Traditional BSN Pathway | Admissions
Application Deadline
This program admits students once-per-year for the Autumn semester.
- Autumn 2026
Opens: October 15, 2025
Deadline: February 1, 2026
Transcript deadline: May 18, 2026
Admission Requirements | Prerequisites | How to Apply | BSN Transfer Applicants | Admissions Timeline
Who We Are Looking For
While we are seeking individuals that are academically prepared for the rigors of nursing education; we also value diversity of background and thought, collaboration, leadership and other qualities that will contribute to the nursing profession and healthcare field. Applicants are reviewed on a holistic basis. An ideal applicant will showcase his or her ability to uphold and live the college and university values.
The below characteristics are not all encompassing, but include elements we look for as demonstrated through personal experience, in the applicant’s written personal statement, essay responses, recorded online video interview and other application materials:
- Experiences that demonstrate leadership, collaboration and/or community involvement
- The ability to overcome obstacles and challenges
- Ability and desire to contribute to and engage with a diverse community
- Aspire to make an impact on the healthcare field and improving peoples’ lives
- Ability to effectively communicate
Admission Requirements
To be considered for admissions, applicants must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements. For Autumn 2026 applicants, these requirements must be satisfied by May 18, 2026 or you will not be considered for admission. No exceptions can be made to this deadline.
- 3.2 cumulative college GPA
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This GPA is calculated on a 4.0 scale. It will include all graded undergraduate and graduate college coursework, including college credit earned while in high school, completed by the transcript deadline.
- Completion of seven (7) prerequisite courses with a C+ or higher
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Applicants must complete the seven prerequisite courses by the transcript deadline.
For undergraduate students that have completed coursework in 2020 and in the Spring and Summer of 2021, please visit our pass/no pass policy page for more information on the Pass/No Pass and Emergency Pass policies.
- Completion of 30 credit hours
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Applicants must complete at least 30 undergraduate college credit hours by the transcript deadline. Any transferred college credit, credit earned during high school, credit earned through Advanced Placement testing, and graduate credit will all be included in this total.
- 18 years old by first clinical course
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Applicants must be 18 years of age by October 1 of the autumn semester of their first year in the BSN program.
Prerequisites
Applicants must complete seven (7) prerequisite courses with a grade of C+ or higher by the transcript deadline. Courses completed at other institutions must transfer in as a direct equivalency to one of the Ohio State courses listed below.
For Autumn 2026 applicants, these courses must be completed and official transcripts reflecting a final grade for these courses received by May 18, 2026 or you will not be considered for admission.
All applicants must complete one course in each of the following seven areas. Please refer to the course description in the course catalog to determine if you are eligible to enter the courses listed below.
Note for currently enrolled Ohio State students: If you do not meet the requirements to enroll in the class, you will need to request permission of the instructor via email in order to enroll. Once permission is received, you must forward that to your academic advisor for enrollment.
Click on each of the subject areas below for a list of Ohio State courses that fulfill the requirements.
- Biology*
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Must include a laboratory component.
- BIOLOGY 1101
- BIOLOGY 1102
- BIOLOGY 1110
- BIOLOGY 1113
- BIOLOGY 1114
*1113 Biological Sciences: Energy Transfer and Development will fulfill this requirement
- Chemistry
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Must include a laboratory component.
- CHEM 1110, 1206 and 1208, 1210, 1220, 1610, 1620, 1910H, 1920H, 2510, 2520, 2610, 2620, 2910H, BIO CHEM 2210
- Human Anatomy
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Must include a laboratory component.
- ANATOMY 2300
- ANATOMY 3300
- EEOB 2511 (EEOB 2510 is no longer being offered)
- Human Physiology
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- EEOB 2520
- PHR 3100
- PHYSIO 3101
- PHYSIO 3102
- PHYSIO 3200
- English Composition
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- ENGLISH 1110
- Psychology
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- PSYCH 1100
- Sociology
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- RURLSOC 1500
- SOCIOL 1101
- SOCIOL 1102
For Autumn 2026 applicants, scores must be received by July 31, 2026. If an AP score is being used to fulfill a prerequisite requirement, your admission decision may be delayed until the AP score is received.
Current Ohio State students should run a Degree Audit Report (DARs) through Buckeyelink to verify the completion of their prerequisite courses. This includes applicants who recently transferred to Ohio State and students with Advanced Placement or Post Secondary/College Credit Plus coursework. If scores or transfer coursework do not appear on your DARs, you will need to submit official scores and official transcripts to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions.
- Prerequisites taken at another institution
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Prerequisite courses taken at other institutions must be direct equivalents to the Ohio State courses listed above in order to meet corresponding prerequisite requirements. To determine if a course completed at another institution will transfer as a direct equivalent, you can refer to Transferology, a web resource containing transfer information for courses offered at colleges or universities. You can also review the transfer credit charts created by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. If you are unable to locate your courses through these two resources, please email the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions at gpadmissions@osu.edu to request assistance with evaluating your courses. All prerequisite courses completed at other institutions are reviewed by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. The College of Nursing is not involved in these determinations.
You are responsible for verifying that all the prerequisite courses taken (or planned) satisfy prerequisite requirements.
The following are other important aspects of completing prerequisite courses outside of Ohio State:
- Students taking prerequisite courses at institutions that do not award grades on a +/- scale must earn a grade of B or higher in each of the prerequisite courses to be eligible for admission.
- General (GEN), special (SPL), or technical (TECH) credit will not satisfy prerequisite requirements.
- The "To-Do List" in the Applicant Center will alert you if a transfer course is not considered a direct equivalent or you have other deficiencies related to your prerequisites. The College of Nursing will not inform you of any unfulfilled prerequisite courses or incomplete requirements.
- It is important to include all current and planned transfer coursework in the prerequisite summary on the BSN application.
- If you are required to have any of your prerequisite courses reevaluated, you will need to contact the corresponding Transfer Credit Coordinator. It is critical that you communicate the results of the reevaluation to the College of Nursing prior to the May admission requirements deadline. Results of the reevaluation should be emailed to nursing@osu.edu.
- You will not be considered for admission if coursework does not meet the required direct equivalencies or if you do not meet all other admissions requirements.
Questions or concerns regarding your transfer prerequisite coursework should be directed to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions at 614-292-9444 or gpadmissions@osu.edu.
How to Apply
To apply for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, you must complete the following steps:
- 1. Submit the online application.
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You can complete and submit the online BSN application through the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. A $60 fee is required at the time of submission of the application.
- 2. Complete the personal statement and two essay questions embedded in the online application
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The personal statement and essay questions provide an opportunity for you to share your story and how you can contribute to the nursing profession and/or excel as a nursing student at Ohio State. See the Who We are Looking For section for further details.
The personal statement and essay questions are included in the online application, available starting in October, and must be completed before you submit that application. We recommend that you begin the application to find the prompt and questions, work on your statement and essays in a separate word processing software, and then copy and paste them into the application when you are ready to submit your application.
Employees of the College of Nursing cannot review or edit your personal statement or essay responses.
- 3. Complete the recorded online video interview
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The recorded online video interview is another way you can exemplify the attributes and experiences desired in an applicant to the BSN program.
The recorded online video interview must be completed by February 1 for your application to be considered for admission.
Click here to access the recorded online video interview and instructions.
- 4. Submit official transcripts and test scores for all college coursework.
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All up-to-date transcripts and test scores (including those demonstrating completion of prerequisite courses) must be received by May 18, 2026 for your application to be considered for admission. No exceptions will be made for this deadline.
You must submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities that you have previously attended or currently attend. This includes transcripts for any college credit earned through dual credit (i.e. college credit plus) education programs, regardless of whether the credit appears on your high school transcript.
Applicants do not need to submit transcripts for coursework completed at Ohio State.
Official transcripts are submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. Please refer to their website for instructions on how to submit your transcripts. If a transcript for a college or university is listed as required on your application To-Do List but you never attended that institution, please contact the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. You should also contact the College of Nursing at nursing@osu.edu to notify us of the requirement.
If steps 1, 2, and 3 are not completed by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on February 1 during the year of application and step 4 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time by the deadline listed, you will not be considered for admission. There are no exceptions to these deadlines.
- For international applicants
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Additional information for international applicants applying to the BSN program, including English proficiency testing requirements, may be found by visiting the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions website. For applicants that may need to start at the university as a pre-nursing student to complete prerequisite requirements to apply to the BSN program should consult the Office of Undergraduate Admissions here.
BSN Transfer Applicants
Students who have completed any bachelor’s-level nursing coursework at an ACEN, CCNE, or CNEA accredited BSN program are eligible to apply to Ohio State’s BSN program as a transfer student. Transfer students apply during the regular application period detailed in the section above and will follow the same admission decision timeline provided in the section below.
Students enrolled in pre-nursing programs at other institutions are not eligible to apply through the transfer BSN process, but can apply through the Traditional BSN process or can apply to the university as a transfer student to enter the College of Nursing’s Pre-Nursing program.
Connect with one of our academic advisors for a personal 1:1 meeting to review your transfer credits and answer your questions. Click here to schedule your time.
BSN transfer application process
- BSN transfer applicants must meet the Ohio State traditional BSN program’s admission requirements to be considered for admission. To apply to the BSN program as a BSN transfer applicant, you must complete all steps of the traditional BSN program’s application process detailed in the “How to Apply” section of this webpage. All application requirements must be completed by the corresponding deadlines.
- Answer the BSN transfer applicant questions located within the application. These questions include identifying as a BSN transfer applicant, listing all current, previously completed, and planned nursing coursework, as well as grades earned in those courses.
- If you do not complete the BSN transfer applicant questions in the application, nursing course work completed at another institution will not be evaluated for transfer credit. Non-nursing specific coursework can still be considered for transfer to meet university and General Education requirements.
Applying and being admitted to the BSN program also counts as applying and being admitted to The Ohio State University as a general undergraduate student for the Autumn semester. Likewise, not being admitted to the BSN program will also result in not being admitted as a student to Ohio State. If a transfer student wishes to attend Ohio State regardless of their admission to the BSN program or they wish to complete non-nursing coursework at Ohio State prior to the Autumn semester, they should also complete the University’s transfer student application process in addition to the BSN application process.
Nursing coursework evaluation
Nursing transfer credit will only be evaluated after an offer of admission to the BSN program has been made.
The evaluation process is outlined below so you may begin preparing the required materials in advance:
- Transfer applicants will be contacted by the College of Nursing via email after they have been notified of their offer of admission. This email will contain instructions on how to submit their specific nursing coursework documentation and will be sent to the email address the student included on their BSN application.
- Admitted BSN transfer applicants will be required to provide a course syllabus for each nursing-specific course they are requesting to have transferred.
- A syllabus is a document that outlines the expectations for the course, along with the topics that will be taught, grading scale, and expected outcomes from the course. Please reach out to the institution you attended to request a copy of course syllabi.
- Only nursing courses completed at the bachelor’s level with a C+ or greater can be considered for transfer into the BSN program.
- Applicants will have until July 1 to submit documentation. We recommend collecting all course syllabi in advance.
- If required documentation is not submitted by the deadline, previously completed nursing coursework cannot be considered for transfer. The student will retain their offer of admission and be required to complete all nursing-specific courses to earn a BSN degree from Ohio State.
- Non-nursing specific coursework can still be considered for transfer to meet university and General Education requirements through the university level transfer process.
- By mid-July, the results of the nursing coursework transfer credit evaluation will be shared with BSN transfer students via email. These results will be sent to the email address the student included on their BSN application.
- Once the results of the nursing coursework evaluation have been shared, BSN transfer students will have 1 week to accept the offer of admission.
Admission Timeline
To be considered, all required materials must be submitted by the published deadlines. You can check your application status and ensure materials are complete on your Application Status page. For application checklist questions, contact the Office of Graduate & Professional Admissions at gpadmissions@osu.edu.
Admissions decisions are made after the application deadline and released via the Applicant Center and email (from the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions) by mid-June. Some applicants may be waitlisted and receive a decision later in the summer. All decisions are final, and individualized feedback is not available.
The BSN program is highly competitive, with more applicants than available seats. Our review process is comprehensive, aiming to build a class that reflects the values of the College of Nursing and Ohio State University. As such, even qualified applicants may not be admitted.
If you applied for Autumn 2025, you can view the admissions timeline here. This admissions timeline covers what you can expect throughout the application process, including an anticipated timeline for when admissions decisions will be released and next steps if you are offered admission. Once released, all admission decisions for the BSN program are final.
Applicants to the BSN program who are interested in alternative pathways, such as the Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness degree or Path2BSN should contact nursing@osu.edu.
In accordance with the non-discrimination policy of The Ohio State University and the College of Nursing, we strictly prohibit any discrimination based upon age, color, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, religion, pregnancy, or veteran status in its application, admission, or enrollment practices.
Ohio State is committed to treating applicants fairly and with dignity and respect. Please review Ohio State’s post-admissions policy.