Pre-Nursing

We are thrilled that you have chosen to attend Baylor University as a Pre-Nursing student. In order to successfully complete the pre-nursing sequence at the Waco campus and join us at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing in Dallas, you must demonstrate successful completion of your prerequisite courses and pass an entrance exam. Further, you must meet all appropriate deadlines for progression and application.

Pre-Nursing Requirements

All entering freshman students who wish to study nursing will be required to register in the non-degree granting Pre-Nursing 1 (PNU1) major. Upon fulfilling the requirements shown below for PNU1, students may progress to the Pre-Nursing 2 (PNU2) major which is a pre-requisite requirement for admission to the school of nursing. A student may remain in the PNU1 major for a maximum of three academic semesters. A student must be classified as a PNU2 student to apply for admission to the LHSON. A student may remain in the PNU2 major for a maximum of three academic semesters.

In order to declare the major of PNU2, a PNU1 student must meet the following lower division requirements.

Completion of at least two of the four required lower division science courses with a science GPA of 2.75 or higher.
Completion of NUR 1101, New Student Experience, with a grade of “C” or higher or successful completion of an equivalent course.
Completion of the HESI A2 Math and English Composite sections of the nursing admission exam with a grade of 80 or higher in each category.
Cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Pre-nursing students may repeat a required lower division course only once.
Pre-nursing students may repeat no more than two required lower division courses.
Courses with a grade of “C” or higher may not be repeated to raise either the cumulative or pre-nursing GPA.

Baylor University students wishing to apply to LHSON must be in good standing; classified as a PNU2; and must meet the following admission criteria based on your catalog year:

43 of the 59 prerequisite course hours completed
2 of the 4 prerequisite science courses completed (8 hours) with a minimum science GPA of 2.75
3.0 minimum GPA of completed prerequisite courses
2. 5 minimum cumulative Baylor GPA
HESI A2 Exam requirements
* English Composite score of 80 or above
* Math score of 80 or above

Formal application to the School of Nursing is required through NursingCas. Application deadlines for the Traditional Program are January 15th for fall admission and July 15th for spring admission. Acceptance to the School of Nursing is term specific. Students are not granted automatic deferment of acceptance.

Prerequisite Course Information

There are 59 hours of required courses a student must complete prior to starting our program. However, a student only needs 43 of the 59 hours of prerequisite courses completed (including 2 of the 4 science courses) in order to apply. A student must successfully complete all prerequisite courses during the full academic semester prior to admission. For example, for fall admission courses must be completed by the end of the preceding spring semester. The minimum grade point average to be considered for admission is a 3.0 in the prerequisite courses.

Prerequisite Courses

A minimum grade of “C" (not “C-") is mandatory in each required lower division course. Students must achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on all completed required lower division courses. The overall cumulative GPA must be a 2.5 or higher and science GPA must be a 2.75 or higher for admission to the program. Applicants may only repeat a required lower division course one time. Only the most recently completed course grade will count for admissions purposes. Students who fail the same required lower division course twice are not eligible to apply.

4 Science courses: Intro to Chemistry (CHE 1300/1100), Human Anatomy & Physiology of Motion and Innervation (BIO 2401 or HED 2420)⁸, Human Anatomy & Physiology of Metabolism & Processing (BIO 2402 or HED2421)⁸, and Intro to Microbiology (BIO 2302/2102)⁸,
3 English courses: English I (ENGL 1310 or 1302)², English II (ENGL 2310 or 1304)², and English Literature (ENGL Lit 23XX)³
1 Political Science course: PSC 1387 The US Constitution
2 Religion courses: REL 1310 The Christian Scriptures and REL 1350 Christian Heritage
1 History course: History Elective (1300, 1305, 1307, 2365, or 2366)⁶
1 Nutrition course: NUTR 2351 Nutrition
1 Statistics course: STA 1380 Statistics
2 Psychology courses: PSY 1305 Psychological Science and PSY 3341 A Survey of Human Growth & Development⁷
1 Sociology course: SOC 1305 Intro to Sociology
1 Communication course and 1 Fine Arts Course or completion of a foreign language through the second semester level⁴
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1 Students are responsible for completion of approved general education courses in the regular semester prior to beginning classes at the School of Nursing. In other words, completion of pre-requisite classes for students beginning nursing courses in the fall semester must be completed in the spring prior to beginning classes or during the fall semester for January entry into the nursing program. 2 ENG 1302 will be accepted as dual credit or transfer credit only. BU Freshmen will take 1310. 3. ENG 2301 (British Literature), ENG 2306 (World Literature), Great Texts (2000-level or higher), or upper-level foreign language course may be taken. 4 Spanish language is strongly recommended because of the demographics of the area. Students must take one language through second level proficiency. Second degree students should seek advice from School of Nursing advisors prior to registering for a foreign language. 5 May be in a discipline other than mathematics if the course is judged as equivalent to STA 1380 at Baylor.6 Must be course equivalent to HIS 1300, 1305, 1307, 2356 or 2366. Note: HIS 1300 is preferred. 7 Course must cover entire life span.8 BIO Requirements are the BIO 2401 or HED 2420, BIO 2402 or HED 2421, and BIO 2302/2102 courses. These will be assigned by your advisor to ensure all students are able to complete the sequence in a timely fashion. If students do not register as assigned, they may be dropped from the courses and placed into the assigned course that may not be the original class day or time.

Please note: The following applies to any college work taken prior to transfer:

To determine whether a course will transfer into Baylor University from another college or university, please refer to the Equivalent Course Tool.
The most recent grade earned in a course will be used to calculate prerequisite GPA. However, any grade earned below a "C" will be factored into GPA but will require an applicant to retake the course in order to achieve a passing grade.
A course with a grade of "Pass" may transfer, but only as elective credit.
If a science or foreign language course is offered with separate lecture and lab, both portions must be completed. It is recommended that separate lecture and lab portions be completed through the same university or college.
Credit by examination secured through another college or university by a student transferring to Baylor University will be accepted only to the extent that the exam and scores are equivalent to what Baylor accepts. Scores received must meet the Baylor University minimum score requirements stated in the Credit By Examination brochure in effect in the year that the student entered college as a freshmen. To find more information regarding accepted exams and minimum score requirements, please refer to the Baylor University testing website.

HESI A2 Entrance Exam

Students must complete the following sections:

English Composite (Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, & Grammar)
Math Composite

The HESI A2 Exam may only be taken once each semester, with a maximum of three attempts (this includes HESI A2 Exams not sent directly to Baylor University School of Nursing).” In the event a student has taken the exam more than once, the most recent exam will be counted. HESI A2 scores cannot be pieced together (e.g. "superscored"). Please refer to the HESI A2 Information page to learn how to register to take the exam and how to submit official scores to LHSON.

TOEFL
Students whose first/native language is not English, are required to take the TOEFL, regardless of US education, or years of residence. The Louise Herrington School of Nursing requires applicants to attain a minimum score of 560 on the paper based test, 220 on the computer based test, or 83 on the internet based test (IBT).

*Please note: the TOEFL score required by the Louise Herrington School of Nursing is higher than the minimum required by Baylor University.

Application Deadline
Students must submit a completed Nursing School Application by January 15 for Fall and July 15 for Spring (with official transcripts and official HESI A2 exam scores) to be considered for admission.

To begin your application, please create an account through the NursingCAS. If you have any further questions about the NursingCAS application, please contact the NursingCAS Customer Service team 617.612.2880 or https://nursingcas.liaisoncas.org/apply/

Additional Application Information
Please carefully review the official Admissions Policy to acquaint yourself with ALL requirements for attending the Louise Herrington School of Nursing. Once your application is submitted any requested edits and revisions will not be permitted.

New Student Experience
All Baylor Pre-Nursing majors are strongly encouraged to complete their NSE course by taking NUR 1101 The Art and Science of Nursing during the first semester of attendance.

Pre-Nursing Office
The Nursing School provides support to Pre-Nursing students on the Waco campus through the Pre-Nursing Office. Current or prospect students can send specific questions to a Pre-Nursing Advisor (Sarah Jares for last names A-K or Rachel Steele for last names L-Z) while general Pre-Nursing inquiries can be sent to Pre-Nursing@baylor.edu. The Pre-Nursing staff and faculty can both be found in the Sid Richardson Building (Suite 229).