Students who desire entry to this major will be subject to minimum eligibility criteria and ranking against other candidates. To identify the requirements that will apply to you, please use the table below to find the selection criteria for your target selection date.

High school students will have met eligibility requirements by achieving the minimum score on the ACT or SAT exam and high school cumulative GPA requirements. However, if placement tests indicate a need for developmental math, students will need one or two additional semesters to meet requirements for selection.

For pre-nursing and transfer students, the target selection date is the point at which you will have met the selection requirements and completed all prerequisite coursework. Other factors that may impact the timeline to eligibility for selection is part-time enrollment or the need to repeat prerequisite coursework to improve grades/GPA.

Students bringing in completed general education coursework, either through transfer or through college courses taken in high school, may have limited pre-program courses left to take. Depending on the number of completed courses, this could result in part-time enrollment or delaying enrollment until closer to the date of selection.

For the purposes of selective admission, a student is classified as a high school student if their high school graduation date is within two years of their starting semester at Penn College and they have not enrolled in any college coursework after high school graduation.

Because we understand students’ need to plan and to work toward a specific set of criteria, we make every attempt to avoid changing selection criteria within a year of a selection date. However, in rare cases (i.e., an observed change in program outcomes or a change in ACEN accreditation standards), changes may be made up to six months prior to a selection date. If a change to selection criteria is required less than a year from a selection date, we will provide notice of the change to all students known to be working toward eligibility for that date.

In addition to the eligibility and ranking criteria, individuals considering applying to this program should be aware that participation in the clinical component of the curriculum is contingent upon the student meeting all clinical requirements, including background checks, vaccinations, health and liability insurance coverage, physical examinations, drug testing, and others.

The 10-panel drug screening performed upon selection and randomly throughout the program will identify the presence of controlled substances, including marijuana. In compliance with the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989, all forms of marijuana, including medical marijuana, are prohibited. A positive drug test will result in dismissal from the program, even if the student holds a valid medical marijuana card.

Failure to meet clinical requirements would result in the inability to complete the educational requirements of the program. For specific information about clinical requirements, please contact the program office

As good stewards of students’ time and financial resources, Nursing & Health Sciences prevents students from accumulating excessive credits as they seek enrollment in a competitive admission program. Therefore, pre-program students are limited to 24 attempted Penn College credits. (Effective Fall 2023, this 24-credit maximum will include FYE101 and developmental courses.) Those who reach this credit limit without being selected into their desired program will be required to meet with their program director to discuss viable educational options.

As of result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions across the country have implemented some version of Pass/Fail (P/F) or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grades. In response to this change, Penn College will accept “pass" equivalent grades, assigned as a result of COVID-19, when the College determines a course may be accepted for transfer.

Penn College students enrolled in a pre-program, awaiting selections, are NOT eligible to opt in for Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grades. Therefore, when a Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading scheme has been implemented by a transferring institution, those students seeking to be ranked in one of the selective admission majors within the School of Nursing & Health Sciences will be asked to provide a letter grade for all coursework.

In a case where a student is unable to secure a letter grade from their transferring institution, those course(s) will not be included in Math/Science GPA calculations, or other grade-related criteria, associated with selection. It is important to note that a lack of math and science course grades will likely impact a student’s competitiveness/and or eligibility for selection. A student who is unable to provide letter grades should meet with the designated program director to discuss how an inability to obtain letter grades may impact their eligibility or ranking.