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Nursing students in lab instruction.

Application Process

  1. Credit students must apply for admission to AACC, identify Health and Human Services as their Field of Interest and select Practical Nursing (certificate). The general college application process is further detailed on the credit application page.
  2. To apply to the Practical Nursing program, you must submit a completed Practical Nursing (PN) program application once it is available but before the application deadline. The Practical Nursing program application can be found on the Health Sciences Applicants page. Program application is available in October with an application deadline of Jan. 30.* The program begins every summer term starting at the end of May.
  3. You can apply to the program only after meeting all academic and admission criteria. Know your program's requirements and follow directions carefully. See the Admission and Academic Requirements below.
  4. The application will be reviewed and you will receive an email to your AACC student email account indicating the status of your application.
  5. Incomplete applications are not considered and will not be processed. You will be notified by your AACC email if required application information was not submitted.
  6. Email your application to healthsciencesadmissions@aacc.edu. You may also mail your application to:

    Anne Arundel Community College
    ATTN: School of Health Sciences Admissions, HLSB 174
    101 College Parkway
    Arnold, MD 21012

*If the application deadline falls on a weekend, applications will be accepted until the close of business on the next business day.

ADVISING

Before you meet with a Health Sciences academic advisor, apply to AACC and submit official transcripts from prior academic institutions.

If you plan to transfer general education requirements, have your official transcripts sent directly to the college's records and registration office. The official transcripts from all previously attended institutions of higher education must be submitted.


Admission and Academic Requirements

Information Session

Attendance at an information session is highly recommended prior to submitting the Practical Nursing program application. Call 410-777-7310 for dates, times and locations, or view the schedule on AACC's online calendar.

  • There is no cost to attend.
  • We offer in-person and virtual sessions.
  • Detailed information regarding program, profession, admission and academic requirements, and selection criteria will be discussed.

English

You must demonstrate eligibility for ENG-101/ENG-101A. There are a number of ways this can be done:

  • Qualifying SAT/ACT scores
  • Appropriate score on the English placement test
  • Unweighted high school GPA (if you graduated in the last five years)
  • Successful completion of developmental courses, if applicable
  • Transfer of credits for ENG-101
  • Appropriate score on an AP exam
  • Appropriate score on a CLEP test
  • Appropriate score on GED test

See an academic advisor for information, or visit our Determine Placement page.

Mathematics

You must demonstrate eligibility for general education mathematics. There are a number of ways this can be done:

  • Qualifying SAT/ACT scores
  • Appropriate score on the mathematics placement test
  • Unweighted high school GPA plus coursework (if you graduated in the last five years)
  • Successful completion of developmental courses, if applicable
  • Transfer of credits for a MAT-137 (College Algebra) course
  • Appropriate score on an AP exam
  • Appropriate score on a CLEP test

 For information see an academic advisor or visit our Determine Placement page.

Test of Essential Academic Skills (ATI TEAS)

  • Total score of proficient (58.7%) or higher will be accepted. Students must demonstrate proficiency in reading, mathematics, science, English and language usage by scoring a total score of proficient (58.7%) or higher on this test. Scores are not rounded.
  • Approved remote TEAS testing will be accepted.
  • Students must take the test and achieve proficient score by the application deadline. ATI TEAS must be taken within two years of the date of application submission. There is no limit on the number of attempts to score proficient or better.

You will be asked on the application to provide the number of attempts and overall score on the TEAS.

To register for the TEAS test, visit the ATI website. You are required to send the official TEAS transcript to Anne Arundel Community College via your student ATI account. Review instructions on the ATI website.

Chemistry

You must present evidence of successful completion with a grade of C or better in a chemistry course by the application deadline as demonstrated by one of the following:

  • U.S. high school general chemistry (1 credit)*

OR

  • Noncredit (CHE-011) or credit chemistry (CHE-111 or CHE-103)

Note: CHE-011, CHE-111 or CHE-103 courses are eligible for the Health Manpower Shortage Tuition Waiver.

OR

  • Transfer of credits for a credit chemistry course from a regionally accredited institution.*

*If your chemistry course was taken in high school or another college, an official transcript will be required.

If home-schooled, the high school curriculum must be under a recognized umbrella organization with the supervision of a state-approved curriculum. AACC may require a course syllabus so our Chemistry department chair can review and approve the curriculum.

High School or Previous College Coursework

Before you submit your application, you must have your high school transcripts or GED® equivalency transcripts submitted electronically to AACC's records and registration office by the application deadline. A copy of a high school or GED® diploma will not be accepted.

OR

Submit official college transcript verifying completion of 27 credits or more with a grade of C or better from a nationally recognized institution. An official transcript is required if course evaluation and transfer is required.

Note: A transcript/equivalency certificate is considered official when enclosed in a sealed envelope from the institution or sent electronically by the sending institution. It must also include a graduation/completion date and a school official’s signature. Your application will not be considered complete if the required documentation is not received prior to or at the time your application is submitted.

 

 

Prerequisites

For selection, all prerequisite course work must be completed by the application deadline. Prerequisite grades must be a C or better. Due to the selection process, the program cannot accept pass-fail as a replacement for letter grades in required courses.

  • PSY-111 (Introduction to Psychology): 3 credit hours
  • MAT (general education math): 3 credit hours
  • *BIO-231 (Human Biology 1): 4 credit hours AND
    *BIO-232 (Human Biology 2): 4 credit hours
    OR
    #*BIO-233 (Anatomy and Physiology 1): 4 credit hours AND
    *BIO-234 (Anatomy and Physiology 2): 4 credit hours

#Fundamentals of Biology (BIO-101) is a college prerequisite for BIO-233. Therefore, it will take three terms to complete this science sequence. BIO-101 must be successfully completed prior to submitting your program application, if choosing to take BIO-233 and 234. BIO-101 is not part of the curriculum, therefore if you transferred in BIO-233/234 it is not required.

* Recommend completion within the past five years. You will find course descriptions in the AACC College Catalog for the listed program prerequisites.

Satisfactory Academic Standing

You must have a minimum adjusted grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 at this college to be considered for selection to the Practical Nursing program.

College Credit Transfer

If you have taken program prerequisites or other general education courses at a nationally recognized institution other than AACC, you must submit official transcripts with your application for review.

Learn more about transfer credit.

Note: A transcript/equivalency certificate is considered official when enclosed in a sealed envelope from the institution or sent electronically by the sending institution. It must also include a graduation/completion date, if applicable, and a school official’s signature. Your application will not be considered complete if the required documentation is not received prior to or at the time your application is submitted.

Foreign Education and International Students

Foreign educated students must have their college and high school transcripts evaluated by one of the following credential evaluators:

Foreign educated students must successfully pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a minimum score of 550 (213 is the equivalent computer score and 79 is the equivalent internet-based score) OR must have completed the ENG-101 or ENG-101A and ENG-102 course sequence with grades of C or better prior to applying to the program. If you need to fulfill this requirement, we recommend that you take the TOEFL test as soon as possible, as this requirement can take time to complete. You must have your official score report sent directly to Anne Arundel Community College.  Anne Arundel Community College’s code for TOEFL is 5019.

If you are an international student, there may be additional requirements for you. Visit our international student pages to learn more about visa status and other information.

Note: If you do not have a Social Security number, you may not be permitted at some clinical rotation sites and site availability could delay or inhibit your progression in the program. An international student admission specialist in AACC's Admissions and Enrollment Development office may be able to assist students with F-1 visa status to obtain a Social Security number through practical training. Call them at 410-777-2677.


Required Courses

The required courses for this program may be found in the Loading.... A grade of C or better is required in each prerequisite, Practical Nursing and general education course.

Due to the selection process, the program cannot accept pass-fail as a replacement for letter grades in the required courses.

All students must receive a minimum grade of C (75%) in each practical nursing course and a mark of satisfactory in the clinical laboratory.


Selection Process

The criteria used to select the conditional acceptance candidates will be applied in the following order:

  • Applications must be submitted by application deadline date.
  • You are eligible for selection if you have completed all the admissions and academic requirements by the application deadline.
  • Selections will be made according to the criteria listed in the Admission/Academic Requirements above.
  • Students with the highest selected GPA of all prerequisites to include advanced placement scores and transfer grades. If a prerequisite course is repeated, the most recent grade is used in calculating GPA.
  • Students who attain the highest overall adjusted GPA at AACC including transfer grades.
  • Students who have the longest continuous enrollment at this college. Students who have completed all required coursework and are not currently taking classes will be considered as having continuous enrollment.
  • Final acceptance is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal background check, urine drug screen, satisfactory completion of a health examination record and CPR. In the event that applicants are not selected and wish to be considered for the next class, they must submit a new application. A new application will void all prior applications and ranking.
  • Selected applicants will have their selection packet for conditional acceptance emailed to their AACC email address.

Conditional Acceptance

Applicants who have met the academic and admission requirements and have been selected into the program are given conditional acceptance. If you are granted conditional acceptance, you must attend a mandatory meeting. You must submit a completed health examination record, urine drug screen and criminal background check. You must also submit verification of current American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR certification by a designated deadline. Students who do not meet this deadline will not be further considered for admission and the next person on the list will be contacted. Instructions on how to complete these items will be enclosed in the selection packet and are not to be done until instructed to do so.

  • Qualified applicants not initially selected for conditional acceptance will be placed on a waitlist in order received and notified of selection when a seat becomes available. Waitlist applicants not given a seat for the term in which they applied must reapply for future consideration.
  • Conditionally accepted and waitlist candidates must attend a mandatory meeting on a designated date. Candidates not attending this meeting will lose their seat in the class.
  • Applicants who are offered a seat and wish to decline must reapply if interested in a future seat as seats will not be held.
  • Final acceptance into the program shall be contingent upon satisfactory completion and submission of a health examination record, urine drug screen, criminal background check, current CPR certification card and attendance at the mandatory meeting.

Health Examination Record

Students conditionally accepted to this program must submit a health examination record completed by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant validating that the student meets the technical standard of good physical and mental health as established by the School of Health Sciences, and verifying that the student is free of communicable diseases as evidenced by required immunizations/titers.

Learn more about the health examination record to include vaccinations and technical standards.

Criminal Background Check and Drug Screening

All Health Sciences students who are offered conditional acceptance and/or clinical placement into the Practical Nursing program must satisfactorily complete a criminal background check and a urine drug screening. For complete details, see the Background Checks page.

CPR

Students must successfully complete the American Heart Association Basic Life Support CPR certification course by the designated deadline.

Anne Arundel Community College and/or the School of Health Sciences reserves the right to revise requirements for admission into the Health Sciences programs, the selection criteria and procedures, and the required courses for programs of study as deemed necessary without prior notification.