Questions about Pre-Nursing Majors

Colleges and Universities A-Z California State University - GENERAL
1

HI everyone, I am a high school student looking to major in Pre-Nursing, and I was wondering how to get a BSN in a cal state university. I know that you need to major in pre-nursing and then be admitted into the school’s nursing program after finishing the pre-reqs. I just have a couple questions:

  1. What is the average GPA of someone applying as a Pre-Nursing major initially into a school? I have a high school GPA of 3.6 right now, and I am worried that it might be too low to be competitive. I also have over 100+ hours of volunteer experience in a hospital setting.
  2. Once you finish your pre-reqs, and you apply to the school of nursing, do they look at your high school GPA as well as your pre-req GPA? Or do they only look at your pre-req GPA?
    Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
2

Two of the Cal States Fullerton and San Diego state are direct admit as a Freshman applicant and you do not have to do “Pre-Nursing” to get into the program but are highly competitive.

The rest of the Cal States offer Pre-Nursing which is impacted and also highly competitive at all of the Cal states.

Cal states use only 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation and will give you up to 8 semesters of honors points for UC approved Honors, AP, IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grades. The highest possible Capped weighted CSU GPA you could have is 4.4.

Cal states admit by CSU capped weighted GPA and test scores which is then calculated into an Eligibility index. You are then ranked based on your EI and major. EC’s are not considered in your application review but having hospital experience will help you later once you are in the program.

CSU GPA and Eligibility index calculator: https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/eligibility-index

You need to do some research and see if you are able to find “Pre-nursing” stats if available for any target schools.

SDSU does post prior year stats for admitted students: https://nursing.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Snapshot-of-BSN-Program.pdf

For CSULB Pre-Nursing, 2018 admits had an average of 4.04 CSU capped weighted GPA and a 1272 SAT score. https://data.ir.csulb.edu/t/IRA-Public/views/UndergraduateStudents/FTFH_S_G_P_AAVGandSD?:embed=y&:showAppBanner=false&:showShareOptions=true&:display_count=no&:showVizHome=no

Once you are accepted into a “Pre-Nursing” program and want to apply for the BSN program after completing the pre-req’s, they will use only your college GPA and not your HS GPA. You will also have to take the ATI TEAS exam. See information below for CSULB as an example.

http://www.csulb.edu/college-of-health-human-services/school-of-nursing/undergraduate-bsn-faq-and-application

I would first consider direct entry/admit programs which are CSU Fullerton, San Diego State, Azusa Pacific University, University of San Francisco, UC Irvine and UCLA.

I would take at look at this link for direct admit programs through out the US:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/nursing-major/1994851-list-of-direct-entry-from-high-school-bsn-nursing-programs.html#latest

3

Another way to get into a BSN Cal state Nursing program is to do your pre-req’s at your local community college and then apply to the BSN programs as a transfer.

4

I am no expert on these programs but, my understanding is that each campus is different but, all of them are super competitive when it comes to their nursing programs. Some have 4 year direct admit programs (like Sonoma) so you don’t have that second gate for the major admit. Other’s (LB I think) make you meet a GPA threshold as you enter the official major.

For example, here’s a form from Sac State’s website, you can see at the bottom of page 1 that - the avg GPA for admits was close to 4.0.

https://www.csus.edu/college/health-human-services/nursing/_internal/_documents/bsn_app_inst_fa2020.pdf

5

Not one to contradict @NCalRent, but Sonoma state still requires that you apply to the Nursing school after you complete the Nursing pre-req’s (1st 2 years) so not a direct admit/direct entry.

https://web.sonoma.edu/nursing/bsn-pre/

Direct entry/admit means you do not have to apply to the Nursing program after being admitted as a Freshman but you still need to meet a certain GPA to remain in the program.

6

right as usual @Gumbymom - thanks for the correction. should have checked before using Sonoma as an example.

I should add - for the OP I don’t know about the rest of your stats but, with a 3.6 - all the CA public Nursing programs are probably a reach. You may want to look into CCs or privates or OOS as options.

7

First figure out your CSU capped weighted GPA. If you have any test scores then also figure out your Eligibility index. Like I stated above, you need to check each schools website to see if you can find any statistical data for Pre-Nursing admits. If you are willing to look beyond California and the West Coast, there are many Mid-west and East Coast schools that would take a 3.6 or even lower for their Nursing programs. Much will depend upon your college budget and definitely look the CC Nursing forum to get ideas for some good Nursing school options.

Here is one link: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/nursing-major/2157466-less-competitive-oos-direct-entry-nursing-options.html