<Admission>

Admission

Admission Procedure

All applicants to the School of Nursing, including candidates beyond high school, apply for admission through the School's admissions office using the Application for Admissions form developed by The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing in affiliation with Clarion University of Pennsylvania. See Concurrent College Courses below to obtain an application form.

Inquiries regarding applications and admission policies should be directed to:

Admissions Office
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital
School of Nursing
4900 Friendship Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Call toll-free: 1-877-33NURSE
E-mail: sonadmissions@wpahs.org

Applications from high school students should be sent during the second semester of the junior year or the first semester of the senior year.

Applications are processed after all requirements for application and a $50 non-refundable fee have been received. In order to be considered for the incoming class, all required information (application, official transcripts, and references) must be submitted by April 15 of the year of desired admission. All applications received after that date will be held for consideration as space permits.

An applicant who meets all established admission criteria and the deadline may be interviewed.

Acceptance into the School of Nursing is based on academic, personal and health requirements, as well as availability of class openings.

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Academic Requirements

Graduation from an approved high school, including successful completion of:

Course	Units

English	4

Science (one course must be chemistry; both courses must include a laboratory)	2

Social Studies	3

Mathematics (one course must be algebra)	2

Electives (preferably academic courses)	5

Minimum SAT scores Prior to April 1, 1995:
Total	Verbal	Math
800	350	350
After April 1, 1995:
Total	Critical Reading (Verbal)*	Math
920	430	400
*Excludes writing

Applicants who do not have SAT scores or have SAT scores that are over 5 years old should validate academic ability by completing courses in a school of higher education. The School prefers that the applicant has completed 12 credit hours of post-secondary education with at least one science course with a laboratory component and achieve a QPA of 2.5 or higher.

Applicants who completed a high school GED 5 years or longer before applying to the School must demonstrate successful completion of college courses. Completion of science courses is preferred.

Clarion University requires an SAT/ACT score for applicants who graduated less than 3 years ago and have not attended a college. For applicants who have attended college, Clarion University requires a cumulative QPA of 2.0 or higher.

Official transcripts of courses taken at any school after high school must be sent to the School of Nursing.

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Personal Requirements

Applicants:

Must be citizens of the United States or have Permanent Resident status with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) may be required. Contact the School of Nursing for preferred scores.
Must send a minimum of two (2) personal references from individuals other than relatives to the School of Nursing, preferably from a recent school and/or employment experience. To speed your application process, please go to the link below and print out at least (2) copies of the form. One form is needed for each of at least (2) references. If you cannot or choose not to print the form from the link below, the School will send you copies of the form upon receipt of your application and fee.
Must schedule a personal interview with a School representative after all admission information has been received.

Click to download Reference Form

Accepted applicants:

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Health Requirements

Nursing students perform client care activities that require cognitive, sensory, affective and psychomotor abilities. Therefore, the following health examinations are required prior to enrollment:

complete physical examination
hepatitis B titre (immunization required for negative titre)
varicella titre (vaccination required for negative titre);
rubella titre (vaccination required for negative titre)
rubeola titre (vaccination required for negative titre)
Mantoux (PPD) tuberculin test
chest x-ray, only if Mantoux tuberculin test is positive
additional diagnostic studies as indicated

On each accepted applicant, a urine screening test for illegal drugs will be performed by the School. Any follow-up testing expense for a positive result will be charged to the applicant. Continuation in the program is contingent upon results of the follow-up testing.

After enrollment, students are encouraged to receive the hepatitis B vaccine series "at cost" through the Hospital Employee Health Services. A declination form must be signed if the student does not wish to receive the vaccine.

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Enrollment

Enrollment is contingent upon successfully meeting academic (high school and post-secondary), personal, and health requirements.
To confirm enrollment, a $95 non-refundable fee by check or money order must be sent to The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing within the specified time frame.
A Pre-registration Program is held each July to assist with the enrollment process.

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Concurrent College Courses

In addition to completing the application process for The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing, admission to Clarion University of Pennsylvania is required for students taking concurrent college courses.

A joint application for admission to The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing and Clarion University of Pennsylvania must be submitted to the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing. The application may be requested from the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing (1-877-33NURSE, sonadmissions@wpahs.org) or downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format by clicking on the icon below (if you do not have the free program Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, please download this program for free from www.adobe.com).

Click to download Application form in PDF format

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Opportunity for a Concurrent Award by Clarion University

Associate of Science Degree in Allied Health
It is now possible to graduate with a Diploma in Nursing from The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing (WPH SON) and an Associate of Science Degree in Allied Health from Clarion University.

The following must occur for this opportunity to be realized:

Graduate with a Diploma from WPH SON.
Successfully complete a total of 30 college credit hours from Clarion University.

If you are interested or want further information and/or clarification, please contact Clarion University, Pittsburgh site, at (412) 578-5239.

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Advanced Standing

Applicants for College Course Credit
Applicants may request advanced standing credit for one or more required college courses. A request must be made in writing on the appropriate School form.

All science courses, including Nutrition and Computer courses, must have been completed within 5 years. If an applicant successfully completed a college-accredited computer course (3 credits) beyond the 5-year limitation but can validate current computer skills, individual consideration will be given for advanced standing. The Ethics course must have been completed within the past 10 years. English, Logic, Psychology, and Sociology courses have no time limitations.

Applicants must achieve a grade of "C" or above in each college course for which advanced standing is requested.

To receive advanced standing credit, all physical and biological science courses must have a laboratory component. If Microbiology or Anatomy & Physiology I or II have had to be repeated more than once, no advanced standing will be granted and the course must be taken with the curriculum plan.

Applicants must authorize each college and university where courses were taken to send official transcripts to the School of Nursing. Course descriptions are also required, if requested by the School of Nursing, in order to validate course content. The course descriptions form the basis for the decision regarding advanced standing. Applicants will be enrolled provisionally in the program, pending receipt of the official transcript.

Subject knowledge of selected college courses in the School of Nursing's curriculum can also be validated if subject knowledge is tested by selected standardized tests. These tests include:

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) English Composition, General Psychology, and/ or Introduction to Sociology with achievement of a minimum score of 50 in English Composition, General Psychology, and Introduction to Sociology.
Advanced Placement Examinations for High School English Composition with achievement of a minimum score of 4.

Professional Nursing Student Transfer Applicants
Applications for transfer will only be accepted from schools accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Transfer will be considered only after application to the School is submitted with the required fee.

Applicants may be admitted with advanced standing if there are available class openings. They must also meet the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing's academic, personal, and health requirements.

Applicants must authorize the school of professional nursing to send course descriptions (including clinical objectives) and an official transcript that includes clinical grades to The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing. Nursing courses must be taken preferably within the last 2 years.

Applicants must have achieved an equivalent theory grade of "C" or above and a "satisfactory" clinical grade in each nursing course for which advanced standing is requested. Nursing course outline(s) must be provided and will be evaluated individually. Placement depends upon how advanced standing credits correlate with the School of Nursing curriculum plan.

The last five (5) terms must be completed at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing to qualify for a diploma.

An orientation to the School of Nursing will be required.

Licensed Practical Nursing School Applicants
Applicants must authorize the school of practical nursing to send an official transcript that includes clinical grades and must provide evidence of LPN licensure to The Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing. They must also meet the West Penn Hospital School of Nursing's academic, personal, and health requirements.

Individuals who have graduated from an approved practical nursing program within the past one (1) calendar year and who have successfully passed the NCLEX-PN may apply to challenge Foundations for Nursing I.

A graduate from an approved practical nursing program who has successfully completed the NCLEX-PN and has recent work experience in an acute or extended care facility in a patient care giver role other than as an LPN may apply to challenge Foundations for Nursing I.

A graduate from an approved practical nursing program who has recent work experience as a licensed practical nurse may apply to challenge Foundations for Nursing I and II.

To successfully challenge Foundations for Nursing I or II, a decision score of 65% or higher must be achieved on the NLN Accelerated Challenge Exam (ACE 1) PN to RN (Foundations).

In addition, 8 hours of supervised clinical experience is given to evaluate clinical proficiency according to objectives for each challenged course (Foundations for Nursing I and II). A fee of $200 is assessed for each course challenged.

An orientation to the School of Nursing will be required (see School Calendar).

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