Overview
Career outlook
Employers hire BSN-prepared registered nurses for direct patient care as well as roles requiring expanded leadership, research, and community-health competencies across nearly every healthcare setting.
Getting in
What University of Southern Maine asks for, taken from its own admissions page.
What you'll need
- Essay
- Transcripts
- Prerequisite courses
High school applicants need a 3.25 GPA with high school biology and chemistry labs at B or above; SAT/ACT optional. Current USM students need a 3.0 USM GPA; transfers need a 3.0 cumulative and 2.67 natural science GPA with A&P I and II, microbiology, nutrition, chemistry and pathophysiology. Essay on the supplemental form. Fall deadline February 1 (decision May 1); spring deadline September 1 for transfer and current students only. Page cites a 92% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate without a year.
Checked Oct 2026 on the school's site. Requirements change each cycle, so confirm before you apply.
Paths
Routes into BSN. The first step is where you enroll today.
CNA to BSN
CNA BSNBridge from frontline care to a four-year nursing degree, with your patient-care hours working for you.
- Time
- 4 years
- State
- All states
California State University, Fresno
View path
Georgia CNA to RN Pathway
CNA BSNStart as a Certified Nursing Assistant in Georgia and earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Georgia State. Begin patient-care work in weeks, then ladder into a four-year BSN that prepares you to sit for the NCLEX-RN.
- Time
- 4 years
- State
- GA
University of Texas at Arlington
View path
Find your next step.
Getting in starts with a path. Pick one, then follow the people who already did it.