Getting Started

Wile E Coyote, ASN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

Your program of choice will have a list of prerequisites which will need completed before acceptance into the actual core nursing program. There may be co-requisites listed that can be done concurrently with core nursing courses or beforehand. Look up a list of schools nearby (use your board of nursing's website for one source) then look for a program guide from their nursing dept. Typically, acceptance into the core nursing program is separate from general acceptance into a particular school.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jan 20, 2014

Good day, lolabannana89:

Thank you for your service to our country.

As Wile E Coyote shared, each school will have different prerequisites; though there is often a common core: Anatomy and Physiology (typically this is broken down into I and II where you need to take both at the same school) and Microbiology. From there, it varies from school to school and can include various English, Math, Psychology and other courses.

A number of the BSN schools in our area include the prerequisites as part of their program. There are also nursing schools that will include them as well. Though in either case, it is often more economical to take as much of the prerequisites as you can take a an accredited community college.

As you look into nursing schools, some key information to gather would be their GPA (if any) requirements, whether or not they have an entrance exam (like the TEAS V -- Test of Essential Academic Skills ), their accreditation (very important), as well as their NCLEX (boards) pass rates for the last five or so years. Better schools (typically the ones you want to attend) will have pass rates in the ninety percentile range; the higher, the better.

Thank you.

RunBabyRN · Jan 20, 2014

States appear to vary, but I believe in TX, like most states, you're required to take general ed courses (English, history, etc), as well as nursing prerequisites (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, etc) before you go into an ADN or BSN program. The requirements for each of those vary, and your best bet is to get online and do some research, then meet with school counselors. Most programs, at least here in CA, have websites for the program itself, which will tell you everything required. Counselors aren't always on the up and up with what's required, but they can help you figure out the general ed stuff that's required for graduation.

I agree about looking at NCLEX pass rates as well.

Good luck!