Navigating the NursingCAS GPA Calculation: A Comprehensive Guide for Aspiring Nursing Professionals

Applying to nursing programs through the Nursing Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS) involves a meticulous process, and understanding how NursingCAS calculates your GPA is crucial. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the NursingCAS GPA calculation process, addressing common concerns and offering guidance for applicants.

Understanding the Basics of NursingCAS GPA Calculation

NursingCAS calculates several GPAs based on the information you enter on the Transcript Entry page. These include an Overall GPA, Science GPA, Non-Science GPA, and Last 60 Credit Hours GPA. These calculations are standardized across all applicants to ensure a fair comparison.

Key Components of the Calculation:

Grade Conversion: Each A-F or 0-100 grade you enter in the Grade field is converted to a NursingCAS numeric grade value and then multiplied by the attempted credits. NursingCAS uses a standard 4.0 scale that fully incorporates plus (+) and minus (-) grades.
Credit Hours: NursingCAS calculates all GPAs in semester hours. Courses completed in quarter hours are converted to semester hours.
Non-Graded Credits: Non-graded credits, such as advanced placement credits, "pass" or "satisfactory" credits, college board AP exams, and courses taken as pass/fail, are not included in your GPAs.
Academic Year GPA: Using Quality Points, NursingCAS calculates a GPA for each academic year.
Course Subject Category GPAs: These are based on your overall GPA in each course subject category, regardless of academic year.

Addressing GPA Discrepancies

It is not uncommon to see GPA discrepancies between what your schools calculate and what NursingCAS calculates. This is due to the standardization that occurs during verification. NursingCAS does not recognize an individual school's policies for forgiveness, academic renewal, or grade replacement for repeated courses. NursingCAS will verify based on how grades for repeated courses are reported on the official transcripts.

Course Subject Assignment

Course subjects are assigned to categories based on the titles and department prefixes listed on your official transcripts, not the course content itself. Nursing programs determine and use the standardized NursingCAS Course Subjects list.

What to do if you think there is an error:

If a course subject is incorrectly assigned to the wrong category during verification, NursingCAS can re-review the course title and prefix and make appropriate changes. For example, if your course is titled Inorganic Chemistry I but was incorrectly categorized as Organic Chemistry, NursingCAS can update this coursework after verification.
If a verified course subject assignment is correct by NursingCAS standards, but you feel that you can provide a course description that indicates it should reflect a different category, you can request that NursingCAS provide this information to your programs. Copy and paste the official course description from your course catalog. If NursingCAS feels that the provided information does not support a valid argument for your requested course subject assignment, they will not honor your request.

Pass/Fail Grades and NLN Challenge Exams

A common concern arises when applicants have courses with "Pass" or "Satisfactory" grades, particularly from exams like the NLN challenge exams. Since NursingCAS does not include non-graded credits in GPA calculations, a "P" grade will not contribute to your GPA, potentially lowering it if you have a significant number of such credits.

Read also: Decoding the 5.0 GPA Scale

Addressing "P" Grades in Your Application:

If you have a substantial number of credits with "P" grades, such as from NLN challenge exams, and are concerned about the impact on your GPA, consider addressing this issue in your admission essay. You can tactfully explain the situation, highlighting the following points:

Context: Briefly explain the nature of the NLN challenge exams and how they allowed you to earn credit for prior learning.
Performance: Emphasize that you successfully passed these exams, demonstrating competency in the subject matter.
Impact: Acknowledge that the "P" grades do not contribute to your NursingCAS GPA but that they represent a significant achievement and should be considered in the context of your overall academic record.
Strengths: Highlight other aspects of your application that showcase your academic abilities, such as strong grades in other courses, relevant experiences, and your overall commitment to nursing.

Transcript Entry and Submission

To use NursingCAS, you must have coursework from a regionally accredited college and submit official transcripts from all institutions you attended. Remember that all grades, including for repeated or failed courses, must be included. You must report all institutions attended, regardless of their relevance to the programs you are applying to. Failure to report an institution may cause delays in the processing of your application.

Transcript Entry Options:

Full Transcript Entry: Enter all of your coursework yourself.
Prerequisites Transcript Entry: Enter only prerequisite coursework.
Professional Transcript Entry (PTE): Pay an additional fee for NursingCAS to handle this. With PTE, trained specialists can enter your transcript information for you for an additional fee. This service is only available for completed coursework from accredited schools.

Submitting Transcripts:

After reporting institutions in the Colleges Attended tab under the Academic History section of your application, you can view the transcript requirements for each program to which you are applying.
Some programs may require you to send official transcripts to NursingCAS, while others may accept unofficial transcripts, and some may require no transcripts at all.
To view your program’s requirements, review the Transcript Requirements details on the right-hand side of the Colleges and Universities Attended section of your application.

Additional Application Requirements

References

References (sometimes called Letters of Evaluation, Letters of Reference, or Letters of Recommendation) are submitted by the references themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the reference.

Before getting started, consider the following:

All references are submitted electronically by references using Liaison Letters, our Recommender Portal.
Research each program's requirements. You should determine whether your programs have specific requirements regarding reference roles or relationships before listing references on your application. Many programs have strict guidelines and completed references cannot be removed or replaced.
Choose your references early in the application process to ensure they have adequate time to submit your reference.
Prepare your references. Once you choose your references, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the reference electronically.

GRE and TOEFL

GRE: Some programs may have a GRE requirement. Official GRE scores are submitted electronically to NursingCAS directly from Educational Testing Services (ETS) using a special NursingCAS GRE code that is different for each program and different from the school’s regular GRE code.
TOEFL: Some programs may have a TOEFL requirement for non-native English speakers. Official TOEFL iBT and TOEFL iBT Home Edition scores are both accepted. Submit your scores electronically to NursingCAS directly from Educational Testing Services (ETS) using TOEFL code #B506.

International Transcripts

International applicants should request that their transcripts be assessed and sent from one of the approved foreign transcript evaluation vendors. Applicants should contact a foreign transcript evaluation service as early in the application process as possible. Please do not send foreign transcripts to NursingCAS, including those translated or printed in English, as they will be discarded.

OHSU School of Nursing Application Information

For those specifically interested in applying to OHSU School of Nursing, here's some important information:

Read also: Understanding ASU Tuition

Apply through the Nursing Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS).
Log in, click “Add Program,” and search for “Oregon” to find OHSU’s applications.
Deadlines vary by program. The application fee is $65 for undergraduate programs and $85 for graduate programs, including undergraduate to master’s and undergraduate to D.N.P. and Ph.D. dual programs.
Yes, you can apply while completing prerequisites.
Send transcripts directly to NursingCAS. OHSU cannot accept them. No, the admissions office does not evaluate transcripts.
Yes, you can submit your application before your transcripts arrive, but don’t delay sending them.
OHSU School of Nursing doesn’t require standardized tests.

Finalizing and Submitting Your Application

Before you submit your application, be aware of the following:

You can make limited changes after you submit your application.
You can submit your application before your transcripts and references are received. Please note, however, that we will not review your application until all of your transcripts, payments, and references are received.
Do not wait until the last minute. You can submit your application up until 11:59 pm ET on your program’s deadline date; however, ensure you allow for time to complete the required payment section.

Read also: GPA Calculation at UAB

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