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). 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. As of Fall 2010, 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 (www.sjsu.edu/nursing or the web site, NursingCAS.org); Information for prospective nursing students is listed 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 web site 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 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. For grades from Spring 2020 only, due to COVID-19 changes, final Credit grades are allowed for prerequisites, but are not used in impaction score calculations.

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 twice maximum.

The Valley Foundation School of Nursing has biannual admission application periods - Spring and Fall, although the University has not opened Spring applications for transfer students. Supplemental criteria for eligibility for the applicant cohort pool include:

1. Composite GPA of 3.2 in 5 prerequisite courses (BIOL 65 , BIOL 66 , MICR 20 , ENGL 1A , and STAT 95 ). 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 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 78%; for version 6 of the TEAS. This exam may only be taken two times regardless of the version. (www.sjsu.edu/nursing)
4. Composite GPA of 3.0 in CHEM 30A , COMM 20 , and an Area A3 (critical thinking) course. All courses must be passed with a C or better. Options for acceptable area A3 courses are listed on the University’s web site.

Impaction Scoring

Students meeting the above minimum GPA criteria will be ranked according to the following items: 

1. GPA in composite of all 8 required perquisites of 3.2. The 8 courses include all 5 prerequisite courses, BIOL 65 , BIOL 66 , MICR 20 , ENGL 1A , and STAT 95 , 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 3.2. 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,
   
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2. Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) - version 6 - available through the SJSU Testing Center. The TEAS minimum score is 78%. 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 score is divided by 30 (effective March 2016) to create a score to be included in the final “impaction” scoring.

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 (this designation has supplemental entry criteria; see www.sjsu.edu/nursing). Change of major forms are done through the main university advising office in the Student Success Center on 10th street. Consult with nursing advisor, if the student has a different declared major.
2. Complete the 8 required prerequisites courses with a grade of “C” or better. See minimum GPA under “impaction criteria.”
3. Pass the TEAS test, version 6, 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 78 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. A California Drivers License (or picture ID from Drivers License bureau) is also required. 
5. A functional competency document is required (form on website).
6. 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 web site under “Policies”.
7. Submit an application to Nursing CAS with documentation of 1 through 6 above. Documentation of completion of prerequisites is submitted during the online application process.
8. 3 Corequisite courses must be completed with a C or better before beginning nursing courses (eg., CHAD 70 - Lifespan Development in the 21st Century ; NUFS 8 - Nutrition for the Health Professions ; and PSYC 1 - Introduction to Psychology ).
9. Application to nursing and documentation deadlines for entry in Fall semester is Feb. 15. Application and documentation deadlines for entry in Spring semester is September 15 (although date may need to change in Fall 2020, due to COVID-19). Specific clinical documentation will be required of all nursing students on admission to the major. Students may apply up to one month prior to these deadlines.

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

Specific follow-up of items on the nursing web site are included for applicants and The Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook, which 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 majors.