — she faces every challenge with grace, unwavering determination and an inspiring sense of purpose.”

Jamiyah will study health sciences and has been admitted to the UC College of Allied Health Sciences. She is the recipient of a $6,000 scholarship to UC as well as $1,000 from Allied Health Sciences.

Brown says Jamiyah’s hard work and perseverance allows her not only to excel but also lifts others up with her quiet strength and an unbreakable spirit. 

“Her selflessness and genuine care for others leave me in awe, and her humility and inner strength will undoubtedly guide her toward a future filled with success,” says Brown. “I am so proud of her and excited to watch her achieve even greater things, knowing she will continue to inspire those around her.”

Featured image at top: Oliver Tiani Vessah is surprised with a scholarship to UC on Decision Day. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand

Decision Day: Five years strong