Direct Admission from High School

UC College of Nursing evaluates applications with a holistic criteria that considers high school grade point average, ACT/SAT scores, a personal statement, an essay, recommendation letters, honors, awards, leadership roles, volunteer and work experiences, and more.

• Graduation from an accredited high school or preparatory school
• Completion of 19 units in these college-preparatory subjects: English (4 units), math (4 units), science (3 including 1 biology and 1 chemistry unit with at least a B grade), social studies (3 units) and electives (5 units). (Foreign language, anatomy & physiology, upper-division science courses, and honors, advanced placement or dual-enrollment courses are recommended.)
• Recommended minimum GPA of 3.0 and recommended minimum ACT score of 22 or SAT score of 1070
• Completed application and submission of high school or preparatory school transcripts

UC College of Nursing is committed to student success and, although we review applicants using a holistic admission process, test scores remain an important piece of information for our BSN program.

To be considered for direct admission into the BSN program, applicants must submit their ACT or SAT scores to the University of Cincinnati by Dec. 1. Applicants must select Nursing as their first major choice and Interdisciplinary Nursing Preparation in the College of Arts & Sciences as their second choice on the Common Application.

Applicants without ACT or SAT scores can still pursue nursing at UC by applying to Interdisciplinary Nursing Preparation (INP) as their first major choice on the Common Application. Students in the INP program take the same first-year courses as BSN students in the College of Nursing and can apply to join the BSN program as a sophomore.

The early acceptance deadline is Dec. 1 of high school students' senior year. Applications are not accepted beyond that date. As a recommendation, students who want to be considered only for a nursing degree track should choose, "Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies - Nursing Preparation" as their second choice for a major.

Offers are made based on space availability. Visit the Office of Admissions' Undergraduate section for information on The Common Application and deadlines.

The college assesses selected candidates using Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI), a research-based interviewing process that identifies non-cognitive indicators linked to future job performance. The process has been used by several medical schools throughout the country, including UC College of Medicine.

MMI will be completed virtually through our partner Kira Talent. Applicants selected for an interview will receive an email invitation and must complete the recorded, one-way video interview within a certain period of time.

Not all candidates will be invited to join the MMI process—some applicants will be offered immediate admission, while others will be immediately denied admission. Those who are invited to participate in the (optional) interviews will have the opportunity to increase their competitiveness and learn more about their fit with the program.