Nursing School Prerequisites: Why Your Science GPA is the Only Thing That Matters

The Nursing School Bottleneck

In the United States, there is a massive shortage of nurses. Yet, ironically, Nursing is the single most competitive undergraduate major to get into.

State universities will often receive 1,000 applications for only 50 clinical nursing spots.

Because space in clinical hospitals is so limited, nursing admissions committees must be ruthless. They do not care about your essays, your extracurriculars, or your letters of recommendation. They care about one metric: Your Prerequisite Science GPA.

The Core Four

When applying to a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program, the committee isolates your grades in four specific prerequisite classes:

Anatomy

Physiology

Microbiology

General Chemistry

Your Cumulative GPA (which includes English and History) is largely irrelevant. If you have a 3.9 Cumulative GPA, but a 3.0 Science GPA, you will be instantly rejected. Nursing schools want to know that you can handle grueling, life-or-death biological sciences.

The "One Retake" Rule

Because the competition is so fierce, the standard for admission is usually a 3.8 Science GPA. That means you need straight 'A's in Anatomy, Physiology, and Micro.

If you get a 'C' in Anatomy, you might assume you can just retake it.

Warning: Almost all highly competitive nursing programs have a strict "One Retake" policy. They will only allow you to retake ONE science prerequisite in your entire academic career. If you retake Anatomy, and then you get a 'C' in Microbiology, you are permanently locked out of the nursing program. They will not allow you to retake a second science class.

The Backup Plan

If your Science GPA is below a 3.5, you will likely not get into a direct-admit BSN program. Do not waste years of your life getting rejected.

Instead, switch your major to Health Sciences or Public Health, graduate with your Bachelor's degree, and then apply to an ABSN (Accelerated BSN) program. These are fast-paced, 16-month programs for students who already have a degree, and they are often slightly less competitive than traditional undergraduate nursing admissions.