How to create a perfect nursing school application: Tips for every stage of the application process
Pre-licensure nursing programs, especially at the bachelor’s level, are often quite competitive. According to one report from an academic consulting group, the average nursing school acceptance rate is about 66%, though this can vary from school to school. With about one out of every three applicants not being accepted, it’s reasonable to wonder what you can do to improve your odds.
Keeping in mind that every nursing program can have a different application process and requirements, many application components are similar. By taking the time to understand what’s required and how to curate a stellar application, you’ll help maximize your chance of success, and ultimately, acceptance.
Nursing school applications overview
First and foremost, it bears repeating that every school’s nursing program application process and requirements can vary, so it’s absolutely essential that you check in with a program’s advisers directly to understand exactly what’s needed.
“Students can never really talk to me early enough,” said Christina Martin, an academic adviser at Washington State University’s (WSU) College of Nursing. “Sometimes I’ll catch students right before they want to apply, and I might be the first person that they’ve talked to about nursing in a long time, so they might not be ready to apply. Being really proactive, reaching out, using your resources and really knowing what’s expected during the application process is important.”
When do I apply?
Most Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs function similarly to other college majors. You start off your degree by taking general education classes and prerequisite courses required to apply to your major. Then you apply to the major program itself, typically sometime during your second year or whenever you complete the program’s prerequisites. If accepted, you can begin taking the rest of the courses necessary to complete your degree. If not, you may have to retake any courses that negatively affected your GPA and apply during the next application cycle.
This is commonly known as a 2+2 program—two or so years of general education and prerequisites followed by two years of the classes specific to your major.
Some BSN programs follow a direct-entry format instead. This means you apply to the program at the same time you apply to the school itself. The drawback of this type of program is you commit to a major right away which makes changing majors a lot more difficult if you discover that nursing isn’t right for you.
What’s required to apply?
Most pre-licensure bachelor’s degree nursing programs require applicants to complete the following in order to officially apply to the program:
- All designated prerequisite courses with a minimum GPA
- A minimum cumulative GPA
- A personal essay or interview (or both)
- Minimum score on an applicable entrance exam, such as the Test of Academic Skills (TEAS) exam or something else
Many nursing programs also highly recommend that applicants have some work experience, preferably in healthcare settings, though this is not usually an absolute requirement.
How are nursing school applications weighted?
Every school is going to place a different amount of emphasis and importance on different components of their nursing application. Chris Sogge, Director of the Center for Student Excellence for WSU’s College of Nursing, said that they have a holistic admissions approach which is common for a lot of programs.
“Holistic admissions uses what’s typically defined as an EAM model (Experiences-Attributes-Metrics),” Sogge said.
Within that model, schools generally base a certain percentage of a student’s overall application score on their academics and another on their experiences. “The school I came from had a holistic admissions model that settled on 60% academic metrics and 40% experiential metrics. Here at WSU, we’ve gone for more of a clean 50/50 split,” Sogge said.
For example, Sogge said that WSU’s academic metrics consist of the following:
- TEAS score (20% of overall application)
- Prerequisite grades (20% of overall application)
- Cumulative GPA (10% of overall application)
Schools may require other entrance exam scores from the Health Education Systems, Inc. (HESI), Kaplan’s nursing admissions test or others.
WSU’s experiential metrics, which account for the other half of your application, are made up of the following:
- Interview (30% of overall application)
- Healthcare experiences (20% of overall application)
Prerequisites and grades
To be admitted to a nursing program, you must complete certain prerequisite courses. For many BSN programs, prerequisite courses include classes in anatomy and physiology, intro to psychology, chemistry (including biochemistry and organic chemistry), math and more. You may also have to finish all or some of your general education courses before applying to the program.
Students typically must also achieve a minimum GPA in these courses, either individually and/or cumulatively. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher is common for many programs.
For direct-entry programs, their prerequisites are most likely limited to high school classes.
How to ace your prerequisite courses
Even though prerequisite classes are usually completed in the first or second year of the program, that doesn’t mean they’re easy. Subjects like organic chemistry, for example, can be notoriously difficult, meaning it’s essential that you work hard to get the best possible grade. That means showing up for classes, devoting a significant amount of time to your studies and reaching out to available resources if you’re struggling.
But it also means knowing when to drop a class if you’re overwhelmed.
“Some schools don’t let you withdraw [from a class], some schools don’t care. If you’re not doing well in a course, most schools would much rather you withdraw than stick with that F grade and have it tank your GPA,” Sogge said.
When you’re ready to actually submit your application, make sure you double-check that all necessary transcripts are included. This is especially important for students that have transfer credits from other schools.
“Sometimes students think that they don’t have to submit every single transcript. For example, if they’ve got transfer credits on one transcript then they assume it’s already [accounted for], but that’s not the case. That’s a pretty common misconception,” Martin said.
Work experience
Most nursing schools desire applicants who have relevant work experience in a healthcare setting. This is less common for direct-entry programs since applicants have usually only completed high school and so their work experience is limited.
“Experience-wise, working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) is really common. That’s probably the most popular,” Martin said. “Second to that, I would say it’s a toss-up between paramedics and pre-med. I see a lot of pre-med students that end up working through a med program and then they decide to switch programs and careers because they saw something that they liked in nursing.”
Why it matters
Relevant healthcare experience demonstrates your commitment to the healthcare field and shows admissions teams that you already have some understanding of what you’re in for.
“If you’re a CNA, you experience the grossest parts of nursing,” Sogge said. “You are touching every bodily fluid possible, and if you can handle that, it will let you know very quickly if [nursing] is for you or not.”
Volunteering is also a great way to gain some healthcare experience that could enhance your application. Contact local hospitals, community health clinics, outpatient clinics and other healthcare locations to see if they have any volunteer openings—the answer is usually yes. Long-term care facilities and healthcare nonprofits (e.g. Planned Parenthood) are also great options.
What if my work experience isn’t in healthcare?
Work experience in areas other than healthcare is usually still considered, though it may not be as impactful on an application.
“I think we’ve probably all had experiences working with difficult people in retail, customer service, food service, etc. Deescalating an angry person, for example, is a skill. And if you are able to do that in a healthcare setting, that’s what we’re looking for even more. But nonhealthcare experience is still better than nothing,” Sogge said.
“Healthcare observation hours are not required, but it definitely comes in handy during the interview component because it shows levels of interest and commitment,” Martin said.
Essays and interviews
Nursing school programs almost always include some element in their application process designed to get to know you personally. This usually takes the form of a personal essay or statement, or an interview (or both). The purpose of this component is to give admissions teams the chance to know why you want to be a nurse and learn whatever else they can about you that can’t be conveyed by grades and test scores alone. It’s your chance to tell your story, explain your motivations and convince admissions teams that you would make a valuable asset to their program.
Telling your story
Written prompts are a little easier to prepare for since you have more time to formulate your response. Still, start as early as possible so that you can take your time, set it down, and come back to it again later. Make sure you answer everything within the prompt while writing only what’s absolutely essential, since you can expect a word limit. If your school has a writing center, consider taking your responses there so that a writing specialist can work with you to review and refine them.
Nowadays, interviews have become increasingly common in lieu of any written components. Sogge said that their program used to require essays in their application, but they dropped the requirement since applicants tended to respond to the prompts similarly and in a way that didn’t really help admissions teams’ decision-making. Now they have a virtual interview process which has become a popular option at other nursing schools as well.
Nowadays, interviews have become increasingly common in lieu of any written components.
WSU uses a video interview tool called Kira Talent where students have a period of time (typically a week) to record themselves answering the questions and upload their responses.
Since you don’t get the whole week to think of your response—you can only view the question once you’re ready to answer, simulating a real interview—the only way to really prepare is to anticipate what questions you might be asked and how you would respond to them
“Think through what would make a good nurse and then turn that into a question,” Sogge suggested.
For example, if you think a being able to communicate tough news makes a good nurse, you might practice asking yourself “When was a time that I had to communicate tough news while working as a CNA, retail worker or something else?” A quick internet search for common nursing school interview questions can also help you anticipate what you may have to answer. In short, treat it like a job interview: come up with a list of questions you may be asked, and practice articulating your responses.
Practice makes perfect
“Making sure you’re practicing your interview is such an important piece of it,” Sogge said. “Some advice would be to check out that school’s mission, vision and values. When they ask why you picked that school, don’t just say it was in my backyard—that’s the case for a lot of people, so that’s not going to help them. You could say instead, ‘I want to help my local community and I volunteer here, so I want to continue my clinical rotations here.’ That’s the nice way of saying it’s in your backyard.”
More tips to consider
As you prepare to apply to a nursing program, reflect on some of these global tips that apply to the overall application process.
Don’t delay
Get started as early as possible on your application. That also means you should speak with an academic adviser affiliated with the program(s) you’re interested in so that you can be sure you understand their program’s requirements and can get all your questions answered.
Sogge shared an anecdote about a student who applied to their nursing program multiple years in a row but wasn’t accepted due to their low GPA, nor was the student retaking any of the classes that were affecting their GPA. When Sogge finally got in touch and explained the situation, the student revealed that they had calculated their GPA wrong and had no idea what was holding them back. Sogge was then able to advise them about which classes they needed to retake before applying again, but the lesson learned was clear: talk to an adviser as soon as possible to ensure you understand the application process and requirements.
Verify accreditation
Sogge said that students are sometimes a bit shocked to learn how many students are accepted into their program out of how many that apply. Because of this, some people may be tempted to earn their degree from a for-profit degree mill because it’s cheaper and faster.
Though these programs may be nationally accredited, they lack the regional accreditation that makes them truly valid. You may be able to get your nursing license, sure, but you won’t be able to get an advanced practice degree down the line because advanced practice nursing programs won’t accept your undergraduate degree, meaning you’d have to get a BSN all over again at a properly accredited school.
“I think it can be really predatory,” Sogge said. “You cannot get a nurse practitioner degree with us because in our minds, [the degree] is not valid.” Do your research and make sure you understand how your school and program is accredited. It could save you a lot of heartache and financial burden down the road.
What comes next?
Now that you have a better understanding of the nursing school application process, your next step should be to talk to the program advisers for the program(s) you’re interested in applying to. They can help walk you through their program’s application requirements so that you can apply with confidence.
One final piece of advice? Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t accepted into a nursing program the first time you apply. Competitive acceptance criteria and limited spots means some people simply aren’t going to make the cut right away. If you don’t get accepted, circle back with a program adviser to find out how you can make yourself a more competitive candidate next time.
