In order to be considered for admission, every applicant MUST meet the following minimum prerequisites.

1.) Satisfactory grade point of at least  2.0 on college level work:  Please note:  Due to competition for admission a higher grade may be necessary to obtain enough points to be admitted.

2.) English:  Must have completed English 101 or a higher level English writing class.  In addition the COMPASS English placement test is required within one year of application to the nursing program for all applicants.

3.) Mathematics: All applicants must have a COMPASS test score on math within one year of application to the nursing program showing achievement of competence above the intermediate algebra level.   A quantitative reasoning course is required for graduation.  See the SCC web site on the General Education core Curriculum http://www.shoreline.edu/catgenedcore.html for more details.

4.) Biology If taking Anatomy & Physiology at Shoreline applicants must have completed a five-credit college level general biology course such as Biology 201. (This course is not required for admission to the Nursing Program).

5.) Inorganic Chemistry Must have completed a five-credit college level inorganic chemistry course such as Chem 101 within the past ten years. (Another college level chemistry course may be substituted for entry level inorganic chemistry.) Chem 101 can be used to meet the college level quantitative reasoning (QR) requirement for graduation from the nursing program. (If used for Q.R. admission points will only be given for QR and the chem will be noted as "Met"- points can only be used once for any course.)  

6) Anatomy and Physiology 10 credits in the last five years. This is met by Bio 210 Anatomy 5 credits and Bio 211 Physiology 5 credits at Shoreline. It can also be met by Anatomy and Physiology I, 5 credits and Anatomy and Physiology II, 5 credits taught at other community colleges.

Because there are always more applicants than spaces, you would not be admitted if you only met the minimum requirements. A selective admission process composed of a point system is used to select each class from among those who meet the minimum requirements (see description in the on-line Nursing Brochure).  Minimum points required for admission during 2006-2007 admissions were aprox 115.

Students can expect to spend one year meeting the pre-requisites and non-nursing course requirements before entering the Nursing Program itself.

Yes, many non-nursing courses will transfer. Compare the course description from your college with the course description for Shoreline. You may check our online catalog. Shoreline Catalog

If your courses were in semester hours, 1 semester hours equals 1.5 quarter hours for calculating equivalency. A list of known course equivalencies from Washington Community Colleges and four-year colleges is located under the "Course Equivalents" button at the top of this web page You may submit a request for unofficial transcript evaluation by completing a Transfer Credit Evaluation request form attaching unofficial transcripts and course descriptions for courses about which you have questions, or courses from schools not listed on the equivalent page.  Transcript evaluations may take 4-6 weeks to complete and must be completed BEFORE the application deadline in order for the courses to be included in the point calculation.

Courses in Washington Colleges that have previously been approved for transfer are found by selecting the "Course Equivalents" button at the top of the web page.

Any student may prepare for nursing admission through meeting the minimum requirements for admission outlined above and taking additional non-nursing courses that will provide points for the selective admission process. The following steps are recommended.

1.)  You may take any required non-nursing course at an accredited college that offers a course that is approved to be the equivalent in credits and course content to the one taught at Shoreline (See transcript evaluation procedure). Taking courses at Shoreline is encouraged because you know that your courses meet the requirements.

2.) Take the COMPASS Test to determine placement if you have not completed college level English and Mathematics courses.

3.) Take any remedial English and/or mathematics courses needed, as determined by COMPASS.

4.) Take inorganic chemistry (Chem 101).

5.)  Take general biology (BioSc 201) (If you will be taking BioSc210, 211 or 215 at Shoreline).

6.) Take any of the other non-nursing courses required for graduation from the Program that provide points toward admission. Start with English 101 and Anatomy and Physiology (must be completed within five years of application). These courses may be taken at SCC, or equivalent courses may be taken at any other community college or university and transferred to SCC when you apply. 

Because of the rigors of the Program and the competition for admission, applicants are encouraged to complete the non-nursing courses prior to starting Nursing. The required timeframe for completion is found in the Nursing Program Brochure.  Courses that state "From approved list" are general education requirements for the college. That list is found under General Education Core Requirements in each quarterly time schedule and on the college web site General Education Requirements

7.) Review your employment/volunteer history, and determine if your application would be improved through volunteer work or employment that provides points toward admission.

8) "Health Care Provider"  or "CPR for the Professional Rescuer" --provides points for admission and is a more extensive class than the regular "Heart Saver" provided by fire stations. You can take PE 191 on the Shoreline campus, call the American Heart Association of Washington, the Red Cross or other first aid providers to see if they offer this class. The American Heart Association uses the term "Health Care Provider CPR", Red Cross uses the term "CPR for the Health Care Professional" and the National Safety Council uses the term "CPR for the Professional Rescuer". Any of these are acceptable. 

Each completed pre-requisite course and each completed non-nursing course that is part of the nursing program graduation requirements provides points based on the grade received. A minimum C is required and is given the lowest number of points.  The grade of  B receives more points and an A the highest number of points. 

Practical preparation points are awarded for having a current first aid card and for having a Health Care Provider CPR card (sometimes called CPR for the Professional Rescuer).

Practical preparation points are also awarded for job experience based on the type of job, having worked a minimum number of hours, and supported by a letter of recommendation from your supervisor or manager and for volunteer in health care experience.  Click here for a complete description of the point system.

Most individuals take courses for three or more quarters in order to have enough courses completed to have the points needed to be admitted. Part of this depends upon whether or not you have the necessary foundational courses in math and English.

The exact number of points varies from quarter to quarter depending upon the qualifications of the individuals applying that quarter.  For the most recent quarters, the lowest points for admission was 111.

1.) If you have not attended Shoreline previously, apply for admission to the college by calling 206-546-4621 and requesting an application for admission to the college. Complete and return this form to the College admissions office. You may apply online at http://www.shoreline.edu  After you apply you will be assigned a Shoreline Student Number. You must have a Shoreline Student Number in order to open the online nursing application. 

2.) Check the Nursing Program web site for the online application.

 3) Fill out the form carefully.   You will need to print out the forms to take to your employment and volunteer supervisors. You will also need to print out and sign part of the form to send in along with your application fee.

4.) Provide a separate set of "official" transcripts for all college work taken elsewhere to EACH of the following departments:  Mail one set to:
   a.  Office of Admissions and Registration
        Shoreline Community College
        16101 Greenwood Ave. N.
        Seattle, 98133
(If you are already a student at Shoreline you should have had this one sent when you first started at Shoreline.)
              and
    b. SUBMIT one set (in the sealed envelopes)  with your nursing application materials to the nursing office. 
            

Yes. You may reapply for another quarter by completing and filing another application packet. All materials received for an application are kept on file for two years. If you are reapplying, you need only provide a new application form (Form A & B), transcripts showing additional courses taken since the last transcript was sent, any updated information you wish for us to consider, and the fee. A new employer recommendation is not needed. However, if you have changed your employment, you might want to submit a new employer form.

a. Alter plans or change approach to meet the needs of clients.

b. Meet verbal expressions of anger or distress on the part of clients with a calm, problem-solving approach.

c. Express concern for the well-being of others during times of stress.

d. Maintain composure when stressful events occur

e. Each student must provide evidence of tuberculin testing done within two months prior to beginning client care and annually thereafter. The initial test must have been a "2-step" test with annual testes documented thereafter.

f. Each student must provide information relative to immunizations. Hepatitis B immunizations (all 3 injections in the series) are required. Information about these will be provided at the time of acceptance. These must be done at the student’s own expense. Rubella (measles ), mumps, chicken pox (Vartcella), tetanus and diptheria immunization or evidence of immunity (positive antibody titer) is required.  Influenza immunizations for the adult are strongly recommended.

g. Health insurance will be required of all students. The college does not sell Health Insurance.

h. Nursing student uniforms and name pins are required in the clinical area and are available for purchase through a designated company. Only the Shoreline Nursing student uniform is acceptable. Ordering information is provided at the time of acceptance.

i. Each student is required by the clinical agencies to complete a Criminal Background check in accordance with Child/Adult Abuse Prevention Act RCW 43.43.830-43.43.845. A student who is not cleared by this check is not allowed by law to have unsupervised contact with vulnerable children or elders in the clinical setting, and therefore will be unable to satisfactorily complete the clinical portion of the program. xxx

j.Each student must submit documentation of having completed a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) course designed for health care providers and that includes child, infant, and adult CPR and two-rescuer CPR plus foreign body extraction and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) before beginning clinical practice.

The Washington Nursing Commission is responsible for legal licensure as a registered nurse. Part of the application for licensure is a series of questions regarding health problems and criminal background. If you answer "Yes" to any of these questions, you will be required to provide the Nursing Commission with complete details in order for them to determine whether this background is a barrier to your practicing as a registered nurse. The complete text of these questions is available from the Washington Nursing Commission.

You will need to have both a translation of your educational documents and an evaluation of them that indicates the approximate U.S. courses, grades, and credits that would be comparable. 

The International Program Adviser Lisa Hirayama 546-4508  will assist you in determining how to do this and in advising you in regard to your educational planning.

In general, nursing or medical courses from other countries cannot be used to substitute for Nursing courses at Shoreline. Some other courses may be acceptable.

Since 1969 the Shoreline Nursing Program has met the standards for national accreditation. This accreditation is awarded by the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission based on national standards. These standards are designed to examine a program to determine whether it is providing a high quality of nursing education. Further information on accreditation may be obtained by contacting the NLNAC at 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10009, phone 1-212-363-5555.

You may read and download the brochure from the Nursing Program Brochure PDF file as a PDF file link.  Copies are provided at all information meetings.

Moving on to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing after attending the Shoreline Nursing Program is a smooth process.  Programs providing bachelor's degree education for registered nurses are commonly referred to as RN-B programs.  These programs are available at most of  the universities in this state that have nursing departments.  Each program has its own specific requirements.  There are also programs providing for Associate Degree to Master's Degree progression for those with bachelor's degrees in another field as well as the A.D. in nursing.

For links to specific RN-B and AD to Master's programs: 

A.D. to B.S.N. Info

AD-BSN 4-Year Interface with the UW Bothell  

Please contact our Financial Aid Office at 206-546-4762.  There are federal loan and grant programs and some scholarships. You may also want to check out the web sites below.

http://www.fedmoney.org/      http://fastweb.monster.com/

17.  What are the differences in the employment responsibilities and salaries for a registered nurse (RN) and licensed practical nurse (LPN)?

The following link will provide information about job descriptions, requirements, salaries, and training programs for Health Career Jobs in Western Washington   http://www.users.qwest.net/~wwahec/WWAHEC_career_job_descriptions.htm

For information regarding: 
Courses required within the Nursing Program
Program Requirements

For information on the Shoreline Community College
Association of Nursing Students (the Nursing Club on campus) SCCANS.

This site has links to many health related sites that provide
references for writing papers, general interest, and fun!

For information on nursing in Washington see the Washington Center for Nursing site
http://www.wacenterfornursing.org/

To return to Shoreline Community College Home Page
Home Page

This site was last updated: 07/30/08