Application & Admission

Application Criteria

1. Completion of 30 semester credits.
2. A minimum total cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
3. Completion of required Core Pre-requisites with a minimum C grade.

Pre-requisite Courses

Students must complete pre-requisite courses for application and admission eligibility. All coursework must be completed with a minimum C letter grade.

Core Pre-requisites must be completed prior to program application:

• BIOL 220 Human Anatomy
• BIOL 330 Principles of Human Physiology
• CHEM 111 Chemistry of Life Processes Part II
• ENG 101 Foundations of Writing & Rhetoric
• GEOG 103 Intro to Cultural Geography (Not required for students following the 2023-2024 Academic Catalog and beyond)
• KSP 235 Human Development
• NURS 101W Courage, Caring & Teambuilding (Not required for students following the 2023-2024 Academic Catalog and beyond)
• STAT 154 Elementary Statistics

*Core pre-requisites may be repeated one time each (2 overall attempts). The average grade will be used to calculate the Core GPA for admission ranking. A withdraw is considered one attempt.

Support Pre-requisites must be completed prior to beginning program:

• BIOL 270 Microbiology
• FCS 242 Nutrition for Healthcare Professionals
• PSYC 101 Intro to Psychological Science
• NURS 282 Pathophysiology for Healthcare Professionals
• NURS 284 Pharmacology for Healthcare Professionals (Not required for students following the 2023-2024 Academic Catalog and beyond)
• NURS 286 Relationship-based Care
• NURS XXX Family & Societal Inquiry for Healthcare Professions (Required for students following the 2023-2024 Academic Catalog and beyond)

~Students must have a minimum grade of a C in both BIOL 220 and BIOL 330 to enroll in NURS 282 and NURS 284.

Application Procedures

All students making application to the Pre-Licensure Program are required to submit the program application, complete the TEAS Exam and participate in the group interview. Detailed application instructions and procedures are included in the program application, which is posted November 15^th and July 1^st of their respective application cycles. The application deadline is always the 4^th Friday of each term.

English Language Proficiency Requirement

Applicants to the Pre-Licensure Program from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate minimum English proficiency requirements in one of the following ways:

• TOEFL iBT minimum score of 84 with a minimum speaking score of 26
• TOEFL PBT minimum score of 560
• IELTS overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 on all modules

English Language Proficiency Requirement Document

Admission Ranking

Each applicant pool is rank ordered using the Core Pre-requisite GPA, the total TEAS® Exam score and the group interview score.

• The Core Pre-requisite GPA is 50%
• The total TEAS® score is 25%
• The group interview score is 25%

The School of Nursing currently offers admission to the top 64 students from each applicant pool, every semester.

Admission is increasing!
Beginning Fall 2024, the top 72 students will be admitted every semester.
Beginning Fall 2025, the top 80 students will be admitted every semester.

Admission Notification

Admission notification letters will be emailed on Wednesday, six weeks after the application deadline. All letters will be emailed to the applicant’s email address provided to the School of Nursing on the application. Admitted students are required to attend a mandatory admission advising session held the following week.

Admission

Full admission to the Pre-Licensure Program requires students to fulfill the following requirements prior to program start date:

• Certified as a nursing assistant, and listed as active on a Nursing Assistant Registry in the United States.
• Completion of required Support Pre-requisites with a minimum C grade.
• Approval to work with patients without supervision from the Minnesota Department of Health Background check.

Admission Data

The following data should be used to inform and assist students with academic planning and major progression assessment. The data was compiled from students admitted to the Pre-Licensure Program.

• Average Core GPA: 3.4 - 3.6
• Average TEAS score: 77 - 78%
• Average Interview score: 21.8 / 23

Registration & Payment

Registration & payment will be completed online through the ATI Website

Minnesota State University, Mankato offers the TEAS® exam to Pre-Licensure Program applicants in the months of September and January. Testing availability will become limited as the application deadline approaches. Students are encouraged to plan ahead. Specific testing dates and times are made available two months prior to application deadline, in July and November.

Follow the student instructions to create an ATI account and register for the TEAS®.

Registration for the TEAS® will close at 12:00am, 24 hours prior to the exam date.

TEAS® Exam

Purpose: The ATI Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS®) measures basic essential skills deemed most appropriate and relevant to indicate readiness and success in a nursing program. It is a computerized exam, administered in-person by the University Testing Center, in partnership with the School of Nursing, and required for admission consideration.

Format: Multiple Choice, 170 questions

Delivery: All TEAS exams administered through Minnesota State University, Mankato will be delivered in-person on the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus.

Cost: $97 paid directly to ATI

Time Limit: 209 minutes (about 3 ½ hours). Each subject area has a time limit.

Subject Areas:

• Reading - 64 minutes
• Mathematics - 54 minutes
• Science - 63 minutes
• English & Language Usage - 28 minutes

Scoring: The total score from the exam will be used towards the admission ranking process. The total score is 25% of the ranking. There is no minimum score requirement.

TEAS® Exam Policies

• The TEAS® must be completed by the application deadline- fourth Friday of the semester.
• The TEAS® may only be taken during the semester applying to the Pre-Licensure Program at Minnesota State University.
• The TEAS® may only be completed once a semester.
• TEAS® scores are valid for one year.
• The highest valid TEAS® score will be used towards admission ranking.
• Students may test at another site and request an official TEAS® transcript to be sent to the School of Nursing. The transcript must be received by the application deadline.
• If the TEAS® is taken more than once a semester, the School of Nursing will only use the score from the first attempt.

Preparation

ATI recommends approximately 6 weeks of preparation prior to taking the exam.

A variety of preparatory products and packages, ranging in costs, are available for purchase in the Online Store of your ATI account.

Students may also purchase Prep Products and find resources. ATI recommends students check out their Facebook page for live TEAS prep events as well as previously recorded videos and their ATI Student Blog.

Accommodations

Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. Students on file with Accessibility Resources are advised to contact the University Testing Center directly at TestingCenter@mnsu.edu for arrangements. Reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance to the plan established with Accessibility Resources.

Published test dates on ATI's website does not guarantee accommodations are available for that session. In some circumstances, a separate testing date may need to be scheduled after the nursing application deadline, in consultation with the School of Nursing.

Group Interview

Pre-Licensure Program applicants must participate in a group interview for admission consideration. Each group interview may hold up to 5 students and will be conducted by two nursing faculty.

After the application deadline, student applicants will be contacted via email with interview information including available dates, times and sign up. Interviews will take place in September and February during the respective application periods. Sample interview questions will be provided after interview date and time is confirmed.

The purpose of the interviews are to evaluate the student's:

• Ability to communicate independently and within a group.
• Ability to critically think and articulate their ideas.
• Professional behavior in demeanor, dress, and interactions.