Accelerated BSN Admissions Process

The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions is committed to preparing skilled nurse clinicians who promote health and well-being across diverse populations and communities. We use a rolling and holistic admissions process enabling qualified applicants to reserve seats in upcoming cohorts.

Accelerated BSN Admissions Requirements:

  • Prerequisite and general education courses
  • A GPA of 3.0 or higher is preferred
  • Personal Statement
  • If you do not have a previous bachelor’s degree, you will need to schedule and take the ATI TEAS Exam and submit your official ATI TEAS Exam Score Report. Students should achieve an overall score of 70% or better and scores of 70% or better for all subcategories.
  • Resume is optional

Please note: TESU’s clinical practice partners, where students complete their clinical practicums, have the authority to implement and modify vaccine requirements at any time. Students must adhere to these requirements to continue in the program and many clinical partners do not honor vaccine exemptions for students. Additionally, findings from criminal background checks are shared with these practice partners, who have the final decision on whether a student can complete their clinical practicum. If a student is unable to complete a clinical practicum due to issues with the background check or failure to meet vaccine requirements, it will prevent them from advancing in the program, achieving program outcomes, and graduating. Consequently, a positive background check or non-adherence with vaccine requirements may result in the rescindment of the student's admission to the program. Neither the application fee nor the deposit will be reimbursed if an applicant is denied clinical placement at any of TESUs practice partners.

  • Admissions
    1. Submit Your Application The first step in the application process consists of submitting your online application and all official transcripts. Find out how to submit your transcripts. An overall GPA of 3.0 or higher is preferred.
    2. Prerequisite Review and Advising Appointment As an applicant to the Accelerated BSN Program, we will assess your status in relation to completion of the prerequisite courses and then encourage you to schedule an appointment with a W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions advisor to review your next steps. Schedule an advising appointment. You need to ensure that all official transcripts are sent to us so we can complete this review.

      Prerequisite and General Education Course Requirements You can take all of the prerequisite courses you still need at TESU and we encourage you to do so. By taking the courses with TESU, you will be table to take advantage of all TESU student services, meet with your advisor from the School of Nursing and Health Professions, monitor the evaluation of your transfer credits toward the BSN Program prerequisites, and monitor your progress in completing the Accelerated BSN Program application progress.

      Once the prerequisite courses are completed, you can finalize your application for the Accelerated BSN program and all the prerequisite courses you’ve taken will transfer seamlessly.

      There is no time limit on fulfilling prerequisite course requirements, however, all requirements must be completed prior to acceptance into the Accelerated BSN Program. Your application remains active for one year.
      • If you decide to not move forward to the Accelerated BSN program or if your application isn’t accepted, all the prerequisite courses you’ve taken can be applied seamlessly toward another degree at TESU.
    3. Complete Remaining Requirements Take the ATI TEAS Exam and submit your official ATI TEAS Exam Score Report (scores must be sent directly from ATI). Scores of 70% or better in each of the subcategories is preferred. This requirement is waived for applicants who have a previously completed bachelor’s degree.

      Submit the required personal statement (approximately 500-800 words) addressing the following:
      • Education and work background
      • Life experiences that influenced your interest in nursing

      • Experiences working with a diverse population of people.

      • Elements of the TESU Accelerated BSN Program that made you decide to apply.

      • Anything else you believe the Admissions Committee should know: life experiences, explanation of any previous experience in a nursing program, challenges, successes, or obstacles you encountered that may strengthen your application or showcase your ability to be successful in this accelerated program


      Submit optional resume.
    4. Application Review When all admission requirements are complete, your file will be reviewed by the Accelerated BSN Program Admissions Committee using a holistic admissions process. 

      Please note: You may be invited for an interview. Additionally, an interview does not guarantee admission into the program.

      Applications are reviewed and interviews are scheduled all year. Acceptance into a program cohort is on a first come, first service basis. Applicants who are accepted into the program after the maximum number of cohort seats has been filled will be invited to join the next available program cohort.
  • Other Requirements

    • Strong foundational and computer software skills. See Accelerated BSN Student Handbook for details.
    • For students of foreign universities, all transcripts must be evaluated by an approved agency. An official course-by-course evaluation must be submitted with your application.
    • If the applicant has taken English I and English II at a regionally accredited institution, it is at the discretion of the School of Nursing to require the TOEFL Exam. The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions has the discretion to require an applicant to take the TOEFL Exam regardless of the student’s native language if there is a concern about the student’s ability to communicate in English.
    • Clinical compliance requirements must be met at the start of the program in order for students to meet the program’s mandatory clinical experience components. Clinical compliance requirements for students include, but are not limited to, a drug screen, proof of immunity or immunization for all vaccine-preventable diseases, professional liability insurance, and major medical health insurance coverage. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and completion of a criminal background check are also required. Affiliated agencies and facilities have the right to preclude students who do not have a clear criminal background check. This may result in the inability to complete clinical requirements and the Accelerated BSN Program. Upon admission to Accelerated BSN program the student will receive a clinical compliance handbook and a complete list of clinical compliance requirements.
    • Access to reliable transportation for clinical experiences; some clinical sites and experiences may not be accessible by, or cannot be completed with, public transportation.

  • I have a bachelor’s degree

    The courses below must be completed to start nursing courses. Please meet with an advisor before taking any of these courses.

    Prerequisite Courses Required Credits Required Grade Test for Credit?
    Anatomy and Physiology 1 with Lab 4 C (73) or better No
    Anatomy and Physiology 2 with Lab 4 C (73) or better No
    Microbiology with Lab 4 C (73) or better No
    Chemistry or Pathophysiology 3 C (73) or better No
    Nutrition 3

    C (73) or better

    		 No
    Statistics 3 C (73) or better No

    *Please check with your W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions Advisor at nursing@tesu.edu for more information on test for credit and accepted exams.

  • I do not have a bachelor's degree

    The list below details the required general education courses and nursing prerequisite courses; some nursing prerequisite courses also meet the general education requirements. These courses must be taken to start nursing courses. Please meet with a W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions Advisor before taking any of these courses.

    Prerequisite and General Education Courses Required Credits Required Grade Test for Credit? TESU Course(s)
    Anatomy and Physiology 1 with Lab 4 C (73) or better No BIO-2110
    Anatomy and Physiology 2 with Lab 4 C (73) or better No BIO-2120
    Microbiology with Lab 4 C (73) or better No BIO-2510
    Chemistry or Pathophysiology  3 C (73) or better No CHE-1110 or CHE-1120
    Nutrition 3 C (73) or better Yes* BIO-2080
    Statistics 3 C (73) or better No HPS-2000
    Ethics 3 Passing Yes* See Ethical Leadership
    Diversity 3 Passing Yes* SOC-1010
    Social Science 3 Passing Yes* PSY-1010
    Writing for Success 3 Passing   ENC-1010
    English Comp II 3 Passing   ENC-1020
    Public Speaking 3 Passing   See Oral Communications
    Information Literacy 3 Passing   SOS-1100
    Civic Engagement 3 Passing   See Civic Engagement and Awareness
    History 3 Passing   See Knowledge of Human Cultures (HIS prefix)
    Humanities 3 Passing   See Knowledge of Human Cultures
    Social Science/History/Humanities 6 Passing   See Knowledge of Human Cultures
    Elective 3 Passing    

    *Please check with your W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions Advisor at nursing@tesu.edu for more information on test for credit and accepted exams.

ATI TEAS Nursing Exam

All prospective applicants for the Accelerated BSN program must take the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS®) Exam for Nursing and submit a score report. The TEAS measures basic essential skills in the academic content areas of reading, mathematics, science, English and language usage.

  • A score of 70% or higher in all content areas is required in order to be considered for acceptance into the program. The applicant is allowed to take the exam twice to achieve the 70% or higher, but a wait time of 30 days is recommended after the first attempt. We recommend studying/preparing for the exam.
  • Official score reports expire one year after the date of the exam.

In order to take the TEAS Exam, the applicant will need to make an account with ATI and then register for and schedule the exam at a convenient time and location. You can take the exam online with Thomas Edison State University! Schedule the exam with Thomas Edison U TEAS. Once you are ready to apply, the official score report can be ordered and sent directly from ATI. Choose “Thomas Edison State U TEAS” from the list of schools.