Nursing Intake Process

How to Apply to the Nursing A.A.S. Degree Program

The Nursing program is one of four select degree programs in the College’s Allied Health department. The programs in this department can accept only a limited number of students each year.

As part of the application, students must (1) meet a minimum GPA requirement of 2.75, (2) have no grades of “D” or “F” and no withdrawals on your academic record in the past two years (admission points will be deducted for withdrawals and grades of “D” or “F,” (3) successfully complete prerequisite courses.” Meeting the minimum GPA requirement does not guarantee admission into the Nursing program.

Students will be assigned a Kaplan preadmission testing date after submitting an application .

Students are only allowed to submit one application to ONE program in the Allied Health department at a time.

Application Deadlines

Application deadlines for the Nursing program are as follows:

Traditional Option

• Priority application deadline: Oct. 31, Kaplan test due Nov. 23, notification by Dec. 22, 
• Application deadline: Jan. 31, Kaplan test due Mar. 3,  notification by Apr. 7, 
• Class start date: Sept. 

Advanced Placement Option

• Application deadline: May 31, notification by June 30, 
• Class start date: Sept. 

Post Baccalaureate Option

• Priority application deadline: Aug. 31, test by Sept. 15, notification by Oct. 13, 
• Application deadline: Nov. 17,  Kaplan test due December 15, 
• Class start date: May 13, 

Students must be 18 years of age on or before September 1 to participate in the Nursing courses.

Minimum GPA Requirement

The minimum acceptable GPA for consideration is 2.75. Admission is competitive, so the higher your GPA, the better. Aim to get “A” and “B” grades in all courses.

You must have no grades of “D” or “F” and no withdrawals on your academic record in the past two years. Complete every course you take with an “A” or “B.” Apply for academic or time amnesty if you have “D” or “F” grades or withdrawals on your record. Please see if you qualify for Amnesty.

Prerequisites

Students must submit an official transcript with their application. Before applying to the Nursing program, students must:

Traditional Option

• Successfully complete*:
  • High school Biology or its equivalent (Biology 106)
  • High school Chemistry or Chem 110
• Be placed in English 101 and FNMT 118 (intermediate algebra) or higher

Advanced Placement Option

• Successfully complete*:
  • High school Biology or its equivalent (Biology 106) and Biology 109
  • Nutrition 111
  • English 101
  • Chemistry 110
  • Math 118
• Transfer students must provide a college transcript showing one year clinical experience, course descriptions and a reference letter
• LPNs must provide a current active LPN license and an LPN transcript
• Veterans must provide evidence of honorable discharge indicating training/service as a medic/corpsman

Post Baccalaureate Option

• Successfully complete*
  • high school Biology or its equivalent (Biology 106)
  • high school Chemistry or Chem 110
  • English 101
  • Math 118
• Preference will be given to those who have successfully completed* Biology 109, Biology 110, Biology 241 and Nutrition 111

*These courses must have been taken less than ten (10) years ago with grade of “A,” “B” or “C,” or be completed, and recorded on your Community College of Philadelphia transcript by January 31, 2023.

To submit your Nursing application, please login to MyCCP and click on the Student tab. Under Electronic Forms, please click the Allied Health/Nursing link to complete the application. If you have questions, please email selectprogram [at] ccp.edu (selectprogram[at]ccp[dot]edu).

Admissions Criteria 

1. All applicants must meet the prerequisite requirements and take the Kaplan Pre-Admission Test (KPT).

Applicants will then be divided into Admission Category groups (A, B, C or D) based on their academic background:

• Group A: applicants who have earned 12 or more CCP college-level credits, including at least one science course;  
• Group B: applicants who are high school seniors or graduated within 12 months of application; 
• Group C: applicants who have other college experience and earned 12 or more college-level credits, including at least one science course; 
• Group D: applicants with a bachelor’s degree or higher

2. Applicants credentials will be measured using a point system.

Group A & C

Group B

• Students who attend a ranked high school and are in the top third of their class receive 4 points
• Students attend an unranked high school and have an average of "A," "B" and "C" grades in college prep courses will receive point values of 4, 3 and 2, respectively. 
• Students with No withdrawals, "D" or "F" grades on their transcript, students with 1 withdrawal, "D" or "F," and students with multiple withdrawals, "Ds" or "Fs" will receive 2, 1, and 0 points respectively.

Group D

Kaplan Pre-Admission Test

The Kaplan Pre-Admission exam is a timed exam which takes 1.5-3 hours to complete. The Nursing program requires a composite score of 70. Reading, Writing and Math sections make up the composite score, however, science can be a deciding factor when applications go to the program directors. You must complete all portions of the Kaplan exam, including the tutorial questions. All sections should be taken seriously.

You must check your MyCCP email for testing dates. You can also download the MyCCP app to get push notifications.

The results you receive at the end of the test is Overall Correct, not your Kaplan Composite Score. To obtain your Kaplan Composite score, you can divide the Math, Reading and Writing score at the end of the test by the number 3. This should give you your composite score.

Students who do not meet the minimum score needed for a specific program or want to discuss options for raising their score in a future application cycle should visit the Counseling department at any campus. No appointment is needed.

Preparing for Kaplan: Buy a Kaplan study book called, “Kaplan Nursing School Entrance Exams” 7^th edition, ISBN-13: 978-1506207445. This is sold in the College’s bookstore for about $25 or you can buy it used online for $5-10. There are FREE online study options you can find by typing in “Kaplan preadmission Nursing exam” into any search engine. YouTube also has videos about preparing for the Kaplan exam.

Application Checklist

In order to apply to the Nursing program, please ensure that you meet the following criteria:

• Biology 106 or high school Biology (less than 10 years old)
• Chemistry 110 or high school Chemistry (less than 10 years old)
• English101 placement
• Math 118 placement
• 2.75 GPA
• High School Transcript

How to Apply

Current Community College of Philadelphia students who plan on applying to the Nursing program and meet the eligibility requirements should complete the Nursing program application by following these steps:

• Step one: Login to MyCCP
• Step two: Click on the "Student" tab
• Step three: Click on the "Allied Health/Nursing Application Forms" under "Electronic Forms" on the top, right-hand side of the page
• Step four: Select your program of interest
• Step five: Complete and submit the form

Don’t forget to sign the front and back of the application. Please check your College email for correspondence. Decision letters will be sent by postal mail. Make sure the College has your current mailing address. If not, login to MYCCP, click on the Student tab, look for Electronic Forms, click on Records & Registration Forms, and click “Change of Information.” Please check your email for all correspondence.

Not a Community College of Philadelphia student? You must apply to Community College of Philadelphia before you can apply to the Nursing program. Please follow our Steps to Enrollment to get started.

Post Acceptance Screenings

Students accepted into the Nursing program may be required to complete and provide verification of:

• Criminal background check – PA State Police and FBI
• Child abuse clearance
• Drug screening test
• Physical exams and or dental exam
• CPR training – must be health care providers
• Liability and Health insurance
• Social Security Number verification
• Being age 18 or older before program starts
• Signed NEV (Nursing Education Verification) Agreement (PDF) 

ACCEPTANCE INTO THE PROGRAM WILL BE CONSIDERED CONDITIONAL UNTIL THESE ITEMS ARE COMPLETED. Students should not complete any of the above until requested by the program director.

Questions?

You can reach allied health admissions at selectprogram [at] ccp.edu (selectprogram[at]ccp[dot]edu)

Nursing 101 is a 7 credit course. Coursework consists of 18 hours of class time per week:

• Class lecture (3 hrs.)
• Seminar (1hr)
• Skills lab (2 hrs.)
• Clinical learning experience (12-16 hours either two 6 hour days or two 8 hour days)
• 2 hours of homework & studying for every 1 hour in class

In addition, you should be prepared for more than 36 hours of work (2 hours of homework and studying per 1 hour in class).

The minimum amount of hours recommended per week outside of your other commitments (work, friends/family, commute time, etc.) is 54-56 hours. This is a full-time schedule.

Additional Program Costs

Additional cost listed below does not include College tuition