DIRECT ADMISSION OPTIONS (available for eligible high school students only)
Direct Admission to the College of Nursing is designed for qualified high school students committed to nursing as their chosen profession. Up to 80 Direct Admission students will be selected for study beginning each fall. Students admitted through Direct Admission will have the opportunity to complete the program in four years.

Standardized test scores are not currently being used by faculty in the College of Nursing as part of the review process. Because of this, students must meet ALL eligibility requirements. Students could benefit from reporting test scores to the University of Iowa Office of Admissions. For more details about this, contact your admissions counselor or visit: admissions.uiowa.edu/testing

Application Process Eligibility Application Deadlines Admission TOEFL Requirements

APPLICATION PROCESS

For first-year students interested in applying directly to the University of Iowa College of Nursing, the first step is to apply for admission to the University of Iowa via the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and indicate Nursing Interest as the major area of study.

     First-Year Admission to Liberal Arts & Sciences

Qualified students who meet the Direct Admission eligibility requirements will see the link to the Supplemental Application on their Admission Profile within MyUI. The link should appear 24-48 hours after being admitted to the University of Iowa.

To be considered for Direct Admission, students must submit the Supplemental Application which includes essay questions, an activities/experiences list, and an official high school transcript.  Without all these components, an application is considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

Please have official high school transcripts mailed to:

    Enrollment Management
    2900 University Capitol Centre
    201 S. Clinton St.
    Iowa City, IA 52242

Electronic transcripts can be sent to admissions@uiowa.edu; however, for transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly from the student’s school. Transcripts uploaded by the student are not considered official.

All complete Direct Admission applications will be reviewed by the faculty admission committee. Admission is competitive, thus, meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.

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ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR DIRECT ADMISSION

Applicants meeting all of the published criteria listed below will be invited to submit an application for Direct Admission.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Minimum 3.8 or higher cumulative GPA (can be weighted or unweighted)
• 4 years of High School English
• 1 year of High School Biology
• 1 year of High School Chemistry
• 1 year of High School Physics
• 1 year of each: Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry
• 3 years of High School Social Studies
• Minimum 2nd-level proficiency in one world language
• High School students who do not meet the eligibility requirements for Direct Admission may apply through the Standard Admission process.
• *All Direct Admission candidates must complete high school course content deficiencies prior to enrollment at Iowa.
• **If a Direct Admission candidate meets the world language requirement with the minimum of second-level proficiency in a world language, the student will then be required to complete an additional three s.h. course from one of the following categories: Values & Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, or International & Global Issues. Students who complete 4th-level proficiency in one world language or 2nd-level proficiency in two world languages satisfy the college’s graduation requirement and need not take additional world language coursework.
• Standardized test scores are not used as a part of the application or review process, however, students may want to submit their ACT/SAT scores to the University of Iowa for scholarship consideration.

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COMPONENTS OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION

The Supplemental Application includes several essay questions and an activities/experiences list.

The essay questions are a very important part of your application. We recommend you prepare responses in a separate document (using Microsoft Word or a similar program) and paste them into the supplemental application. Preparing your response in a separate document will allow you to check your spelling and save your responses should you want to refer to them at a later date. Each essay question has a 1,500-character limit. A space is considered a character.

The supplemental application includes an opportunity to share about your activities and work and/or volunteer experiences.  Applicants are encouraged to share several activities they have been involved in within the past five years with the faculty review committee as this information is an equally important part of the faculty review process.

As you respond to the essays and share activities, work, or volunteering experiences, be sure to articulate how these opportunities have developed you as a person and how this contributes to your ability to be a nurse in the future.

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APPLICATION DEADLINES

• January 15, 11:59 p.m. is the submission deadline for the Nursing Supplemental Application and official documents.
• Applicants will receive an admission decision in early March.
• The Direct Admission cohort is comprised of 80 first year students.

Acceptance Deadline
All students will have until May 1 to accept or decline an offer of admission

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ASSURED ADMISSION AND WAITLIST FOR ASSURED ADMISSION

Students not initially offered Direct Admission may be selected for Assured Admission or added to a Waitlist for Assured Admission.

Assured Admission

A small number of students will be offered Assured Admission. These students will fill vacancies created by Direct Admission admits declining offers of admission, canceling admission after acceptance, or withdrawing from the program. Assured students are guaranteed a spot to begin the nursing major in the fall or spring of their junior year. These students are expected to enroll at the University of Iowa and maintain the same criteria as a Direct Admission student to keep their spot on the Assured Admission List. Assured Admission students are considered College of Nursing students.

Waitlist for Assured Admission

A select number of students who are not initially offered Direct Admission and are not guaranteed Assured Admission will be placed on a Waitlist for Assured Admission. After May 1 and once all seats in the Direct Admission class have been filled, any student remaining on the list will have their application to the College of Nursing cancelled.

Students who are not admitted via Direct Admission or guaranteed a spot via Assured Admission could enroll at the University of Iowa as a student in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences with a major of Nursing Interest and be part of the Standard Admission process after their second year of enrollment. Standard Admission students should anticipate a plan of study that will take 4.5 years.

FACTORS CONSIDERED FOR ADMISSION

The following factors are considered by the admissions committee while reviewing applications. This list is not all inclusive. It is in alphabetical order and does not indicate order of importance:

• Academic preparation, including GPA
• Advanced Placement/Honors/Dual enrollment credit
• Demonstrated commitment of service to others
• Contribution to the College of Nursing commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Essay responses
• Experiences that develop qualities that contribute to becoming a nurse
• Experience in caregiving
• Military service
• Understanding of professional nursing practice

BENEFITS 

Direct Admission and Assured Admission students will be assigned an advisor in the College of Nursing and become engaged with our college through research, simulation, support and/or volunteerism while completing prerequisite courses for the nursing major. Direct Admission students have the opportunity to complete the degree in four years. Assured Admission students may have the opportunity to complete the degree in four years and are guaranteed to the have the opportunity to complete the degree in four and a half years.

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TOEFL REQUIREMENT FOR ADMISSION TO THE COLLEGE OF NURSING

International students seeking admission into the College of Nursing for either Direct Admission or Standard Admission must meet the requirements listed for that pathway. International students who are citizens of a country in which English is not the official language also are required to complete the following:

• For students (early admission or transfer) who are new to the University of Iowa and admitted directly to the College of Nursing as a pre-licensure BSN student, a score of 100 on the iBT TOEFL is required.
• University of Iowa students who are interested in studying nursing at Iowa, but have not yet earned admission to the College of Nursing must present a minimum iBT of 80 with no subscore lower than 17, and complete the English Proficiency Evaluation (unless they have a TOEFL score of 100 or higher on the iBT). Students may be required to complete English as a Second Language course work if specified as a result of the English Proficiency Evaluation. If such course work is required, it must be completed prior to the start of the nursing major.
• Exemptions may be granted for persons who have completed a bachelor’s degree (or higher) at an accredited university in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada (excluding French Quebec), Africa (English speaking), Australia, or New Zealand.

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Questions?

Please contact the college's advising staff in the Felton Student Success Center (CNB 109) in the College of Nursing at 319-335-8216 or nursing-programs@uiowa.edu

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