Question about Unfilled NP Program

[mjb6060]

I've been considering whether to apply for the FNP or PMHNP program at Ohio State University, and pretty much decided on PMHNP. However, I noticed that in this past admissions cycle, the school actually re-opened the application period for some of their programs including PMHNP for consideration of new applicants and even reconsideration of those who had already been rejected. My impression is that OSU is fairly competitive/selective in evaluation of candidates for their nursing programs, but I wonder whether unfilled spots throughout multiple NP specialities indicates a much lower number of applicants this year. And if that is the case, I'm just curious what could be likely reasons for a sudden drop in number of applicants. Less people interested in NP specialties outside of FNP? Less marketing/general awareness of the NP programs at OSU, or perhaps a school-specific issue that I'm unaware of? Or is this not really that unusual?

If anyone has ideas or insight on this specific program, I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts.

Thanks!

[Ohm108, MSN, NP, CNM]

I think there are many factors that contribute to whether a school reopens their application cycle. The school that I am at decided to attend, extended their application cycle rather than "reopen" their cycle for the past two years so your prospective school is not the only school to do so. Some factors that I have heard for opening up or extending an application might be because they didn't receive enough candidates for a particular specialty. Other reasons include wanting to cast the net wider and find a more diverse student body or extenuating circumstances surrounding the application process. One school that I looked into extended their application cycle because they had some glitches on the last day of application submission in their application submission system so they extended the deadline to give everyone a chance to re-submit their applications.

I think that it is important to also keep in mind that the economy is doing very well right now and we are in a bull market which historically has had implications on whether people go to graduate school. If you look back at the Lehman's collapse and recession between 2007-2010 you will see a spike in graduate school applications because 1) people want to differentiate themselves from other candidates in a tough and competitive job market and 2) They want to obtain a higher degree to grant more skills which might translate into better job security and higher pay. Now that the economy is doing well, fewer people want to spend the time and money going to graduate school when job security is pretty good and companies are having a hard time finding candidates for jobs. You can see this reflected in the tech job market right now.

Alternatively, you can also call or go to an open house day and ask the school directly why they decided re-open the application process and see if they will give you a direct answer.

Hope that helps.