Requirements to enter Nursing School

BSNtobe2009 · Nov 11, 2006

I have seen several nursing schools that I am currently looking at that have their minimum policy set anywhere from 2.0 to 2.6. I haven't seen anything over 2.6 at any of them. The 2.0's were all for ADN programs and the 2.5 and 2.6 were for BSN programs.

One I saw used the TEAS test, others used the NET. Most of the others used the NET.

Two I looked at required an ACT or SAT score, no matter how many hours you had of college credit...all of the others waived this if you had 20 hours or more of college credit except these two, so they got wrote off my list for that reason. (I never took either and I have a BS).

Three I looked at required CNA certification prior to application which isn't required by the state. I bypassed these as well.

One I looked at required only high school chemistry and alegbra I as the only pre-req, the rest required college level Chem, and AP I and AP II, one required all plus Microbiology.

None of the schools I looked at had a minimum acceptance score that they required...mainly because they took the top 30, 40, 50, or whatever their admission numbers would allow.

None of them required an interview, and one had a policy against interviews.

barb4575 · Nov 28, 2006

Hello Burlington,

I recently made decisions about this in our community college leadership and will share what was decided. We discussed interviewing and decided against it mainly due to the ability of students to role play. We decided on an entrance essay and this would assist us in discerning why they want to be a nurse, what they perceive nursing school will be like, their commitment to their educational process, and why they want to become a nurse-excluding "to help others" since this can be accomplished through many avenues other than the nursing profession, and their ability to use the written word in an efficient manner since the pages had limitations. We utilized HESI which is now owned by Elsevier. The Admission Assessment or A2 exam was very difficult and we had many that could not pass it, so we redesigned how the pass rate was determined. It was based on a weighted point system and not the 850-900 which the company recommended. In regard to achievement and diagnostic testing, I am researching ATI currently and may change to that company. Regarding NCLEX-RN review at the end of the program, I am most satisfied with the Online Hurst Review.

The selection criteria was recently changed and a point system was awarded for all of the criteria that we as a faculty group decided were necessary for successful completion of the program. GPA is a significant indicator and we decided that if the student applicant received less than a 2.5 in high school,this may equate with nursing school failure. We also utilized a college entrance exam known as CPAt, but am reviewing a change to COMPACT. References, both personal and professional, are significant, but most are very good so we weighted those less than other criteria. We believed that the following test scores (ACT and SAT and CPAt) were important indicators: Math, Language, and Reading. If one has a low reading comprehension, this may signify difficulty with the massive volume of nursing content taught in an ADN program. If one has difficulty with Math, they tend to have difficulty passing the math portion of every course; this is now considered a prerequisite. We also do not accept any nursing courses from other colleges and the math/science courses must be taken within five years.

I hope this helps you and your faculty group,

Barbara