Thanks so much for sharing. That really helps. Good questions too. We have been asking students in different BSN programs if they feel the school supports them or if they are trying to weed out students. Your NCLEX question is good for APU. Looking at their numbers, which seem a little low, I am guessing they don’t offer a class to help their students prepare for it. Thus, you would need to pay for an outside course… Looking forward to the school’s email response to your questions.
Here are the requirements for guaranteed placement in the nursing program outlined in his SON acceptance letter:
- Maintain a B or better in pre-requisite Chemistry and Biology courses
- Maintain a minimum cumulative college GPA of 3.0 during first semester at APU
- Complete the pre-requisite college science courses with a minimum cumulative science GPA of 2.7
From the website:
Note: A student is allowed only one opportunity to repeat a single science course to try to raise his/her grade prior to beginning nursing (UNRS) courses. Students must maintain a B- (2.7) average in all subsequent science coursework or be placed on academic probation.
These requirements are at par or comparatively less rigorous to the eligibility requirements of other direct nursing programs my S22 applied to.
Agree with you on the NCLEX question. I was aware of the NCLEX pass rate for this school and came to the same conclusion.
Do you have any other questions that I can get information on? You said you did a campus tour last summer. What was your impression of the school? Did your D like it?
Overall, D liked the campus tour last summer. She was not too excited about having two campuses with housing on one and classes on the other. We did not learn much about the nursing program on that tour. Also, she was not happy about the three times a week chapel requirement. Seems a bit excessive even for Christians.
If you are able to ask nursing students, I would be curious to find out if they think the GPA requirements and B or better in their pre-req classes are reasonable. How many people from their class could not meet that requirement? Thanks for asking!
If you get a chance to ask any nursing students at APU, could you ask them how or if APU is preparing them for the NCLEX exam. Thanks.
Azusa Pacific University’s NCLEX pass rate is horrendous. It’s well below the national average. About 15% of their graduating class is not passing. I’m surprised that they are not preparing their students for the first thing they need to pass before they start working.
APU Study Abroad for Nursing is either in China or Norway. Don’t think China is now an option due to Covid restrictions.
Doesn’t look like it for now. The university may have placed any study abroad programs on hold given travel restrictions and Covid case rates.
We have had multiple conversations and vists with the nursing school at APU in the nine months. Here are some things that helped us understand the program better.
- Merit scholarships do extend to 4.5 year students
- Cohorts of 50 X 2 are randomly assigned
- Community College credits for non nursing classes can be transferred to APU. These include GEs, science prereqs. Check with nursing school to see if the class qualifies.
- AP credits qualify for certain pre-reqs and GEs
- APU does graduate over 400 BSN students a year but these include the different regional sites and different paths like LVN-BSN.
- The “traditional BSN” program on the main campus is its own program. The NCLEX pass rate for this group of 100 students is about 90%.
- APU does help its BSN students prepare for the NCLEX. They have a Kaplan review every semester to see if you need additional help. There is a 3 day Kaplan course during senior year, second semester to prepare for the exam.
- Clinicals start sophomore year and most students carpool. You will need your own car junior year when you do Community Health and Urban Health assignments.
- Study Away program has been paused due to the pandemic.
- Most clinicals are relatively close. The furthest two are Cedar Sinai (Hollywood 36 mi) and CHLA Hospital (downtown).
Overall, we have been very impressed with the program and the people we have talked to at APU School of Nursing. Our son will be starting as a freshman in the Fall.
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Thanks @BertCanFly! That’s really helpful.
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Thank you @BertCanFly for all the helpful information!!
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Thank you for passing on all of this information. My daughter was accepted to APU nursing also.
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Congrats @JAB2020! Are you all waiting for other nursing programs before deciding?
Yes. She was also accepted to Seattle Pacific University’s direct admit nursing program. Still waiting on TCU and University of San Francisco (deferred from both, and she has an interview with USF next week). She’s also still waiting on University of Tennessee, University of Miami, UC Irvine, UCLA, University of Virginia, and Penn State. She was accepted into prenursing for Biola, accepted at Point Loma, but still waiting on acceptance to prenursing. We live in Virginia, but she spent 3 years (and half of high school) in CA, and her heart longs to go back. We took a CA college trip last summer, and she really liked APU. It is an excellent possibility.
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@JAB2020 When did you hear from SPU?
Late in November.
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Azusa Pacific University pinning ceremony for Spring 2021
This video gave me a feel of the school’s Christian ethos, student and faculty demographics, different regional sites, pathways and degrees.
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My son received his cohort notification letter from the School of Nursing. He is assigned to the Spring 2023 cohort with an expected graduation date of May 2026. Has anybody else received their cohort assignment? Does anyone know if there is a difference in course progression or graduation timelines between the 2 cohorts?
You can see the difference between the 4 and 4.5 from their website:
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D assigned Fall 2023 cohort
Our S was also assigned Fall 2023 cohort. Like it!
My D was assigned to the Spring cohort. We really liked APU when we toured. Small campus with a cozy atmosphere.
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