Pre-Nursing Admissions
The information on this page is for admission to the Pre-Nursing major at The Ohio State University and includes admission requirements and steps to apply depending on your current academic status.
Any student that meets the appropriate admission requirements and completes the corresponding application by the listed deadline will be admitted. If you are not admitted to the Pre-Nursing major, you may enroll in the health professions exploration program to consider alternative majors. Please note that you do not need to be in the Pre-Nursing major to complete all of the admission requirements and, prerequisite coursework for, or to apply to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
You can find the admission requirements, prerequisite course information including math ACT/SAT or placement scores, application process, and application dates and deadlines for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program here.
Requirements to Remain in Pre-Nursing
To maintain their status in the Pre-Nursing major, students must maintain a 3.2 cumulative Ohio State GPA or higher. Students who do not maintain a minimum cumulative Ohio State GPA of 3.2 at the end of spring semester will receive a notification via email that they have fallen below the minimum GPA and will be required to change their major. We encourage students to change their major to University Exploration while they explore other programs.
The cumulative Ohio State GPA does not include grades from coursework completed at other institutions. Students are not required to be in the Pre-Nursing major to apply to the BSN, and dismissal from the Pre-Nursing major does not indicate a decision on a current or future BSN application.
New Freshman
- Admission Requirements
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To qualify for admission to the Pre-Nursing program as an incoming first-time college student you must meet the following requirements:
- Admitted to The Ohio State University
- One of the following criteria:
- Composite ACT score of 25 or higher
- Composite SAT Score of 1200 or higher
- Be in the top 10-percent of your high school class
If you have questions regarding qualifications for admission to The Ohio State University, about how test scores are determined, how class rank is determined, and about your own scores or rank, please contact the University’s Undergraduate Admissions Office.
- Application Process
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To apply to the Pre-Nursing major, a prospective first-time college student should complete the University’s Application Process for Freshman Applicants--detailed here--and designate Nursing as your intended major. No additional steps or separate applications are necessary.
If you have already applied or been admitted to the University under a different major and wish to switch to the Pre-Nursing major, you will need contact the University’s Undergraduate Admissions Office for assistance. You must still meet the admission criteria above and must contact Admissions prior to the start of classes.
- Application Deadlines
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Please find the application deadlines for admission to The Ohio State University as a first-time college student detailed here.
Current Columbus Campus Students
- Admission Requirements
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To qualify for admission to the Pre-Nursing major as a current Columbus campus student you must meet the following requirements:
- 12 completed college credit hours
- An Ohio State GPA of 3.2 or higher
You may apply to the Pre-Nursing major if you plan to meet these requirements by the end of the current semester, however, your admission will only be determined after the semester’s grades are posted.
- Application Process
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To apply to the Pre-Nursing major as a current Columbus campus student please read the information provided in this presentation. At the end you will be provided with an online form that you may fill out to request a change of majors to Pre-Nursing. This form will then be reviewed at the end of the current semester. If you meet the admission requirements listed above at that time, you will then be switched to the Pre-Nursing major.
After you have submitted the major change, it you require assistance with the BSN application process or would like to schedule an appointment with a Pre-Nursing peer advisor to discuss class schedules, please contact the College of Nursing’s Office of Student Affairs and Success at 614-292-4041.
- Application Deadlines
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Please complete the application process described above by the end of the current semester.
Current Regional Campus Students
Students at a regional campus that are interested in becoming a Pre-Nursing student on the Columbus campus should speak with their regional campus academic advisor to submit the Campus Change Request form to the Office of Student Affairs and Success in the College of Nursing prior to the applicable deadline. Students must submit their Campus Change Request form by the following dates for the corresponding semester start:
- Autumn: July 1
- Spring: December 1
- Summer: March 1
- Admission Requirements
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To qualify for admission to the Pre-Nursing major as a current regional campus student you must meet the following requirements:
- 30 college credit hours completed or in progress after high school graduation
- An Ohio State GPA of 3.2 or higher
Transfer Students
- Admission Requirements
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To qualify for admission to the Pre-Nursing major as a transfer student you must meet the following requirements:
- Be admitted to The Ohio State University and to the Columbus campus.
- If a student has completed 30 or more semester credit hours (or 45 quarter credit hours), they must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher on all college coursework.
- If a student has completed less than 30 semester credit hours (or 45 quarter credit hours), they must have a Composite ACT score of 25 or higher, a Composite SAT Score of 1200 or higher, or have graduated in the top 10-percent of their high school class.
- Application Process
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To apply to the Pre-Nursing major, a prospective transfer student should complete the University’s application process for transfer students--detailed here--and designate Nursing as your intended major. No additional steps or separate applications are necessary.
If you have already applied or been admitted to the University under a different major and wish to switch to the Pre-Nursing major, you will need contact the University’s Undergraduate Admissions Office for assistance. You must still meet the admission criteria above and must contact Admissions prior to the start of classes.
- Application Deadlines
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Please find the application deadlines for admission to The Ohio State University as a transfer student detailed here.
AP, CCP, and Transfer Credit
Students who plan to apply to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) should be aware of the following considerations when completing coursework through AP, College Credit Plus (CCP), or transfer credit from another institution:
- Students must receive a score of a 3 or higher on an AP test to fulfil BSN prerequisite course requirements. No grade is assigned to an AP score, and so it will not factor into a student’s GPA calculations. Students are awarded credit hours and the prerequisite is considered fulfilled.
- To fulfill a BSN prerequisite course requirement, a CCP course or transferred course must be considered directly equivalent to one of the Ohio State courses identified as fulfilling the requirement. Students entering Ohio State with CCP or transfer credit deemed as general credit or special credit may be required to have courses evaluated by the appropriate Ohio State department. This evaluation may require the student to produce a syllabus from the term and year each course was completed in order to be evaluated.
- To determine how CCP and credit completed at another institution will transfer, you can refer to Transferology, a web resource containing transfer information for courses offered at colleges or universities. To learn more about how to resolve transfer credit, please visit our webpage.
- Not all CCP courses may apply to the requirements for the BSN major.
- Although a student may have a significant amount of credit through AP, CCP and transfer coursework, this may not reduce time to graduation. The BSN is a 3-year, lock-step program that cannot be expedited.
- Transfer credit and CCP credit is considered college coursework and is calculated into your GPA for determining your admission eligibility to the BSN, even if it does not apply to prerequisite requirements.
For more general information on transfer credit and College Credit Plus, please visit the following webpages:
- registrar.osu.edu/priorlearning/college-credit-plus.html
- https://orientation.osu.edu/autumn/credit.html
- https://orientation.osu.edu/transfer/credit.html
