The Admission Requirements for the College of DuPage Nursing Program

The associate's degree in nursing (ADN) is a two-year program and the minimum amount of study required to become licensed as a registered nurse (RN). Many community colleges and vocational schools across the county offer the ADN program, including the College of DuPage, a community college in DuPage County, Illinois. There are several admission requirements for the College of DuPage nursing program, including two applications and an admission assessment exam.

General Admission Criteria

All prospective students must attend an Associate Degree Nursing advising session within a 12-month period prior to the application deadline. The Admissions Events Calendar on the College of DuPage website lists all upcoming advising sessions and lets you search by date, event category and location. You must take a photo ID to the session, which lasts for 90 minutes.

General admissions application

If you are not already enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the College of DuPage, you must complete the College of DuPage General Admissions Application online and pay the non-refundable $20 fee by credit or debit card. You must also submit all official transcripts from schools and colleges you have already attended. This ensures that all of your eligible credits are taken into account when your application is being considered. However, you do not need to request official transcripts if the College of DuPage is the only institution where you have studied.

Transcripts must be sent to the Office of Student Records at College of DuPage. To check if they have been received, log in to your myACCESS account and click on "myACCESS for Students." Then, click on "My Profile" to view the receipt status of your transcripts under "Transcript Institutions."

The College of DuPage myACCESS service gives students access to the college's information services.

COD Nursing Program Admission Criteria

After you have applied for general admission to the College of DuPage, you must also apply to the Associate Degree Nursing Program. Complete the Health Sciences Limited Enrollment Program Application online and pay the non-refundable $50 fee by credit or debit card. Select your start date, i.e., "Fall 2019" from the drop-down box. Under "What Health Sciences Limited Enrollment program are you applying to?" select "Associate Degree Nursing Degree" from the drop-down box.

Priority admission policy

Priority admission for the COD nursing program is given to in-district residents (residents of District 502) who meet the minimum acceptance criteria for the program. Next, out-of-district applicants who work full-time in-district (and can provide proof of that employment each semester) are given priority over out-of-district applicants, students with a cooperative agreement and international students.

Proof of residency

Students who live within Community College District 502 for at least 30 days before the Health Science program application deadline date are classified as in-district residents of the College of DuPage district. If you're not sure if you live in District 502, visit cod.edu/residency/ for clarification.

To verify your in-district resident status, you must complete the College of DuPage Residency Verification form and provide two proofs of residency to the Office of Student Registration Services, Student Services Center Room 2221 by the program application deadline date. You can also submit the documents by fax at (630) 942-2878 or e-mail at [email protected]. You will not be considered for admission if you skip this part of the process.

One proof of residency must be either a valid driver’s license or state I.D. card with a current address. Acceptable documents for the second proof of residency include a current signed lease, a real estate closing packet, a bank statement, a current insurance policy and a utility bill. Your name, address and a current date must be printed on each document.

Academic Coursework Requirements

To qualify for the College of DuPage ADN program, you need to have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher.

You must have a grade of C or higher in College Chemistry 1211, 1212, 1551, 1552 or 2552; a grade of C or higher in Anatomy & Physiology 1551/1571 and 1552/1572 or equivalent; a grade of C or higher in Psych 1100 or equivalent, and a grade of C or higher in Math 1102. If you plan to continue your education for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), it’s recommended to complete an approved statistics course, such as Math 1635 or Psych 2280.

Admission Assessment Exam

All applicants must take the Elsevier/Evolve Admission Assessment HESI (A2) exam, which assesses basic learning skills. The fee for the exam is $60. As well as several academic sections (Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, Math, Anatomy and Physiology, Learning Style and Critical Thinking), it includes a personality profile, which uses concepts related to introversion and extroversion to classify your personality style.

You take the exam by appointment at the Glen Ellyn Testing Center, which is in the Berg Instructional Center (BIC), Room 2A06. You have four hours to complete the exam online. The test can be taken once every two months and no more than three times during one calendar year. Your score is valid for two years from the date you took the exam.

To prepare for the exam, get a copy of the Admission Assessment Exam Review, 4th Edition, which offers content review and nearly 400 practice questions on the topics typically found on admission exams. Students are advised to focus on math, reading, vocabulary, anatomy and physiology.

To meet admission requirements for the ADN program, you must achieve a cumulative score of 75 percent on the exam, plus achieve 75 percent in each of the following sections: Vocabulary, Math, Reading and Anatomy and Physiology.

If your Verbal or Reading Comprehension score was less than 80 percent, the college recommends that you consider taking READ-0471 Study Skills Seminar or HLTHS 1110 Medical Terminology, or go to the College of DuPage Learning Commons for help with your reading comprehension, math and verbal skills.

Nursing Assistant Certification

To be accepted onto the College of DuPage ADN program, you must also complete an approved Illinois Department of Public Health Certified Nursing Assistant Program. You must submit proof of your certification, for example by providing details of your registration on the IDPH Healthcare Worker registry. Alternatively, you can submit a transcript or certificate proving you completed a Certified Nursing Assistant program. Enter your zip code on the Nurse Aide Testing website for details of approved programs in your area.

Help With Your Application

As you can see, the application to the College of DuPage ADN program involves several steps. A Health Sciences program advisor can help you with all aspects of the process, including reviewing your transcripts. To schedule an appointment, email [email protected] or call 630-942-2259.

Additional requirements apply to transfer students. Contact Dr. Janice Miller by email at [email protected] to schedule an appointment for an individual advising session before the application deadline.

Application Timeline

You must submit your College of DuPage nursing application, together with all required supporting documents and transcripts, before the deadline, which is available on the school’s official website. The deadline for fall 2019 admission is 5 p.m. on April 18, 2019.

You should receive a letter with a decision on your application within four to six weeks of your application. You are not officially accepted into the ADN program until you have received a letter from the Nursing Department. If you are officially accepted into the program, you have to pay a nonrefundable $100 Health Deposit with the Cashier's Office.