Pre-licensure BSN Program - FAQ

We currently have one track in the pre-licensure program. The BSN pre-licensure or “Traditional” track is designed for “traditional” students who are seeking their first academic degree. These students complete a 5-semester professional sequence in 2 calendar years or 24 months.

All students are initially admitted as “pre-nursing” students when they apply to the University. After completion of the qualifying (pre-requisite) courses, students can then apply to the professional sequence of the program. Professional sequence, also known as the clinical sequence, refers to the set of required courses in the nursing major. These are the courses with the NURS prefix

There are designated courses with minimum grades and an overall GPA of 2.7 required to be considered qualified for admission to the professional nursing sequence. Qualification and application forms for the BSN pre-licensure program is available on the School of Nursing webpage

We accept 32 students for the fall (August start) and spring (January start) semesters for the traditional track for a total of 64 per year.

Yes, you can apply for the traditional degree track of the program

All students must meet the same standard for admission in terms of qualification for the program. Students are then admitted to the program in the order that they qualify for the program. Since students qualify by semester there are multiple students with the same qualifying semester. This means that applicants who qualified in the earliest semester are admitted first. If there are still seats remaining, students qualified in the next semester are admitted. If there are too many students who qualified in the same semester for the number of available seats, the number of FSU credits is used to rank order students who qualified in that semester.

As long as students meet the minimum qualification criteria, there is no distinction between a 4.0 and a 2.7 cumulative GPA in terms of ranking for admission. All students must have the required GPA at the time of application. Please note: As of spring 2016, 25% of the BSN pre-licensure seats are reserved for competitive admission. To qualify for competitive admission, an applicant must have earned an overall 3.70 GPA at Ferris, completed all the qualifying courses with no repeats, and completed 24 credits at Ferris

es, we extend an opportunity for early admission to students who are recipients of a ROTC scholarship, which is time limited. For each Fall & Spring cohort, 2 seats are designated for students in the ROTC program. In order to be admitted, these students must still meet the qualification criteria. If a student is granted early admission to the program based on their status in this outstanding academic program, it is the expectation that they continue their enrollment in ROTC for the duration of the nursing program

All students who are qualified or will be qualified by the end of the semester of application can apply to the professional sequence for the next admission semesters. Application cycles are outlined here:

• Fall and Spring Admissions (pre-licensure program): Apply between March 15 & March 30

We do not retain a wait list because qualified students are required to apply for admission during specifically identified application cycles as noted above. Once a cohort (group for a designated start date) is filled, those students who were qualified but were not accepted are invited to apply during the next application cycle. Typically 2-3 students apply for every seat available each cycle, but this can vary every year.

The average wait to enter the program once qualified, is about 2 years. Once again, this can vary for each individual student and by the number of qualified students at any point in time.

All students are notified by letter within 4 weeks of the end of the application cycle. Applicants are categorized as:

• Qualified & admitted to the next cohort
• Qualified, but not admitted due to no space; encouraged to apply again
• Not qualified, with specification as to what information is missing or what criteria is not fulfilled

No, there is never a guarantee because there is no way to predict how many students will apply for any cycle. However, if you are willing to wait and reapply, you are essentially guaranteed an eventual admission. Remember that with each admission cycle you move closer to the top in terms of qualifying semester date, as applicants are not ranked by GPA or a Point system.

No, we require students to resubmit their application materials every cycle so that we can be certain you are still interested in the program. In addition, you may have additional information to include in a subsequent application or the information required for the application may change. Therefore, if you wish to be considered for subsequent application cycles, you must submit a new application packet. For this reason, it is suggested that you always retain a copy of the materials submitted for application so that you have them to refer to if needed.

Keep in mind that there are enough non nursing courses required to fulfill the requirements of the bachelor’s degree to fill two additional semesters if you qualify for the traditional track in two semesters. This means that you can spend an additional academic year completing the non-nursing (general education) courses so that when you enter the nursing sequence, you can focus on just the nursing courses. This is actually the most ideal way to complete the program. If you find that you are still waiting for admission to the nursing program after completing all general education courses designated for the nursing curriculum, you can consider the options outlined in the next Q & A.

Although this is not an ideal scenario, it does happen with the high demand for the program. You have several options. Many students decide to pursue a minor or complete a certificate or take electives in a related area that could enhance their nursing degree. Examples of areas of study include Spanish, gerontology (study of the elderly), business or administration. Finally, there is no requirement for you to take courses if you have completed all the general education courses you need for the degree. You can leave the University for one or more semesters while you wait for entry to the program. Remember that you will need to still apply for admission to the nursing program if you want to be considered for a later cohort and you will also need to complete a reapplication to the University online when you do start classes again.

Another consideration to keep in mind is that it is important to remember that the professional sequence for the traditional track is only two years in length, so if a student spends 2 or 3 years waiting for entry, the entire degree is still 4-5 years in length, which is consistent with the length of most bachelor degrees

No, although the university requires you to re-apply online for re-admission and you will need to submit another application to the nursing program during the appropriate semester. We do encourage you to keep in touch with the website in your absence in case there are any changes made to the requirements or the application process.

A criminal background check will be required to be filed after you are admitted to the professional sequence of the program, and submitted at the same time as other required immunization records. Your admission will be revoked if the background check results show a felony.

If you are transferring from just one institution, the GPA from that college or university is used.  However, if you have also taken courses at Ferris to qualify for the nursing program, your transfer GPA and Ferris GPA will both be considered when determining your GPA for consideration for admission.

If the courses you are transferring in meet the FSU equivalent they will be accepted if they meet the following criteria:

• B- or higher in the math and science courses
• You earn that B- in no more than two attempts in any one of the required Math or Science (Biology or Chemistry) courses.
• Note: Students are only allowed ONE repeated attempt at ONE of the courses noted above, whether those courses are taken at Ferris or another institution prior to your transferring to Ferris. A grade of “W” counts as an “attempt”.

When you send your transcript as part of the application process, your courses will be evaluated as part of that process and the transcript evaluation will be available to you through Ferris360.  If you want to see if a course will transfer to Ferris before taking it at another institution or you want to see how your courses might compare before you apply, you can go to the following site for Transfer Equivalencies.  Click on either Michigan or Other institutions.  Then Click on the institution from the list provided.  The Prefixes for that institution’s courses will appear on the right side, while the entire list of institutions remains on the left side.  Click on the appropriate prefix and scroll down to see how those courses might transfer to Ferris.

All of the lecture and laboratory courses are offered on the Big Rapids Campus, but the clinical courses are scheduled in a variety of health care settings.  

All of the lecture and laboratory courses are offered on the Big Rapids Campus, but the clinical courses are scheduled in a variety of health care settings.

Students in the pre-licensure program are placed at clinical sites in the greater Big Rapids area for the first two semesters.  In the remaining semesters students are typically placed in sites that are usually within a 60 mile radius of Big Rapids, but will vary by course.  Clinical settings include: Mecosta County Medical Center, Spectrum Health in Greenville, Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont or a variety of settings in Grand Rapids, Public Health, Home Care and a variety of other community settings. Students are responsible for their own transportation to the clinical sites.

Please refer to the cost sheet available on the School of Nursing website for program costs. There are special costs for the nursing program that include the cost of uniforms, standardized tests, personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone for required software, lab supplies, and other specialized equipment.

Yes there are a variety of nursing scholarships available, but many of them are limited to amounts of $500 or less, although some are for higher amounts.  There is some information about scholarships available here.  Nursing scholarships are offered by a variety of organizations and usually require the same kind of application, so students can apply for multiple scholarships with the same essay and if desired.  It is important to note that the Michigan Nursing Scholarship which was enacted by legislation in 2002 has been discontinued due to State budget shortfalls.  This is important to note because many nursing students assume that with the publicized nursing shortage, the availability of scholarships is widespread.  At this time that is not the case.

That depends on how much financial aid you accepted for your first degree.  There are limits on the amount of loans or other aid for the attainment of a bachelor’s degree.  If you expended all of your loan or other financial aid limit with your first degree, you will not be eligible for additional financial aid and will need to make other arrangements such as taking out a personal loan.  If you did not exhaust the limit for a bachelor’s degree, you may be eligible for the remainder of the previously established undergraduate loan limit. This is an important detail to consider and we recommend that you consult with the financial aid office to see what your particular situation is in regard to financial aid.

It depends on the severity of your offense and in some cases how long ago it occurred.  You will be required to complete a criminal background check as part of the application process for the nursing program.  If an offense is reported, the School of Nursing will refer to the current guidelines the State of Michigan has provided to use as a way to determine if a student can be placed in a clinical setting.  If the clinical setting will not allow a student to be placed, then the student cannot enter or progress in the program.  If you have a question about your specific situation, you should contact the Michigan Bureau of Health Professions or call (517) 335-0918 so that you can make an informed decision regarding the choice of a career in nursing.