How to Apply for Nursing School: Getting Into the Bachelor of Nursing Program That’s Right For You
You’re ready to earn your bachelor of nursing degree, but first, you have to get through the nursing college application process. If this seems like something of a nightmare to you, you’re not alone. Applying for nursing school means comparing degree programs, understanding financial aid intricacies, nailing down letters of recommendation, chasing scholarships, and writing essays. It’s legitimately an overwhelming task list.
The key to staying sane through your nursing school application process is to start early, get organized, and reach out for help as you tackle the tricky parts. Keep reading for helpful tips and sample lists you can use to organize the nursing school application process and knock out the major milestones one step at a time.
How to apply to nursing school: research and preparation
If you’re pretty sure you want to pursue a career as a nurse and you’re ready to research degree programs, the first step is to get organized.
Start your research early.
If you plan to enter nursing school the fall after high school graduation, you should begin the application process no later than the fall of your senior year. Ideally, you’ll start researching nursing schools in the fall of your junior year. Getting ahead of the curve means making more measured college decisions, having a better shot at getting into the program you want, and having a nursing college plan (and backup plan) in place your senior year so you aren’t scrambling with college application deadlines as you approach high school graduation.
Many colleges and universities give preference to students who take the initiative to pursue early acceptance; for example, at Gustavus Adolphus, we begin processing applications and accepting next year’s students on September 1. Applying and gaining early acceptance to several of your top nursing schools gives you time to consider which program to go with while knowing for sure you’re covered. And if you’re going back to school or taking a gap year, still allow yourself a full year to research and apply to nursing schools to ensure a smooth transition.
Write out your nursing school application timeline.
Start your nursing school research process by creating an “applying to nursing schools” schedule with a chronological list of the major research and application milestones you’ll need to hit. Here’s a general outline you can adapt and rearrange to fit your personal planning requirements:
- Take (and maybe retake) the ACT or SAT (not required for application to Gustavus Adolphus).
- Create a preliminary list of nursing schools I might apply to.
- Research and choose my top five nursing schools.
- Compare approximate out-of-pocket costs for different nursing programs.
- Research nursing school scholarships and grants.
- Narrow down the list to the top five schools.
- Schedule and plan all nursing school visits.
- Submit and confirm requests for letters of recommendation.
- Fill out and submit my FAFSA.
- Read through nursing school applications and make a list of documentation I need.
- Read through scholarship applications and make a list of documentation I need.
- Write all essays and long-form answers for college and scholarship applications.
- Apply to my top five nursing schools.
- Apply for all chosen nursing scholarships.
Once you have a list of all the significant nursing school application hurdles, assign a deadline to each one. Use your prospective nursing schools’ early and regular admission deadlines as a starting point, and work backward from there. Create a schedule that’s split into reasonable increments to ensure you can apply and fulfill all the requirements with plenty of breathing room. You’ll probably add a few more items to your list as you research each school’s admissions requirements.
Explore nursing programs and clarify your priorities.
Which bachelor of nursing degree program is right for you? Create a table and put your nursing education criteria in order of importance down the left-hand column, then add nursing schools across the top row. As you research nursing programs, make notes in the table to make it easy to compare different programs side by side.
Here are some criteria to consider as you research nursing degree programs at different colleges and universities:
College location
Does the nursing program location matter to you? Some students want to stay in state, or at least prefer a short trip home. Location can also mean choosing between a big city versus a small town setting, your preferred climate, or how close the campus is to nature: mountains, forests, beaches, biking, and hiking trails. Make notes about the most important geographical aspects of your prospective nursing schools.
School, class, and cohort size
School sizes vary drastically, with student populations of just a couple thousand (like we have at Gustavus) up to large universities with 10,000s of students and multiple campuses. Do you want to be in a small, tight-knit school community where you’ll get to know your nursing cohort and classmates closely? Does a big state university fit your personal style better? or possibly something in between?
Average class size often correlates with school size, and the nursing school’s website should have both statistics. If personalized attention and close nursing faculty guidance feel important to you in nursing education, give added weight to schools with smaller classes. For reference, Gustavus Adolphus has an 11:1 faculty-to-student ratio, a yearly nursing cohort limited to 40 students, and an average class size of 15. By contrast, a large university can easily have an average class or cohort size of twice that or more.
Cost
What is the sticker price of a four-year degree from your different nursing schools? Find numbers for tuition, fees, housing, and meal plans on the college or university website. Pencil the total into your chart. Your final cost consideration will be this number minus your school’s financial aid package, as well as any external nursing scholarships and grants you can pick up. (Applying for scholarships is another reason you’ll want to start this whole process early!)
Program quality
Search the websites of some prospective nursing schools for numbers that help you frame the quality of the program and overall education. Consider making separate lines on your nursing school comparison table for various stats, for instance:
- NCLEX pass rates: What percentage of students pass the NCLEX exam to become an RN on their first try?
- Program accreditation: Is the school accredited by a reputable national accreditation program? For bachelor of nursing programs, check to ensure accreditation by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
- Graduate placement rates: How well does the school prepare its students for nursing jobs, or alternately to pursue an MSN degree? For instance, in 2022 100% of Gustavus nursing graduates had a nursing job offer within 9 months of graduation.
You might also consider student retention rates, average graduate salaries, and how many graduates pursue advanced degrees. These numbers don’t tell you everything, but they’re a good baseline.
Network and support system
Explore each nursing school’s website and ask how they support student success. Is the nursing college in question well-networked with local healthcare providers? What clinical internship opportunities are available to students getting their degree in nursing? How involved are the alumni in the school? What types of programs does the nursing college offer to students for academic assistance, mentorship, guidance in planning their undergraduate degree path, and transition into the field of nursing or MSN program?
Additional personal considerations
Add lines to the chart to fit your own nursing education situation. For instance, maybe you took general education classes at a community college or another university. Will those credits transfer to the nursing schools on your list? How easy does the school make the transfer process generally?
With your prioritized criteria laid out, compare nursing schools side by side as you proceed toward the admissions process.
Get ahead on your nursing program requirements.
As you research degree programs, notice what the college or university prerequisites are for program acceptance. Find the school’s academic bulletin or other detailed program description and add any notable action items to your nursing college application checklist.
For instance, some nursing programs require you to pass one of the standardized nursing entrance exams to enter the program. At Gustavus, you aren’t required to take one of these exams for program entry. However, you will need to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) by the time you start the nursing track in your sophomore or junior year. Consider fulfilling requirements like this to jumpstart your undergraduate nursing education.
Begin planning how you’ll pay for nursing school.
Cost is one of the biggest considerations for most students when narrowing down potential programs. If this is you, dive into financial aid calculations sooner rather than later when applying to nursing schools:
Start adding up the total cost of school minus in-house financial aid.
Many schools have a net price calculator on their website to help prospective students figure out the approximate cost of completing a bachelor of nursing degree. Use this tool, but also work with your admissions counselor to explore all avenues for in-house financial assistance. For instance, Gustavus offers the First Year Free Tuition Program to eligible Minnesota students, potentially covering almost all the tuition cost of a four-year education. Hidden scholarship gems like this can make a huge difference to the total cost of your degree in nursing.
Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The FAFSA is the backbone of the nursing college application process. Apply early to determine your eligibility for federal grants and loans to put toward your nursing education. List your top school choices on your FAFSA and each school will receive your results automatically. The earlier the college or university has your FAFSA, the sooner they can calculate your financial aid package.
Begin applying for outside grants and scholarships.
As you receive financial aid package determinations from your top colleges, cast a wide net for nursing scholarships and grant applications, and explore state and federal loan repayment programs, for nurses specifically or the field of health care or STEM subjects generally.
Talk to your school admissions counselors.
School admissions counselors are there to answer your questions, so don’t be shy. Obviously don’t bother the admissions office with questions covered by the school’s website FAQs. But once you’ve done your basic research, you’ll probably still have some pressing questions about the program. So ask!
Keep in mind that admissions counselors are salespeople for their nursing schools. They might be genuinely enthusiastic about the education they’re selling, but that doesn’t mean their program is necessarily the right one for you. A good admissions counselor knows this and will answer your hard questions honestly, being forthright about where the program may and may not serve a student like you best.
You’re going to invest a lot in your nursing education, so ask your admissions counselor hard questions. And remember to get back up: a trusted adult who’s been through the college admissions process can help you formulate good questions and assess the answers in light of your nursing education priorities.
Discuss your top nursing program choices with a trusted advisor.
That brings up one of the most important parts of applying to nursing schools: don’t do it alone! Find the adults in your life that bring the best perspective and enlist their help. Discuss your process with supportive friends as well. Applying to nursing schools is an incredibly important career step, and no one online source can tell you all you need to know to make a good decision about the education you should pursue.
Visit your chosen nursing schools in person if possible.
You’ll want to narrow down prospective nursing schools using some of the objective and subjective criteria above. But nothing beats visiting a college or university campus in person. Talk with admissions counselors about the best times to visit their schools and what the campus tour options are. For instance, prospective students visiting Gustavus can choose from an assortment of group events, personalized activities, virtual and in-person information sessions, and self-guided tours to customize their exploration.
Ask how you can visit a nursing school’s science labs and nursing simulation facilities, sit in on a nursing class, and meet nursing faculty and deans.
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How to apply for nursing school: the actual application part
You’ve researched your bachelor of nursing options thoroughly and chosen your top three (or five, or ten) programs. You’re ready to start the admissions process. Where do you begin?
Read through each application to understand what’s required.
Admissions requirements range considerably among nursing schools, but typically you’ll be asked for some combination of the following items:
- FAFSA results. For the smoothest process, list your top-pick nursing colleges on the FAFSA when you apply. Those schools will receive the results automatically, with no further work required from you.
- Exam scores. These might be ACT, SAT, and/or nursing entrance exam scores, depending on the nursing school’s requirements. Designate top schools when you register for exams for automatic transfer of results, or have the exam board send them later (generally for a fee). Some schools don’t require any scores, but a high ACT or SAT score can boost your eligibility for merit-based institutional scholarships.
- High school transcripts. Your high school guidance counselor can get official or unofficial transcripts to your prospective colleges or universities to fulfill application and admissions requirements.
- Letters of recommendation. Request letters from teachers, coaches, or other authority figures familiar with your personality, initiative, and achievements during high school. Give them the full list of nursing schools you’re applying to so they can send their letter to all the schools at once.
- Academic, extracurricular, and community life. Colleges generally want to hear about your participation and achievements during high school: everything from varsity sports to Academic Decathlon to forensics to school clubs to musical performance to anything else of interest you did outside of class. Applications will also likely ask for details of your volunteer, service, or leadership history, a.k.a. how have you contributed positively to your church, a local organization, or the broader community?
- At least one personal essay. The essay part of your application is your chance to explain what you care about, why you’re excited about your college career, and what you bring to the school. Be honest, be yourself, and don’t overthink it. Write from your heart and get feedback from trusted people. Your essay doesn’t have to change the world; it just needs to show the admissions office that you are a thoughtful person who’s ready to put in the work.
Cross-reference your nursing school applications for efficiency.
If you’re applying to multiple schools, open up a separate tab for each application and compare the essay requirements. You may be able to write one or two solid personal essays and tweak them to fit different nursing college applications. The same goes for your academic, service, and leadership resume: build this once and copy-paste to each separate application.
Always be sure to write any long-form answers for your applications in a separate Word or Google doc to be sure you don’t lose your work if the online application times out.
Enlist help for the subjective parts of the nursing school application.
Have two or three people read (and proofread) your essays, and invite their honest feedback and perspective. Ask people who know you well to help you list your service, leadership, and academic achievements. It might not occur to you that certain types of church, community, and other activities that just seemed like a part of your life also demonstrate important contributions on your nursing college application. Let family members, teachers, and friends help make sure you don’t undersell yourself!
Optimize your nursing degree path when you’re applying to college.
Finally, if you know you want to be a nurse, apply to college with that in mind. Programs for nursing can be competitive, and nursing schools will often give preference to students who declare a nursing major at the outset. At Gustavus, we have two degree tracks for nurses: the direct entry pathway and the holistic admission pathway. In summary: high school students with a 3.5 GPA can apply for direct entry into the nursing program at the same time they apply to Gustavus. Applying to school as a nursing major means knowing that you’ve been accepted into the program from the start, versus having to compete for limited space later on. So wherever you apply, be sure to ask how you can streamline your entry into the program and set yourself up for success.
The overall lesson here about applying to nursing school? Start early, do your research, enlist outside help before you get stuck, and don’t sweat it. Nurses are in high demand, so entry into the field is mostly a matter of hard work. If you’re a good student with initiative and a passion for nursing, there’s a program out there for you!
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