How to Apply to Boston College’s Nursing (BSN) Degree: You Choose the Connell School of Nursing on the Application, No Changing Schools After Admission, Transfer Applications to Nursing Currently Not Accepted, and the Path for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Boston College is a private Jesuit university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The bachelor’s in nursing (B.S.) is offered by the Connell School of Nursing (CSON). You must apply to one of four undergraduate divisions, and for nursing you apply directly to the Connell School of Nursing and select the nursing major; the website says you are considered only within the division you apply to. This is direct entry rather than a pre-nursing track: the science prerequisites (anatomy and physiology, chemistry, statistics, microbiology) sit inside the first and second years of the nursing curriculum. This guide summarises Boston College’s published information for fall 2027 entry for U.S. applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Master’s and doctoral nursing programs are outside this guide; the FAQ says there is no formal RN-to-BSN program but students with an RN may apply as transfer students (see section 6).

1. Degree and program

• Degree: Nursing (B.S.), four years per the page, preparing generalist nurses for hospitals, clinics and community agencies; classroom learning with clinical experience, nursing essentials, the liberal arts and the natural and social sciences; you may be eligible for graduate-level electives in junior and senior year.
• Curriculum (website): first-year fall: Professional Development Seminar, Anatomy and Physiology I with lab, Life Science Chemistry with lab; first-year spring: Introduction to Professional Nursing, Anatomy and Physiology II with lab, Statistics; sophomore fall: Microbiology with lab, Nursing Assessment of Health, Pathophysiology; sophomore spring: Adult Health Nursing Theory I and Clinical I, Clinical Pharmacology, Principles of Nutrition; junior year includes a flexible semester for study abroad, adjusting clinical hours or catching up on core courses, in the fall or spring; then Adult Health II, childbearing, child health, psychiatric-mental health, population health and a synthesis clinical.
• Clinical practice: students rotate among sites; the page lists Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Boston Medical Center, McLean Hospital and VA Boston Healthcare System, among others. Total clinical hours were not on the pages we read.
• NCLEX: the program page shows a 98% first-time pass rate without a year or basis; confirm with the school. It lists 448 undergraduate nursing students, and about a third study abroad in junior year.
• Honors and research: Undergraduate Research Fellows are paired with faculty and paid, with about 50 placements a year per the page; Seacole Scholars is a living-learning community for first-year nursing students who live in the same residence hall and take a 1-credit seminar.
• STEM designation: not stated on the pages we read.
• Pre-health advising is outside this guide; Boston College has its own Pre-Health Program, which we did not read.

2. How you get into nursing, and the bar

• Direct entry, reviewed separately: you must choose a division, and nursing and engineering are the two where you must select a specific major at application. You are considered only within the division you apply to; choosing nursing means applying to the Connell School.
• No changing divisions after admission: the FAQ says you cannot change divisions after admission, but may apply for an internal transfer into the Connell School of Nursing after two semesters; enrollment is limited in the professional schools and transfer may not be possible in some years.
• First-year seats, GPA and prerequisite grade lines: the pages we read give no first-year nursing seat count and no GPA bar; ask the undergraduate admission office.
• TEAS/HESI: not on the pages we read.
• Interview: the first-year apply page does not describe an interview requirement; the transfer page says Boston College does not conduct interviews as part of the admission process; the apply page only mentions an optional InitialView video interview for students in national schools in China (section 5).
• Clinical or volunteer experience, background checks, health screening and vaccines, insurance: not on the pages we read; ask the Connell undergraduate office (ugnurse@bc.edu).
• Spring entry: the apply page says first-year applicants to Human-Centered Engineering and Nursing are not eligible for spring enrollment.
• Second major: students in the nursing, management and education schools can take a second major in the Morrissey College; if you want nursing plus another Morrissey major, the FAQ advises applying to nursing and adding the second major in the first year.

3. Prerequisites, curriculum and credit

• High school math, biology and chemistry: not listed separately for nursing. The apply page says the most competitive applicants tend to have four years each of English, math, social science, natural science and foreign language, and that high school differences are taken into account.
• Nursing science courses: Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab, Life Science Chemistry with lab, Statistics, Microbiology with lab and Nutrition. These are curriculum courses taken in years one and two, not prerequisites to complete before applying.
• AP: a footnote on the AP page says AP elective units do not fulfill the six elective credits required for CSON students, and that CSON students complete the University Core requirements in Natural Science and Mathematics through first-year coursework, so qualifying exam scores cannot be used for those requirements. For other subjects see the page’s tables.
• Lab and clinical fees (2026-27, from the tuition and fees page): NURS 2080 Osmosis $99, NURS 2121 Health Assessment Clinical $250, NURS 2231 Adult Health Nursing I Clinical $250, NURS 3243 Adult Health Nursing II Clinical Laboratory $100, NURS 3245 Childbearing Clinical Laboratory $100; Anatomy and Physiology laboratories I and II and the Microbiology laboratory are $360 each; a $70 NCLEX assessment practice test fee applies in senior year.

4. Rounds and deadlines (fall 2027 entry)

• Admission office apply page: Early Decision I 1 November (notification by 15 December, binding); Early Decision II 4 January (by 15 February); Regular Decision 4 January (by 1 April, non-binding). The page prints no year, so confirm these apply to fall 2027 entry. The Connell School of Nursing page differs slightly: for the nursing B.S. it lists Early Decision I 1 November, and Early Decision II and Regular Decision both 1 January. The two dates conflict; follow the admission office and your Common App.
• Platform: the Common App. Any nursing-specific supplement is not described on the pages we read.
• Application fee: $85; waivers are available for U.S. citizens and permanent residents with financial hardship.
• Essays: the Common App personal statement plus the Boston College writing supplement: for 2026-27, one of four prompts, 400 words (prompt 5 is for engineering applicants only).
• Recommendations: the school report and counselor recommendation, plus two teacher evaluations (recommended from English, social studies, science, math or foreign language); Regular Decision and deferred Early Decision applicants also send a mid-year grade report.
• Testing: test optional. Applicants who do not submit scores receive full consideration; about two-thirds of the Class of 2030 submitted scores, with SAT scores from 1200 to 1600 and ACT scores from 28 to 36. Boston College superscores, accepts self-reported scores, and verifies official scores on enrollment.
• Scholarship: the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program is a four-year full-tuition scholarship for 18 incoming students; Early Decision and Regular Decision candidates are both considered if they apply by 1 November, no additional materials, fall admission only.

5. The three kinds of applicants

U.S. applicants

• Boston College is private; the pages we read give no in-state versus out-of-state difference and no in-state preference.
• 2026-27 costs: tuition $75,075, mandatory fees $1,354, room and board $18,834, total $95,978; first-year students also pay a one-time $670 for First Year Orientation and $50 for a student ID; estimated books and incidentals $3,250. Nursing lab and clinical fees are in section 3.
• Aid for U.S. citizens and permanent residents: we did not read the financial aid pages; see the university’s financial aid website.

International applicants

• Requirements: anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident is international, and submits the same credentials as other applicants.
• English: TOEFL iBT (test center or Home Edition), IELTS or the Duolingo English Test is required (the test-optional policy does not cover English tests); no superscoring of English exams, and TOEFL MyBest scores are not considered. Waived if English is your native language; you attended a U.S. or majority-English-speaking country high school for at least three years without ESOL coursework; or you score 650+ on SAT EBRW or 29+ on the ACT English section. Recommended minimums: IELTS 7.5, Duolingo 130, TOEFL iBT 100 (5.0 on the new scale), with admitted students averaging about 5.5 on the new TOEFL scale. Whether nursing sets a higher bar is not stated.
• Funding: Boston College is unable to provide need-based aid to students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, so be prepared to finance the full cost. Admitted students complete a Certification of Finances before an I-20 is mailed. International students holding U.S. citizenship or a green card are fully eligible for aid. The page cites about 750 international undergraduates, 8% of the total.
• Clinical courses, licensure exam, Social Security number: not on the pages we read; ask ugnurse@bc.edu.

Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages we read do not explain how it is used; contact undergraduate admission.
• Interview: students attending a national school in China are encouraged to schedule an InitialView video interview; it is not required and does not replace the English requirement; submit results by 15 November for Early Decision I and 15 January for Early Decision II and Regular Decision.
• Transcripts and Huikao materials: the general rule is official transcripts sent by the school, not by the student; Huikao materials are not mentioned on the pages we read.
• China-specific notes: beyond the InitialView note, none on the pages we read.

6. Transfer

• Outside transfers into nursing are currently not accepted: under “Spring 2027 Transfer Application,” the transfer page says: “Due to current enrollment trends, we are not accepting transfer applications to the Connell School of Nursing.” The same bold notice appears in the nursing course guide and the nursing transfer FAQ. The FAQ adds that several times in the last few years no students were admitted to nursing because the program was at capacity; at times a very small cohort enrolls in the fall only, usually about three to five. For fall 2027, write to transfer@bc.edu to confirm.
• If open: Boston College does not recommend applying to nursing after more than one year elsewhere, because of the specialized curriculum; all students entering the Connell School enter as first-semester sophomores and take three more years (six semesters). After the first year, applicants should have ten courses including Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (6 semester hours), Life Science or General Chemistry I with lab (3) and Statistics for Health Sciences (3); nursing-specific work needs syllabi for evaluation.
• Second bachelor’s degree: nursing is the only program for which BC allows a second bachelor’s degree, taking three years; there is no formal RN-to-BSN program, but students with an RN may apply as transfers. The nursing B.S. is full-time day study only.
• General rules: at least nine credits completed to count as a transfer applicant; up to 60 credits transfer at C- or better; at least four semesters at Boston College; fall deadline 15 March (notification by 20 May), spring deadline 1 November (by 15 December); testing optional; international applicants add English scores; the fee is $85.
• Internal transfer: current BC students may apply into the Connell School after two semesters; enrollment is limited and transfer may not be possible in some years.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Choose the Connell School of Nursing and the nursing major on the Common App (ED I 1 November; Regular Decision January, 4 January on the admission page and 1 January on the nursing school page); testing is optional; the fee is $85
• You cannot change divisions after admission; the science courses are inside the first two years of the curriculum, and qualifying exam scores cannot replace the Natural Science and Mathematics core

International applicants (including China):

• TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo is required unless waived; no need-based aid, and a Certification of Finances is required
• Students in Chinese national schools are encouraged to do InitialView; how the Gaokao is used is not published, so ask admissions

Transfer students:

• The transfer page says outside transfer applications to the Connell School are currently not accepted; confirm with transfer@bc.edu; internal transfer is possible after two semesters, with limited seats

Sources: Boston College, Connell School of Nursing: Nursing (B.S.); Connell School of Nursing: Admission and Aid; Apply; FAQ; Test-optional policy; International applicants; Transfer applicants; Advanced Placement; Tuition and fees. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 figures); most pages print no year, so check Boston College’s website for the latest.