How to Apply to the Nursing (BSN) Program at Saint Louis University: Direct Entry in the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing, a 1 December Nursing Deadline, a 3.20 Minimum High School GPA, and How Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants Are Admitted

Saint Louis University (SLU) is a Catholic, Jesuit private university in St. Louis, Missouri. Its undergraduate nursing program sits in the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing. This guide covers only the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). It follows the official pages for fall 2027 entry and is split into U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, with a section on transfer students at the end. SLU’s combined life-science and health guide is a separate article, so we do not repeat it here.

The key point: SLU’s four-year BSN is direct entry. High school graduates apply to nursing itself and start nursing coursework (NURS 1400 Introduction to Nursing) in their first semester; the pages we read describe no “pre-nursing first, apply to the professional level later” step. Review is described as competitive, and the nursing deadline (1 December) is earlier than most majors.

1. Degree and program

• Traditional four-year BSN: the site says this direct-entry program is for students beginning college right after high school or transferring from another university or community college. The catalog lists 120 credits in total (University Undergraduate Core 32–35, major requirements 97) and an example four-year plan of 120–121 credits.
• Other routes (one line only): the site also lists a one-year Accelerated BSN (for people with a bachelor’s degree in another field or current undergraduates with at least 71 credits) and a fully online RN-to-BSN.
• Accreditation and approval: the School is approved by the Missouri State Board of Nursing, and the baccalaureate program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
• SLU-Madrid route: the catalog says the Madrid campus offers a baccalaureate nursing degree “with international preparation”: the first two years in Spain, the last two on the St. Louis campus.
• Honors/research options and STEM status: the nursing pages we read do not describe a nursing honors program and do not say whether the BSN is STEM-designated; ask the School.

2. How you get into nursing, and the thresholds

• Freshmen: the site says high school seniors are reviewed on a competitive, holistic and individual basis, with a required minimum high school GPA of 3.20 on a 4.0 scale and an emphasis on math and science. The School describes its process as holistic: besides academic metrics it looks at experiences, attributes, potential for success and contribution to the profession.
• What strong applicants have (site wording): four years of math (algebra-level or advanced algebra), four years of science including a year of biology and a year of chemistry, and activities showing leadership, community service and community involvement.
• Testing: SLU is test-optional for all undergraduate programs; for nursing the pages say scores are optional but “preferred”. If you submit one, the minimum for admission consideration is ACT 24 / SAT 1160, and the admission-instructions page adds that the average for students accepted to nursing was ACT 28 / SAT 1310 (no year is printed). SLU does not superscore. The site explains that nursing students take many exams and finish with the NCLEX-RN, but admission itself does not require a test score.
• Entrance exam, interview, background checks and similar: the pages do not mention TEAS or HESI. The program-requisites page says nursing students must have a comprehensive conduct history (background check, through CastleBranch; also required before any clinical experience) and a drug screen, both before enrollment, plus current American Heart Association CPR certification and a bloodborne-pathogens acknowledgment. Unacceptable background-check results are handled case by case and may lead to dismissal; agencies may also refuse a student whose check or drug screen is positive, which could stop the student from completing clinical requirements. Immunization records are uploaded to CastleBranch too, but the list on that page is headed “Graduate Immunization Requirements”, so for undergraduates rely on the School’s own instructions.
• Physical and mental standards: the student-resources page lists competencies nursing students need “with or without reasonable accommodations”, such as lifting objects up to 50 pounds and working 8–12 hour shifts.
• Is progression guaranteed? The pages we read do not describe a later application to a professional level for admitted freshmen. But the catalog sets progression standards (C or better in NURS courses, cumulative GPA 2.50; section 3), and says that under section 335.066 of the Missouri statutes completing the program does not guarantee eligibility to take the licensure examination.
• Changing in from another SLU school: students who enrolled as freshmen elsewhere at SLU are considered as the second group, after students who enrolled as nursing freshmen. They need a 3.20 GPA or higher and a record of successful science courses, preferably taken at SLU.

3. Prerequisites and curriculum

• High school courses: besides the “strong applicant” math and science above, SLU’s general freshman page encourages five academic courses a year, including four years each of English and math and three each of foreign language, natural sciences, social sciences and academic electives. It also says programs in the Doisy College of Health Sciences require high school biology and chemistry; that sentence is about Doisy College, and nursing is covered by the line above.
• Year one (catalog example plan): NURS 1400 Introduction to Nursing in the first semester, CHEM 1080/1085 Principles of Chemistry 1 with lab, HSCI 3300 and 3400 Anatomy and Physiology I and II, PSY 1010, a statistics course (STAT 1100 or 1300, or PSY 2050), NURS 1430 Human Growth and Development through the Lifespan, plus University Core courses. Year two brings BIOL 1600 Microbiology for Nursing, pharmacotherapeutics, health assessment and pathophysiology; practice labs begin in the fall of the sophomore year, followed by clinical experiences across the major nursing specialties. Years three and four cover adult and older-adult care, childbearing families, child health, psychiatric/mental health, public health nursing, leadership and management, an immersion practicum and a complex-care practicum.
• Grade requirements (catalog): C or better in every required NURS course, and a NURS course may be repeated once; C- or better in microbiology, chemistry, psychology, statistics, ethics, anatomy and physiology and the interprofessional courses. A cumulative GPA below 2.50 means probation; a probationary student still below 2.50, or below the minimum in two or more required nursing courses, is dismissed.
• AP/IB credit: the freshman requirements page points to an Advanced Placement Examination Chart that we did not read; check it and ask the School how credit applies to nursing courses.
• Clinical hours and partners: the pages we read give no total clinical hours. The School’s About page says partner sites include, but are not limited to, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, SSM Health, BJC HealthCare, Mercy Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The catalog adds that local hospital systems recruit BSN students as patient care technicians and offer internships and fellowships under a nurse preceptor.
• NCLEX-RN pass rate: the School’s home page says 97% of SLU graduates pass the NCLEX on the first try (the About page says “most recently 97%”). The pages print no year and do not say how the figure is calculated; ask the School for the specifics.

4. Rounds, deadlines and materials (fall 2027 entry)

• Four paths: Early Decision I (binding) 2 November, notifications from 1 December; Early Action (non-binding) 1 December, by 1 February; Early Decision II (binding) 19 January, from 1 February; Regular Decision (non-binding) “preferred by 1 April”, then accepted while space is available. Some of these dates print 2027; for the rest, check the year.
• Nursing’s own deadline: the site says repeatedly that the freshman application deadline for nursing (and physical therapy, occupational therapy and flight science) is 1 December, and those majors are removed as application options on 2 December for Regular Decision. It also says you are not required to apply Early Action for nursing.
• Supporting-document dates: the pages disagree, so both are given. The freshman requirements page says that for Early Decision to nursing, supporting documents are due by 30 November, and for Early Decision II, Early Action or Regular Decision by 12 January. The application-instructions page says the nursing application deadline is 1 December, that for Early Action or Regular Decision supporting documents must arrive by 11 December, and that nursing test scores must arrive by 12 January 2027. The deadlines page lists Early Decision II as 19 January without saying how that fits nursing’s 1 December. Confirm the exact dates with admissions or the School.
• Application fee: none (SLU application, Common Application and Coalition/Scoir alike).
• Essay, recommendations, interview: a personal essay is required for freshmen; an official high school transcript is required (electronic delivery to admission@slu.edu is recommended); the secondary school report, résumé and letters of recommendation are “strongly encouraged” but not required; an admission interview can be arranged with your counselor.
• Platforms: SLU’s own application, the Common Application or the Coalition application (Scoir). NursingCAS is used by the Accelerated BSN, not by freshmen.
• Deposit: after admission, the site says to reply by paying a $500 enrollment deposit.

5. Three kinds of applicant

U.S. applicants

• SLU is private and its cost page lists a single undergraduate tuition figure with no in-state/out-of-state split (section 6); the pages we read say nothing about home-state preference.
• Tests are optional, GPA at least 3.20, deadline 1 December, and nursing applicants need not apply Early Action. For priority merit scholarships the site says apply for admission by 1 December and file the FAFSA by 1 February; the Presidential Scholarship asks for a 3.85 GPA and the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship for 3.25, and neither requires a test score.

International applicants

• English: every international applicant must show English proficiency by any one of: TOEFL iBT 80, IELTS 6.5, PTE 54, Duolingo 110, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 550, ACT English 21, TOEFL ITP Plus for China 627, IB English A: Language and Literature HL 6, AP Language or Literature 4, or a non-ESL college English course at a U.S. college; applicants who completed their whole high school curriculum in English may ask the school for documentation, and citizens of listed English-speaking countries are exempt. The site adds that most international students will take the SLU Writing Examination (SLUWE), where a 4 meets all English requirements. The pages we read do not set a higher English requirement for nursing.
• Transcripts: records in English translation for every secondary and post-secondary institution; graduates send an official final transcript and any external or school-leaving exam results; unofficial copies may be accepted for initial review, but official copies must come directly from the school.
• Proof of funds: the international page says SLU requires proof of ability to pay, which “does not impact your admission decision”; the FAQ puts the estimate for an I-20 at $70,000 USD for one undergraduate academic year (documents to internationalservices@slu.edu).
• Scholarships: the FAQ says financial aid is available to international students on the St. Louis campus; you are automatically considered for merit scholarships, and two scholarships (Martin Luther King Jr. and Presidential) need separate applications and are open to first-time freshmen.
• Clinical courses, licensure and Social Security numbers for international students: neither the nursing pages nor the international pages say. The only related text: the four-year BSN student-resources page says an application to sit for the exam in Missouri includes fingerprinting and a criminal background check. Whether and how that applies to international students is not stated; ask the School (314-977-8995, slunurse@slu.edu) and the international admission counselors.

Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the English-proficiency table has a “GaoKao” row: an overall score in the “middle of Tier 2 or better” and 125/150 in English (100/120 in Jiangsu), with “Interview required by SLU faculty”. It is one way to show English proficiency, not an admission cut-off, and the pages do not say whether it applies separately to nursing.
• Other China-specific information: beyond the TOEFL ITP Plus for China 627 option, the pages we read say nothing about Huikao (academic proficiency test) materials and give no other statement for Chinese nursing applicants. What the site does not publish, ask the international admission counselors.

6. Costs and scholarships

• Tuition: the nursing page and the cost page give 2026-27 undergraduate tuition of $58,960 and university fees of $1,000; the cost page’s resident (on-campus) total estimate is $83,710, including $16,360 housing, $1,290 books and supplies, $3,220 transportation and $2,880 miscellaneous.
• Nursing-related extra costs (four-year BSN student-resources page): CastleBranch service fee $35, drug screen $39, background check $105, and ATI fees of $562.50 per semester in the sophomore and junior years; uniforms, stethoscopes and similar are extra, and the page says the list is not comprehensive.
• School of Nursing scholarships: the School says donors support students with over $1 million a year; students apply each spring for the following year, with a goal of decisions by 1 July, and the School strongly recommends filing the FAFSA because many awards are need-based.
• Liability coverage: students are covered by the University’s voluntary professional liability program when performing health services as part of course requirements, provided they are registered for the course.

7. Transfer students

• External transfer into the four-year BSN: the site calls entry “extremely limited” and “wholly dependent on space availability”, with some years admitting no external transfer students; in years with space there are more applicants than places. Requirements: a GPA of 3.2 or higher; Human Anatomy and Physiology (A&P 1 and 2), Chemistry and Lifespan Human Growth and Development are recommended; extracurricular activities are considered; the fall transfer deadline is 1 April (no year printed). Contact the recruitment specialist (slunurse@slu.edu) about availability first.
• Credit: the catalog says transfer nursing students take an additional nursing elective in place of NURS 1400. The transfer-credit page says a course must have a grade of C or better to be eligible, that you may transfer an unlimited number of credits, that online equivalencies are unofficial, and that the official evaluation comes with official transcripts and admission; credit by exam (AP, CLEP, IB and others) is also possible.
• International transfers: they must also show English proficiency and submit a course-by-course evaluation (World Education Services, a NACES member or an AICE member). Whether international transfers are admitted to nursing is not stated; ask the School.
• One-year Accelerated BSN: current students with at least 71 credits and the specific prerequisites may apply for junior entry via NursingCAS; the deadline is not given on the pages we read.

8. Pre-health advising

SLU’s website has a separate pre-health advising page; nursing freshmen are direct admits, so day-to-day advising comes from the School of Nursing’s own advisors.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Apply to nursing itself (not “undecided”) by 1 December; high school GPA of at least 3.20; tests optional; solid math and science (biology, chemistry)
• Confirm supporting-document dates with admissions (the pages give 30 November, 11 December and 12 January)

International applicants (including China):

• English proof (TOEFL 80 / IELTS 6.5 / Duolingo 110 and others, or Gaokao English plus interview); English-translated transcripts and exam results; proof of funds (estimate $70,000 a year)
• Clinical courses, licensure and Social Security number questions for international students are not answered online; ask the School of Nursing and the international counselors

Transfer students:

• External transfer into the four-year BSN is extremely limited and some years admit none; GPA 3.2, 1 April deadline; write to slunurse@slu.edu first

Sources: Saint Louis University, School of Nursing home; Nursing degrees overview; Nursing B.S. page; Catalog: Nursing B.S.; Accreditation; About the School; Nursing scholarships; Four-year BSN student resources; Program requisites; Freshman deadlines; Freshman instructions; Freshman requirements; International admission; English proficiency; International FAQ; Transfer; Transfer requirements; Transfer credit; 2026-27 cost of attendance. Where a page prints no year, check that the date is for fall 2027 entry. Costs are 2026-27 figures; check SLU’s website for the latest.