How to Apply for Nursing School?

Applying to nursing school can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow these simple admission process steps, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a nurse in no time. If you decide you want to be a nurse, there are a few options for getting there.

How to Apply for Nursing School

In terms of schooling, you can choose associate degree nursing programs, which takes two years roughly full time; once you get in, you can do a bachelor’s degree, which is typically about four years full time.

Or there’s actually a new option now it’s called a direct entry master’s program where you don’t have your nursing license when you start you, start the program. During the whole nursing education process, you sit for the NCLEX and get your RN license.

Then you need to continue the full-time nursing study when you’re done, you graduate with a master’s of science in nursing. What’s really important for you is to decide which educational pathway you want.

School Selection

After you decide which nursing diploma you want, you need to figure out which nursing school you want to go to. Nursing is not a degree that you can do entirely online you’ve got clinical. So you have to consider which schools within your area you want to go to. There are also a couple of other things that are really important to consider.

Because not all nursing schools are created equal. Nursing is not like the realm of getting your MBA, whereas, major universities like Harvard and IVY league are such a huge deal. In contrast, those schools in the nursing room are high quality; at the end of the day, we all take the same NCLEX examination, and to be honest, I’ve been a nurse for almost 12 years now.

I’ve never had a patient ask me where I went to school. I’ve also never had a patient ask me if I have a bachelor’s or if I have an associate degree, those it’s just a little different with nursing because we’re all taking the same examination.

So, the following are some things that you need to consider in nursing schools that include:

Accreditation

• The biggest thing is accreditation to be able to sit for your NCLEX examination, which you have to pass from an educational institution to be a registered nurse.
• As part of being registered is passing that exam; you can’t sit for that exam if you did not graduate from an accredited school.
• So make sure your school has the appropriate accreditation; that should be very easy to find on their website. And you also want to ask when they’re due to have their accreditation renewed. So you know whether they have had any issues maintaining their accreditation.
• The last thing you want is to be a year into this degree, and this school loses its accreditation.

Now, suppose you have a really reputable school like Harvard’s not going to lose their accreditation, right. In that case, they have so many support systems and places and things going on that their losing their accreditation would be unprecedented. Still, if you got to work with a newer nursing school, I would really look into accreditation and its timeline.

NCLEX Pass Rate

Next, you want to look at what is the NCLEX pass rates of that school. So you can go through nursing school and graduate from an accredited program, but if they don’t set you up to succeed in passing this examination to get your license, what’s the point in all this.

We need to be able to pass this examination at the end of the day so what I want you to do is, let’s say you have a list of three or four schools that you’re thinking about. I want you to go to the state board of nursing, so whatever state that those schools are in.

How To Choose School?

So let’s say you live in Texas and you’re going to go to the Texas state board of nursing, and on their website, they should have all the nursing schools in Texas listed, and you should be able to find their NCLEX pass rates. I want you to look at a couple of things.

I don’t want you to just look at the percentage because what they typically do is say, last year, this percent of our graduates passed the NCLEX examination on the first attempt. This percentage passed on the second attempt.

Our overall pass rate is this; they will give you most likely a percentage, but like anything, that percentage can differ between how many graduates they had.

So like, when I graduated, I had 16 graduates, but there’s another nurse who’s close to 200 graduates. If three or four people don’t pass the NCLEX from my 16 graduates, that really changes the pass rate versus maybe the one with 200.

So consider that; because it’s really important to consider when you’re looking at a nursing school. This is a massive financial investment, and it is also a lot of time, you want to make sure you pick your school appropriately.

Nursing School Costs

Cost is another big thing; just because the school costs more does not mean it’s better. I have seen and met people who have graduated from nursing school with more significant federal student loan payments than my mortgage payments.

The best part? we took the same examination, we’re working in the same hospital and making about the same amount of money. Their school cost two or three or even four times more than mine did.

So keeping the cost of nursing school is a big thing. Keep in mind that the more it costs more money does not necessarily mean you’re going to get this higher quality education.

What Are the Nursing School Requirements?

All right now that you have decided which degree in nursing you want and which schools you’re going to apply to. The next thing you have to do is visit those schools’ websites and the specific requirements. They’re probably going to ask you to submit your GPA and your official transcripts from high school.

If you are a non-traditional student, they will often require you to have taken specific science courses within a certain amount of time.

Let’s say I graduated from high school, and I want to go to a four-year school. Most four-year colleges don’t have it structured where those four years full-time you’re doing all nursing courses typically, and you’re doing general education courses.

Then you apply to the nursing school so that you may say; I’m applying to this college to get into nursing school at that college eventually. Still, I have to do my first two years of general education requirements first, and they want to make sure you’re doing well in those before they let you into the nursing program of that college.

So keep that in mind if you’re more of a traditional student going for that four-year degree and if you are someone who is a non-traditional student, keep in mind your chemistry or different science courses they want you to have taken something recently.

Standardized Tests

Another thing that is considered in the application process is standardized testing. So many nursing schools use something called the Teas (t-e-a-s) test.

Not every nursing school requires this, but it’s kind of like this benchmark to say, okay, I need people to have at least this score to be able to be considered for getting into the nursing school.

And it kind of helps weed out people who are not going to be able to cut it in there in their rigorous program, so you may need to take the Teas test before you apply, or they may want you to take that after application.

It depends on the nursing school and their process, or they may have a different application requirement, so go to that school’s website, check out the specific requirements and actually sit down and apply and do exactly what they say.

Follow Directions

It makes a good impression if you can follow directions, and that is also true when you start to apply for jobs; after you graduate nursing school, you want to be able to be that person who doesn’t need their hand held through a basic application process.

So really, make sure you follow the directions. If they say to submit a word document, you should submit a word document; if they say just submit a pdf or if they say to fill this out first and then do this, you must do that, don’t try to do it differently or think, ah it’ll be okay, no! follow directions strictly.

So I hope that helps make the application process for nursing school make a little more sense if you have questions or any tidbits of advice that you’ve gone through recently for others.

Video for How to Apply for Nursing School

Final Words

So, if you’re interested in nursing school and think you have what it takes, start by doing your research, applying to schools that fit your needs, and preparing for the rigorous academic journey ahead. The nursing field is a challenging but rewarding field, and with the proper preparation, you can achieve your nursing career goals and make a difference in the lives of others. One more thing to remember is nursing school application process can be competitive and stressful, but you have to stay positive.

FAQs on How to Apply for Nursing School

What Are the Requirements to Study Nursing?

In order to study nursing, you will need to have a high school diploma or equivalent. You will also need to complete a pre-nursing program with prerequisite coursework in the sciences, communications, and other liberal arts.

After completing the pre-nursing program, you will then apply to a nursing school to complete your professional training.

Upon graduation from nursing school, you will be required to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) before becoming licensed as a registered nurse (RN).

How Do I Apply for BS Nursing?

To apply for a BS in nursing, you will need to submit an online application to the school of your choice. You will also need to furnish transcripts, letters of recommendation, and entrance test scores (if required). Many schools also require an interview before admission is granted.

A BS nursing degree prepares students for a career in nursing. Students learn about the human body, medical terminology, pharmacology, and other topics related to nursing.

After completing a BS in a nursing degree program, students are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Passing this exam allows nurses to practice as registered nurses in the United States.

How Much Do the Fresh Nurses Earn?

Nurses fresh out of school earn between $13 to $27 per hour, depending on the state in which they work. With experience, that number can go as high as $45 per hour. But after the covid-19 there are lot of opportunities for nursing students available, it can be online or physical.

How Many Points Do I Need for Nursing?

If you’re looking to become a nurse, you’ll need to have an Admission Point Score (APS) of at least 27. APS measures how well you’ve done in your academic career leading up to nursing school and is determined by your marks in specific prerequisite courses.

The higher your score, the greater your chance of getting into the nursing program of your choice.

How Much Percentage Is Required to Become a Nurse?

The essential eligibility requirement is to have a minimum of 45% marks in 10+2 or equivalent examinations. However, various nursing colleges may have different requirements depending on the level of the program that you are interested in pursuing.

For instance, some colleges require 50% or even higher marks for admission into undergraduate programs, while others may require 60% or more marks for admission into postgraduate programs.

In addition to marks, some colleges also consider other factors such as work experience, extra-curricular activities, and leadership qualities.

What Is the Age Limit for Nursing?

There is no age limit for the nursing profession. However, most programs require that prospective nursing students be at least 18 years old before beginning the program. This is because nursing is a physically and emotionally demanding profession, and it requires that students have the maturity to handle the challenges they will face.