School of Nursing

Traditional BSN

Admission Criteria

Fall 2025 Nursing CAS Application Deadline: March 1, 2025, 10:00 p.m. CST

Fall 2025 New Student Orientation: New student orientation is mandatory for all incoming students. The orientation dates for the Fall 2025 Traditional BSN cohort are Thursday, August 7, 2025 and Friday, August 8, 2025.

Beginning Fall 2018 semester, Statistics 300/3000 level or above may be transferred if a grade of “C” or better is achieved.

Members of the Admissions Progression and Graduation Committee admit two classes each year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. An applicant must complete 37 hours of the required prerequisite courses, or be enrolled in the final semester of prerequisite classes before applying to the program. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, the completed prerequisite courses and a grade of “B” or better on all science courses (Biology Lecture & Lab, Chemistry, and Microbiology). General education courses may be taken at any accredited college or university.

Refer to the Application Information page to ensure a successful application process.

  1. Pre-Requisite Coursework
    An applicant must complete 37 hours of required prerequisite courses. If a student cannot meet these requirements, they should reach out to the program director to discuss as exceptions can be made in some cases. Of the 37 required prerequisites, the 16 hours of prerequisites listed below must be completed prior to application deadline and appear on the applicant's official transcript. The GPA calculated on 16 hours of prerequisite courses must be at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in order to be eligible for admission. Of the required prerequisites, Biology Lecture, Biology Lab, Microbiology, and Chemistry courses must have a B or better grade earned.

    1. College Algebra (3 hours)
    2. English Composition I (3 hours)
    3. General Biology and Lab for Science Majors (4 hours)
    4. General Chemistry (3 hours)
    5. General Psychology (3 hours)

     

    The remaining prerequisite courses may be in progress at the time the application is submitted. All official transcripts are required. Submit all official transcripts to NursingCAS regardless if prerequisite coursework is on the transcript or not. An applicant must successfully complete 37 hours of the required prerequisite courses before beginning LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans School of Nursing.

    A listing of all prerequisite courses is available on the Curriculum page.

    Official transcripts from all regionally accredited colleges or universities attended must be submitted. You may submit your application before the transcripts are uploaded to NursingCAS.

    LSUHSC-NO School of Nursing will recognize up to a combined nine (9) hours of Accelerated Program (AP) and CLEP coursework. Official AP and/or CLEP transcript must be sent to the School of Nursing. Nine (9) hours of advanced standing credit will be recognized if earned from the college/university.

  2. Grade Point Average

    Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all prerequisite courses. A grade of C or better must be achieved in all non-science prerequisite courses. A grade of B or better must be achieved in all science prerequisite courses (Biology Lecture, Biology Lab, Microbiology, and Chemistry).

    If a student receives a grade of D or F in a pre-requisite course, it may be repeated one (1) time only. Failure of any pre-requisite course twice makes an applicant ineligible for admission.

  3. HESI Admission Assessment Exam A2
    The HESI Admission Assessment exam A² from Evolve Testing & Remediation is required to be taken by the application deadline. You may submit your application prior to your exam date.

    A minimum cumulative score of 80% is required. An applicant may take the HESI Exam twice during an application period and must wait six (6) weeks between exams. The exam must be taken up to one year prior to application submission..

    • LSU Health New Orleans - School of Nursing code is 198306.

    HESI Registration Instructions for LSU Baton Rouge Applicants [Click HERE]

    HESI Registration Instructions for Applicants [Click HERE]

    Resources:

  4. Written Statement
    Applicants will be required to write an essay on a given topic as part of the NursingCAS application.

  5. Interview
    The interview will be completed and submitted online by the applicant. Only qualified applicants meeting all admission criteria will be invited to submit an online interview. Instructions will be forthcoming to all eligible applicants.

  6. Previous Nursing Program
    If an applicant has attended a previous nursing program, a letter of academic good standing must be provided from that school of nursing.

NOTE: Students are expected to attend the mandatory, in-person 2-day New Student Orientation. Orientation is scheduled the Thursday and Friday before the 1st day of the semester. The admission letter will state the exact dates.

NOTE: Meeting the minimum academic requirements DOES NOT guarantee admission to the School of Nursing.

NOTE: An applicant may apply to only one LSU School of Nursing BSN program at one time.