thank you!
I am not local (I am from Sacramento) so I don’t know if that would have helped
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My son is still deciding! LGBTQ California student with good average stats.
Admitted direct BSN at Drexel, Adelphi, MCPHS, Temple and Linfield.
Admitted pre nursing at Portland State U, Western Oregon U and Southern Oregon U (they have a program where you can apply to the OHSU nursing program as a junior)
Admitted to CUNY Hunter and Willamette.
He wants to be in an urban area, is pretty much deciding between Drexel and MCPHS. Not comfortable with area around Temple. Did not want to apply in state which is good because California nursing is so difficult.
He is fortunate to have choices, but hurry up and decide already!
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He can compare the weed-out criteria for each:
MCPHS requires C+ in all major courses and 2.7 GPA overall to progress. Two C or lower grades in the same course or three C or lower grades in any major courses result in dismissal. https://www.mcphs.edu/-/media/files/wwwmcphs/nursing/son-undergraduate-student-handbook.pdf
Drexel requires C in all major courses. Three C- or lower grades in any major courses result in dismissal. http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~cnhp/pdf/Co-op-Student-Handbook.pdf
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Yes, we do not want barely passing nurses. He is considering all the aspects and I hope has a decision very soon.
I was wondering where your daughter decided to go. My daughter is from MA and has similar stats. She is looking at the same schools for Nursing 2027. Thanks!
Hi- she is going to UNH and I am so excited for her! Happy to answer any questions as you navigate. I reached out to so many people over the past year so would be happy to pay it forward. Best of luck!
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That’s a wonderful program! If you don’t mind, I will definitely be asking you questions in the future. Congrats to your daughter!
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SOOOO she accepted PLU just a few minutes ago. So happy for her!
(son committed last night to ASU)
This mama can now have her life back. 
PLU was VERY generous. We were not eligible for needs based aid.
| Tuition | Room and Board | Merit/plus other | Cost of T/R/B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Lutheran University | 49,472 | 11,826 | 32,000 plus 5500 | 23,798 |
PLU came back with an additional 2k per year last week so they gave her 37,500 per year total which makes PLU super affordable.
Its a great school! My only worry at present is how a So Cal kiddo will do in the gloomy weather. Kuddos to PLU for having great communication and a fantastic admission counselor.
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Congrats @RNmomof4! This has been a long but successful journey for both of your kids. Great job on helping them. Wasn’t PLU your Ds first choice early on?
PLU’s nursing handbook (page 128) says that C or higher grades are required in all required courses in order to avoid dismissal from the program. Two C- or lower grades result in dismissal.
Yes you are correct and I would like to publicly thank you for your support and virtual friendshp over the past year. What a journey! I have no doubt that your daughter will thrive at Azusa. They are lucky to have your daughter.
and @ucbalumnus Thank you for always keeping us in check with the direct admit requirements. So very important to know what you are getting yourself into.
AND @Gumbymom You are gift to this community. I appreciate you more than words can express.
Feeling so full of joy right now.
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Congratulations!!! 
Congrats to you for both your daughter and son. They made some really good choices my friend.
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@RNmomof4 Indeed, what a journey! I am thankful to all the people who have advised and contributed on this board. Thankful for the all the years of past posts that give us some guidance on current applications. To our future readers and particularly those in California, let me try to summarize our direct admission journey.
Our D decided that she wanted to go into Nursing around her Sophomore year in high school. We (I) began to help research in earnest around Spring semester of her Junior year. I did not even know about direct admission nursing programs at that time. I was just looking at nursing programs in California until I came across this college confidential site. I soon learned that there were only a handful of options and with her 3.7 GPA, even fewer options that were realistic. In CA, the current direct admission BSN programs are:
- UCI
- UCLA
- CSU Fullerton
- CSU San Diego
- CSU (San Marcos)
- Azusa Pacific University
- Dominican University of CA
- Mount Saint Mary’s of LA
- University of San Francisco
Each has it pros and cons. The UCs and CSUs are highly selective. Admitted students have GPAs well over 4.0 and only about 2%-5% are accepted into those schools.
- University of San Francisco is a great option but pricey.
- Dominican is much smaller Bay Area option but pricey.
- Azusa Pacific is distinctly Christian which fits our family but not everyone.
- Mount Saint Mary’s: I did not know it was direct admission until @bongbong2 pointed that out. Thank you. It’s buried in their online catalogue that its program is equivalent to direct admission .
Thus, we narrowed down our applications to about a dozen schools we liked. Mostly Jesuit schools. Our older daughter attended a Jesuit school and loved it.
In the summer before our Ds Senior year, we began to visit schools. We went to about 10 schools on the west coast. Also, she attended all of the interested schools’ online, Zoom Nursing and school events to both understand their programs and to show interest. For those who are reading this in the future, many of the small and medium schools track your attendance and interest as part of the application process.
In the Fall of her Senior year, we applied for Early Admission for all the schools we could. That meant most of our applications were due in October or early November. By Christmas, we had heard from 8 schools with 6 acceptances and 2 denials. Frankly, 5 of those 6 schools were solid choices. All out of state, though.
Azusa Pacific was our Ds first choice. Mostly because it is in CA and near family. We live in the Bay Area. Some families had received admission from Azusa Pacific by Christmas. We did not. I assumed that we would not and was already preparing (myself) for an out of state school. Then, Azusa sent the acceptance letter in the first week of January. That changed everything. We were elated. In disbelief. The hand of God had intervened, for those who believe in that kind of stuff. I certainly do.
We continued to wait for other schools and even decided to visit Creighton, Gonzaga, PLU, U of Portland. All great programs. Our D liked each of them for different reasons. Lots of pros and cons for each school. Personal preferences. Future readers, I would suggest visiting your schools of choice if you are able. It helped our D envision if she wanted to study and live there for 4 years.
Azusa, this year, asked its BSN direct admit students to commit by April 1 with a $300 deposit. It’s refundable by May 1. We did that early and after the other college visits, she has confirmed her decision to start there in the Fall.
Here are her abbreviated stats. She attends a small/competitive private school in the Bay Area. She had a 3.75 UW GPA. No SATs taken.
| School of Nursing | Tuition/Fees | Room and Board | Merit | Total | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier | $42,460 | $13,580 | $27,500 | $28,540 | Includes Text books + $4000 On Campus Housing Grant |
| Pacific Lutheran | $50,928 | $11,826 | $31,000 | $29,254 | Includes $2500 annual grant for living on campus |
| Marymount | $39,900 | $15,697 | $23,500 | $32,097 | |
| Azusa Pacific University | $41,650 | $9,902 | $19,000 | $32,552 | |
| Chaminade University | $35,294 | $15,650 | $15,000 | $35,944 | |
| Marquette | $46,670 | $14,636 | $23,500 | $36,306 | Includes $1500 grant for living on campus |
| Creighton | $45,208 | $11,700 | $19,000 | $37,908 | |
| Saint Louis University | $50,644 | $13,890 | $24,000 | $40,534 | |
| Gonzaga | $50,735 | $13,794 | $22,000 | $42,529 | |
| U of Portland | $49,424 | $14,606 | $20,775 | $43,255 | |
| NOT ADMITTED FOR NURSING | |||||
| U of San Francisco | Not admitted for Nursing | ||||
| Seattle University | Not admitted for Nursing | ||||
| Seattle University | $50,600 | $13,500 | $27,200 | $36,900 | Admitted for Computer Science |
Best of wishes to all of our parents and students of the BSN Class of 2026. Enjoy your college years and devote yourselves to your future craft. It’s often a thankless job and underappreciated but we all know that nurses carry most of the load and literally do all the heavy lifting in our hospitals. We need you and thank you in advance.
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I posted an update March 25 (post 631). Now another update:
My daughter was all set to deposit at York College of Pennsylvania, following an Admitted Students Day. She notified the other schools that she would not be attending. Her admissions officer at Messiah University followed up with an email to both D22 and me regarding some issues my daughter had mentioned to him (primarily financial). I asked a few questions and received favorable responses. Long story short: D22 changed her mind, had her application reopened, interviewed for and received an additional scholarship, and committed to Messiah (her original first choice school).
This AO was by far the most responsive of all the AOs D22 dealt with and is a credit to both his profession and his university. I can only hope our dealings with other members of the administration are equally good. D22 also received letters from 2 other schools she had declined urging her to contact them to reopen her file if she changed her mind. I’m sure that many of these Pennsylvania schools, both private and public, are still in need of more students, some even for nursing. Quite the opposite of California. Of course, Pennsylvania has over 50 direct entry BSN programs and many fewer graduating seniors than California.
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Your post gave me the chills. 
Spot on and Im sure that future families will find this extrememly helpful. As you said, until I found this site, I didn’t know what direct admit nursing was. When I went to nursing school almost 30 years ago, that wasn’t a thing.
So cool! and for CA kiddos, we did apply to York College in PA, flew into Baltimore and toured. The nursing dept is stellar and we enjoyed the surrounding areas. We enjoyed the town of York very much and if it wasn’t so far away, we would have seriously considered it. It was a very responsive school and the hospital is within walking distance. Def worth a visit and for families that don’t qualify for needs based aid, it was super affordable for us.
Im posting my list which prob doesnt have the updated cost of each school. Some of my tuition numbers might not be 100% accurate. This will just give you an “idea” of the cost. A few schools gave us grant monies and a few schools $ for living on campus and such. She applied broadly because we had no idea what admission would look like and cost. She has a brother starting college this fall as well so cost was hugely important to us. I know this is hard for kids to hear but graduating from the cheapest school will still get you your BSN just the same as the most expensive school. Find a solid program that will incur the least amt of debt.
To recap:
CA kiddo (non traditional)
UW 4.0 W 4.5
homeschooled through a public charter
graduating 1 yr early in 11th grade
2 AA from community college (99 dual enrollment credits)
4.0 at the community college
listing classes related to nursing at the community college
Stats-A, Intro to Psych-A, Dev Psych-A, Anat-A, Physio-A, Nutrition-A, Micro-currently taking, Chem-currently taking
Current CNA license (obtained at age 15)
The only schools she was denied at was SDSU, Fullerton and San Marcos. She was fully denied at SDSU and was admitted to Fullerton and San Marcos for another major.
The only CA option we had was USF and that would have been amazing if money were no object. She was also waitlisted at U of Manoa in Hawaii which is a WUE school. She was admitted to every other school. At first she was waitlisted at PLU and then got off the waitlist. PLU was number 1 going in and she will be attending in the fall.
We did not make a donation at UCLA or UCI and I am certain she would have been denied. U of A is the only school on here that is not direct admit. They gave almost full tuition scholarship for a 4.0 so perhaps worth a look since its so affordable.
****** Highly suggest creating another email for school contacts that you and your kiddo have access to so as not to clog up your kiddos email. There was ALOT of emails. and it became overwhelming for her. That is one thing I would do differently next time.
This is listed in order of least expensive to most expensive.
| Cost applicantion | Common App | Tuition | Room and Board | Merit | Grants | Cost of T/R/B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U of Arizona | $80.00 | Yes | 36,718 | 13,350 | 35,000 | 15,068 | |
| Youngstown State | $45.00 | No | 9,500 | 9,775 | 3,000 | 16,275 | |
| U of New Mexico | $25.00 (Nursing Cass) | No | 24,500 | 10,396 | 17,053 | 2,500 | 17,843 |
| Cleveland State | Free | Yes | 13, 926 | 12,670 | 8,500 | 18,096 | |
| U of Akron | Free | Yes | 15,500 | 12,296 | 8,500 | 19,296 | |
| North Dakota State | $35.00 | No | 13,400 | 9,078 | 3,000 | 19,478 | |
| York College PA | Free | Yes | 23,220 * | 12,430 | 11,000 | 3,541 | 21,109 |
| Clarion University PA | $35.00 | No | 16,102 | 12,930 | 7,000 | 22,032 | |
| Carroll University | Free | Yes | 35,360 | 10,360 | 24,000 | 22,720 | |
| Indiana Univ of PA | $25.00 | No | 18,889 | 10,920 | 5,500 (pus 1k) | 23,309 | |
| Pacific Lutheran University | Free | Yes | 50,928* | 11,826* | 32,000 plus 5k | 23,798 | |
| Westminster Utah | Free | Yes | 39,832 | 11,947 | 28,000 | 23,779 | |
| Bloomsburg University | $35.00 | No | 22,782 | 10,468 | 9,000 | 24,250 | |
| Hood College | Free | Yes | 43,800 | 13,600 | 32,900 | 24,500 | |
| ASU | $70.00 | Yes | 28,800 | 13,510 | 15,500 | 26,810 | |
| U of Hawaii | 2 steps (Nursing Cass) | No | 16,956 | 13,642 | 2,000 | 28,598 | |
| Regis | Free | Yes | 42,220 | 13,416 | 23,00 plus 3,000 | 29,636 | |
| Gannon | Free | 36,000 | 13,530 | 20,000 | 29,530 | ||
| U of Utah | $55.00 | Yes | 30,252 | 13,914 | 14,000 WUE | 30,166 | |
| Marquette | Free | Yes | 44,970 | 13,200 | 27,500 | 1,500 (while living on campus) | 30,670 |
| Monmouth | $50.00 | Yes | 43112 | 15972 | 23,000 | 4,100 | 31,984 |
| The College of NJ | $75.00 | Yes | 22,748 | 14,316 | 6,000 | 31,064 | |
| U of Scranton | Free | Yes | 49,432 | 16,378 | 24,000 | 9,400 | 32,410 |
| Creighton | $40.00 | *Yes | 45,208* | 11,700 | 21,000 | 33,218 | |
| Xavier | Free | Yes | 45,000 | 13,820 | 24,000 | 1,500 | 33,320 |
| U of Portland | $50.00/free | Yes | 49,424* | 14,606* | 26,000 | 35,674 | |
| University of San Fransisco | $70.00 | Yes | 55,536 | 16,546 | 27,000 | 8,279 | 36,717 |
| Loyola Chicago | Free | Yes | 47,000 | 14,780 | 25,000 | 36,780 | |
| Duquesne | Free | Yes | 43,526 | 14,144 | 19,000 | 38,670 | |
| San Diego State University | $70.00 | No | 8,136 | 18,531 | Denied | ||
| Cal State Fullerton | $70.00 | No | 6,977 | 16,703 | Denied | ||
| Cal State San Marcos | $70.00 | No | 5,742 | 13,150 | Denied |
Good luck to all nursing class of 2026!
Warmly,
One tired mama!
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What made PLU stand out relative to the “more affordable” Ohio and PA schools? Proximity to home?
Thats a good question. Daughter was born and raised in So Cal and I think that her perception of Ohio is that it’s not a good fit for her. It prob didn’t help that I went to college in Ohio and I have always referred to Ohio as Corn, Conservative, and Cold. Mind you I went to nursing school 30 years ago and attended Cedarville College (one of the most conservative colleges in the country) Although I do not align myself with that school as an adult, it was a good experience for me but I do remember my car not starting some mornings because it was so cold.
Youngstown, Cleveland and Akron are all in close proximity and were just not desirable areas for her.
Daughter LOVES the music scene and has always loved the idea of being close to Seattle. (has a vibrant music scene) The vibe at PLU fits her extremely well.
She was more open to PA than Ohio and we did visit PA. I think it hit her how far away it really was. (5 hr plane ride) She will also be bringing her car to school. If she ended up on the east coast, we would have explored buying a used car out there and just keeping it there all 4 years.
We basically looked at the overall list and agreed that we would pay for any of the schools under 25k. She chose PLU and Westminster. (BTW, I LOVED Westminster but it is def a smaller school although it is in a bustling vibrant area called Sugar House in SLC)
If a school was closer to 30K and she was willing to take out loans, we also would have done that.
PLU stood out to her from day one.
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Wow! Congratulations to your D and the proud parents on her decision to join Messiah!
Very cool. It’s awesome that y’all were able to explore many options and find the best fit in a DA program. Sounds like she’ll thrive and skip up to PLU.
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