4-Year Nursing Program Admission Considerations

• First-Year Student Admission
• Nursing Program Waitlist
• Transfer Students
• Prerequisite Courses
• Additional Program Requirements
• Student-Athletes and the Nursing Program
• Study Abroad

First-Year Student Admission

First-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students are directly admitted to Baldwin Wallace and to the BSN program as applications are received, completed and ready for review on a first-come, first-served basis. To be considered for admission to the BSN program, students must list nursing as their major of interest on their BW application.

To ensure student access to clinical rotations, BW's undergraduate BSN enrolls a maximum of 48 students for each incoming nursing cohort in the fall semester. This ensures that space is available for all students who complete program prerequisite courses and requirements so they can begin clinical rotations and nursing courses during the spring semester of their sophomore year.

All aspects of a student's application are considered to inform an admission decision, including the types of courses completed, grades received in those courses, grade trends and end-of-course assessments, when available.

High School Course Preparation

BSN applicants who are considered prepared for the nursing curriculum typically have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and have successfully completed four units each of science and mathematics in high school. Nursing applicants who are best positioned for admission have completed biology, chemistry and Algebra 2 with a grade of B or higher. Physics and medical terminology courses are also recommended.

Test Optional

BW is test optional for admission, regardless of a student's cumulative high school GPA. BW still accepts test scores from students who wish to submit them. If students believe their test scores show additional evidence of preparation for BW, they can be submitted and will be considered during the holistic review of a student's application to BW. Test scores do not have any bearing on a student's eligibility for BW merit scholarships.

Nursing Waitlist

To avoid over enrollment in the BSN program, the admission committee may utilize a waitlist. Students placed on the waitlist must be academically admissible to BW. The waitlist will be reviewed weekly beginning no later than February 1, 2025.

Since waitlisted students are academically admissible to BW, they have the option to change to another health-related major such as business of healthcare, communication sciences & disorders, pre-allied health/pre-physical therapy or any other program at BW. Choosing another major would lead to an official acceptance notification from BW.

Students who prefer to wait to see if a space opens in the BSN program will be notified of a final decision regarding their BSN status no later than June 1, 2025. If a space in the BSN program is not offered by that time, waitlisted students would still have the option to change their major and be formally admitted to BW or choose to withdraw their application.

Transfer Students

BW's undergraduate nursing program welcomes a select number of transfer students each year on a space-available basis. Prospective transfer students should contact their BW admission counselor to evaluate the next transfer opportunity. Transfer students from community colleges and other four-year institutions are welcome. Students who complete an associate of nursing are advised to find an RN-to-BSN degree program, which BW does not currently offer. Students currently enrolled in a four-year BSN program are in the best position to transfer if they have not already started their nursing coursework.

Transfer students are required to have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher (required if the student has been out of high school for less than five years), a minimum GPA of 2.75 in college coursework, and a "C" grade or above in all prerequisite courses (listed below). Transfer students need to complete prerequisites by the end of the fall semester prior to entering the nursing sequence at BW, though transfer students are welcome to enroll and complete their prerequisites at BW.

Prerequisites

Students who are directly admitted to BW as a BSN student will take a series of prerequisite courses before beginning clinical rotations and coursework in the nursing major the second term of their sophomore year. Students need to earn a grade of C or higher in each of the prerequisite courses by the end of the fall semester of their sophomore year and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.75 in BW coursework.

In addition to meeting curricular and grade requirements, BSN students must maintain the following to progress in the BSN program: good academic standing (including no charges of academic dishonesty), good disciplinary standing through student affairs (maintaining compliance with the BW Student Code of Conduct, particularly as it pertains to drug or alcohol use), required vaccinations, and successfully undergo an off-campus background check. Compliance with these requirements will be verified by members of the Department of Nursing faculty during the sophomore year, at the end of fall semester. Students meeting all requirements will begin the nursing sequence in spring semester of their sophomore year.

Prerequisite courses include:

• MTH 108 - Biostatistics
• ENG 131 - Workshop in Exposition & Argument
• PSY 100 - Principles of Psychological Science
• PSY 205 - Developmental Psychology
• SOC 100D - Principles of Sociology
• CHM 151 - Chemistry for Nursing I (with lab)
• CHM 152 - Chemistry for Nursing II (with lab)
• BIO 121 - Principles of Biology (with lab)
• BIO 212 - Microbiology (with lab)
• BIO 203 - Human Anatomy & Physiology I (with lab)
• BIO 204 - Human Anatomy & Physiology II (with lab)

View all required courses for the BSN program in the University catalog.

Retaking Prerequisites

Students may retake a course in which a satisfactory grade has not been achieved. If a student does not meet the required C or higher for each course or required GPA, a student will have to retake the course and earn the required grade in order to advance in the nursing program. In both instances, this can delay the start of nursing courses and graduation.

College Credit Plus and AP/IB Credits

Students who have earned college credit in high school for the prerequisite courses listed above may satisfy prerequisite requirements for the BSN program following a formal credit review by BSN faculty advisors. BSN students who satisfy prerequisite requirements using CCP/AP/IB course credit will still be part of the same first-year cohort and wait until spring of their sophomore year to begin clinical rotations and nursing coursework. In the interim, they may work toward other core education requirements or make progress toward their academic minor.

College Credit Plus Course Equivalencies