Here is my advice for applying to Chamberlain College of Nursing, specifically the Sacramento, CA location!
The sacramento location is looking for a minimum 3.0 GPA and high 80s-90s on your HESI exam.
**my application was accepted for the September 2020 start date** I got a lot of questions on Instagram so I’d figure I’d answer them all here! ?
1. attend an open house! You will get your questions answered there about the program, the application process, etc. They also hold information sessions 2x a week which is the same information in a much smaller group. These sessions are great because you can speak to admissions advisors one on one ?
2. Apply EARLY in the application cycle!! They accept applications 3x a year. The application cycles are listed on Chamberlain’s website for each application window.
3. Study for the HESI at least one solid month before you submit an official application! Once you apply, they schedule your HESI exam asap. So plan accordingly! If you haven’t taken any prerequisite classes (A&P, Microbiology, Chem) I’d recommend beginning your studying earlier. Use HESI test booklets, the mometrix online study guide is worth the investment, and Khan academy on Youtube is great for science! Take it seriously. I deleted all social media and any other distraction apps off my phone. Eliminate distractions and put the work in!
4. If you aren’t accepted right away, KEEP PUSHING! The first time I wanted to apply my application was not competitive enough. So I took 13 units at my community college to boost my GPA before I applied again. Your advisor wants to see a change in your application!! Show them you’re serious. They accept up to 54 transfer credits, you can see which GE classes are accepted on the BSN 3-year schedule.
5. Make your passion statement personal. This is your chance to show admissions who you are besides your GPA and exam score! They don’t want to hear you want to be a nurse because someone you know is a nurse. They want to know who you are, what fuels your fire and how you’re going to make an impact in this field.
6. Ask questions! Instagram is a big tool to meet people. I’ve met so many people from Chamberlain’s Instagram account that have given me a lot of useful info! You can usually find current students by searching #ChamberlainUniversity or the Sacramento location’s geotag ?
Be patient! Your time will come. You will reach your goals! You will become an RN ❤️
Wow I’m sorry! ? They didn’t give you a reason? Maybe the date you were going for was full? How did you do on the HESI? I took it twice, first time I bombed the science section for Chemistry like actually failed it and everything else was fine I still passed it and my score wasn’t bad and then I took it a second time and brought my sciences up a lot and everything else stayed the same and the score they gave me didn’t change at all. Weird but I guess they look at your math and English to give you their score. I am trying to get in for January 2022 but I don’t find out until August. I have been trying not to even think about it because the days are going by so slow waiting for an answer. ? Are you going to try any of their other campuses? Definitely don’t give up. I’m not sure how many times you can apply or transfer your package but have you thought about the one in Arizona or the new campus down in SoCal?
Hi Heather,
Sorry it took me awhile to respond! I recently just got back from a vacation and now I'm back to reality, LOL. I have a close friend of mine who actually attends a school by the name of West Coast University. It's some what like Chamberlain, but it actually caught my interest a little bit more. The application process is a lot like Chamberlain's, but they go based off a point system instead, which I sort of like better. I'm going to try that campus out for my Accelerated BSN and see what happens! I'm still looking at ADN programs, but those still seem very competitive as well. I wish the process would come quicker though I've been at this for years now it's crazy! I recently caught some interest in Respiratory Therapy as well, so that's always a great back up plan if nursing wasn't to work out for me. Funny story is I actually met three girls on vacation who are RT's and had some pretty cool stories to share with me about their journey. Kinda a coincidence I ran into them with that on my mind! Either way I'm going to keep shooting for nursing and hope I get a chance. Have you found out if you got accepted yet?!
Sorry it took me awhile to respond! I recently just got back from a vacation and now I'm back to reality, LOL. I have a close friend of mine who actually attends a school by the name of West Coast University. It's some what like Chamberlain, but it actually caught my interest a little bit more. The application process is a lot like Chamberlain's, but they go based off a point system instead, which I sort of like better. I'm going to try that campus out for my Accelerated BSN and see what happens! I'm still looking at ADN programs, but those still seem very competitive as well. I wish the process would come quicker though I've been at this for years now it's crazy! I recently caught some interest in Respiratory Therapy as well, so that's always a great back up plan if nursing wasn't to work out for me. Funny story is I actually met three girls on vacation who are RT's and had some pretty cool stories to share with me about their journey. Kinda a coincidence I ran into them with that on my mind! Either way I'm going to keep shooting for nursing and hope I get a chance. Have you found out if you got accepted yet?!
Oh! and I just read your message about my HESI score. Honestly I wasn't too competitive I got a 75%. I did extremely good in Anatomy I actually scored 100% somehow (odd flex), but everything else I seemed to be pretty basic in like on a C level. I think comprehension was high too, but I'm not sure of the score. I'm not the greatest test taker tbh so that's what scares me about nursing school since I know it's test based, but I tried it out. I wish the exam was more nurse related. I felt like bio, chem, math kinda hurt me for the most part. At least the new school I'm trying for only looks at reading, comp, grammar, and math.
I had a cumulative GPA of 3.2 and HESI of 89% and was not accepted for Jan 22.
A Chamberlain Sacramento advisor said that you have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and high 80s (87% at least) to be competitive because of the cap of 40 students.
The last person that the Sac advisor saw that was admitted had a HESI of 95%, but the pool is different for every review. Each review seems as though they allotted a certain amount of spots. I was told by an executive admission advisor (the person who calls you after your review ) that because of the cap of students and they turned people away applicants with extremely high HESI scores with competitive GPAs. There just isn't enough spots for everybody, was what I was told.
The Sacramento advisor said because of the cap; it is NOT one of the schools that you can transfer from another Chamberlain Campus out of state if you are accepted.
So, I am going to try my luck with a re-review and retake the HESI. She said that my HESI% puts me at the 90th percentile. Note If you retake your HESI, they only take the higher of your last two attempts. So, if it's your third attempt and you scored your highest score on your 1st attempt, it's not considered.
I had a cumulative GPA of 3.2 and HESI of 89% and was not accepted for Jan 22.
A Chamberlain Sacramento advisor said that you have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and high 80s (87% at least) to be competitive because of the cap of 40 students.
The last person that the Sac advisor saw that was admitted had a HESI of 95%, but the pool is different for every review. Each review seems as though they allotted a certain amount of spots. I was told by an executive admission advisor (the person who calls you after your review ) that because of the cap of students and they turned people away applicants with extremely high HESI scores with competitive GPAs. There just isn't enough spots for everybody, was what I was told.
The Sacramento advisor said because of the cap; it is NOT one of the schools that you can transfer from another Chamberlain Campus out of state if you are accepted.
So, I am going to try my luck with a re-review and retake the HESI. She said that my HESI% puts me at the 90th percentile. Note If you retake your HESI, they only take the higher of your last two attempts. So, if it's your third attempt and you scored your highest score on your 1st attempt, it's not considered.
I hope this helps!
Hi there,
Thank you for your response! I heard Sacramento was very competitive too. I ended up getting accepted to a different school recently and start my journey November 1st. Best of luck to you with your HESI exam! I know you'll do even better!! Let us know if you make it:)
Anyone currently at chamberlain? I want to know where you do your pediatric clinical at?
I finished my pediatric rotation at Sutter Sacramento medical center. We got to experience general peds, PICU, and the same day treatment/procedure unit.
I was originally accepted into chamberlain in 2021 but declined my seat at that time. My question is do I have to restart the entire process to be accepted again? Does anyone have experience with this?
Thanks In advance!
Hey! I’m currently in the process of applying to Sacramentos BSN program and am having horrible communication issues! The last email I got was 10/19 saying my file was sent to the registar and we are waiting on them. Does anyone know what that means?! I was trying for January cohort but I feel like that’s not possible now with how late it’s getting! I took my second attempt HESI 10/3.
Hey! I’m currently in the process of applying to Sacramentos BSN program and am having horrible communication issues! The last email I got was 10/19 saying my file was sent to the registar and we are waiting on them. Does anyone know what that means?! I was trying for January cohort but I feel like that’s not possible now with how late it’s getting! I took my second attempt HESI 10/3.
Hi! We have had some staff transition to different departments/ leave. The most responsive method is by emailing [email protected]
as of admissions I’m not sure when they decide but I do know of people getting acceptances later than they were expecting! Good luck :)
I don't even know if anyone still gets on here, but I figured I'd give it a try...
Hi, there I am prospective student of chamberlin university and to be honest reading these comments have been super helpful but I am not going to lie; also discouraging. It seems as though this is yet another nursing school thats making it nearly impossible for most to get in. Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who is starting the application process with the sacramento location; on ways to help your application. Or even any other university options ?
Also when I went on the official Chamberlin site it said they only tested four portions for the HESI, two of them being english/ grammar comp. and the other two being Bio and A&P. But from some of the comments here it looks like you all tested for more than that? So my question is for the Sacramento location what sections did you all have for the HESI Exam?
Leilani21
19 Posts
Hi Heather,
Sorry it took me awhile to respond! I recently just got back from a vacation and now I'm back to reality, LOL. I have a close friend of mine who actually attends a school by the name of West Coast University. It's some what like Chamberlain, but it actually caught my interest a little bit more. The application process is a lot like Chamberlain's, but they go based off a point system instead, which I sort of like better. I'm going to try that campus out for my Accelerated BSN and see what happens! I'm still looking at ADN programs, but those still seem very competitive as well. I wish the process would come quicker though I've been at this for years now it's crazy! I recently caught some interest in Respiratory Therapy as well, so that's always a great back up plan if nursing wasn't to work out for me. Funny story is I actually met three girls on vacation who are RT's and had some pretty cool stories to share with me about their journey. Kinda a coincidence I ran into them with that on my mind! Either way I'm going to keep shooting for nursing and hope I get a chance. Have you found out if you got accepted yet?!