Undergraduate BSN Application and Admission Procedures

The Valley Foundation School of Nursing ’s application to the Undergraduate Nursing, BS  is a 2-step application process.

Students interested in the nursing major should attend a 2-hour group advising session (usually offered monthly). There are zoom links for copies of YouTube videos of prior advising sessions as well. Submit a University application to www.calstate.edu/apply and official transcripts of all previous college work to the Office of Admissions by the posted University deadlines. The University has designated “pre-nursing undeclared ” as an impacted major. Impaction criteria for the undeclared prenursing major are posted on the University’s Office of Admissions web page. Students are admitted as “cohort groups” once they have been formally admitted to the nursing major. (Note: the nursing major application process has supplemental impaction criteria in place.) Students must file a separate application to the nursing major via nursingcas.liaisoncas.org/apply; Information for prospective nursing students is listed in the School of Nursing’s website. Under Programs, Baccalaureate.

Prior to applying to the University, students should refer to The Valley Foundation School of Nursing website for information regarding advisement for entry into the major. Advising is available through individual or monthly group sessions. Refer to the nursing website at www.sjsu.edu/nursing for more detail of requirements and dates, times, and rooms (or Zoom sessions) for monthly group advising sessions. The application process for The Valley Foundation School of Nursing will be posted on the nursing website. All online NursingCAS applications include proof of admission to SJSU, or at least that you have begun the www.calstate.edu/apply application process, and a passing score on the TEAS test. Courses with designated “W” or “WB” are not considered for calculation purposes. 

Nursing has been an impacted major since Spring 2005. Impaction imposes supplemental criteria that all students must meet. Pre-nursing students apply to the “pre-nursing undeclared” major, for consideration in the applicant pool. Students may apply to the nursing major a maximum of twice.

The Valley Foundation School of Nursing has biannual admission application periods - Spring and Fall, although the University does not open Spring applications for transfer students. Students must have all 8 prerequisites completed in order to apply to NursingCAS for the applicant pool. Beginning Fall 2023 applications, supplemental criteria for eligibility for the applicant cohort pool include:

1. A minimum composite GPA of 3.4 for 8 prerequisite courses (BIOL 65 , BIOL 66 , MICR 20 , ENGL 1A , CHEM 30A , COMM 20 , STAT 95 , and GE Area A3 ). All courses must be passed with a C or better.
2. BIOL 65 , BIOL 66 , and MICR 20  must be completed within 5 years of establishing eligibility and passed with a grade of “C” or better. If the course does not meet the 5-year, recency requirement the student will need to retake that course. The grade for any of these 3 courses taken within the 5 years will be used for calculation purposes. Courses may not be repeated, except for academic grade forgiveness when taken at the original school and this designation must appear on official transcripts. (“W” and “WB” grades are excluded).
3. A minimum TEAS score (testing.sjsu.edu) of 84%; for version 6 or 7 of the TEAS test. This exam may only be taken two times regardless of the version. (www.sjsu.edu/nursing)
4. Corequisites (NUFS 8 , PSYC 1 , and CHAD 70  must have a minimum of C, have been repeated no more than once, and either be completed or “in progress at the time of the Nursing application to NursingCAS. Extra points may be allotted for those having corequisites completed at the time of application.

Impaction Scoring

Students meeting the above minimum GPA criteria will be ranked according to the following items (and those with the highest scores will be notified of whether the student is offered a placement spot): 

1. GPA in composite of all 8 required prerequisites of 3.4. The 8 courses include all 5 prerequisite courses, BIOL 65 , BIOL 66 , MICR 20 , ENGL 1A , and STAT 95  (or MATH 15 ), as well as those “formerly known” as 3 supplemental courses [e.g., COMM 20 ; CHEM 30A ; and GE Area A3 course], have a minimum GPA 3.4. The courses cannot be repeated (unless for academic forgiveness) or if one or more of the 3 sciences have expired for the 5-year recency requirement stated above, under item 2 of admission criteria sjsu.edu/nursing under BS information,
   
   and 
2. Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) - version 6 or 7 - available through the SJSU Testing Center. The TEAS minimum score is 84%. The TEAS test may be repeated only one time, regardless of version. The highest score will be used in the impaction scoring. To sign up for the TEAS exam, please see the SJSU Testing website  For impaction scoring purposes, your TEAS score is divided by 30, to use a score that is similar to a GPA. For impaction calculations your TEAS 6.0 or 7.0 score is divided by 30 to create a score to be included in the final “impaction” scoring.
3. The 8 prerequisite GPA counts as ⅔ of the impaction score and the TEAS test counts ⅓ of the score. 

Note: Background and Drug clearances are part of the admission eligibility.

In order to join the applicant pool for The Valley Foundation School of Nursing, students must:

1. Declare “pre-nursing undeclared” as a major, ideally (this designation has supplemental entry criteria; see www.sjsu.edu/nursing). Consult with a nursing advisor, if the student has a different declared major. The student does not receive the designation of “nursing major” until they are accepted and receive final confirmation by the School of Nursing.
2. Complete the 8 required prerequisite courses with a grade of “C” or better. See minimum GPA under “impaction criteria.” All 8 prerequisites must be completed at the time of the application.
3. Pass the TEAS test, version 6 or 7, within 2 attempts and submit the score(s) to the online vendor for application to SJSU The Valley Foundation School of Nursing (NOTE: a minimum TEAS score of 84% is required for eligibility). The TEAS score is divided by 30 for calculation of impaction scores.
4. United States citizenship (U.S. Birth Certificate or current U.S. Passport) or Green Card Permanent Resident (documentation required). “Dream Act” students need certain documentation. Aditionally, a California Driver’s License (or picture ID from Driver’s License Bureau) is also required. 
5. California residency.
6. A functional competency document is required (form on website).
7. Once admitted “provisionally”, the student completes a required background check and drug clearance, using the School’s vendor. A clear background check and drug screen are required. More information on this content is on the School’s website under “Policies”.
8. Submit an application to NursingCAS with documentation of 1 through 6 above. Documentation of completion of prerequisites is submitted during the online application process. No prerequisites may be “in progress”.
9. Three (3) corequisite courses must be completed with a C or better before beginning nursing courses (e.g., CHAD 70 - Lifespan Development in a Global Context ; NUFS 8 - Nutrition for the Health Professions ; and PSYC 1 - Introduction to Psychology ). A “bump” in score, if corequisites completed at time of application; see www.sjsu.edu/nursing.
10. Application to nursing and documentation deadlines for entry in Fall semester is Feb. 15. Application and documentation deadline for entry in Spring semester is September 15.
11. Specific clinical documentation will be required of all nursing students on admission to the major. Students may apply to NursingCAS up to one month prior to these NursingCAS deadlines.

12. Three (3) priority spots for past military experience for those who meet minimum criteria.

13. Prior Baccalaureate applicants only apply for Spring starts, and spots are limited to 10% of applicant selectees allowed by administration (e.g. 6 spots maximum, out of 60).

14. Extra “bump” in points, if health care experience in the past 2 years from time of application (volunteer or hands-on; see website for specifics). Will need documentation (see website).

Please note that application requirements and prerequisite courses are subject to change. Interested students should check the nursing website frequently for updates and changes. Monthly 2-hour group advising session does not require an appointment; if campus is closed, see website for ZOOM links.

Specific follow-up of items on the nursing website are included for applicants and The Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook is updated each academic year.

A student may only apply a maximum of two times to this program. If not admitted by then, the student should seek general University advising to change major.