BSN FAQs

Admission to the College of Nursing is highly competitive. The number and the quality of applicants will determine the competitiveness of the applicant pool.

Yes. The scores necessary for credit for each exam are outlined on the University Registrar’s website.

The University of Tennessee will accept transfer credit of similar content from any two- or four-year accredited institutions, normally institutions with regional accreditation status in the United States. Students from non-US colleges or universities should consult the transfer evaluators in the Office of the University Registrar for transfer eligibility. College transcripts are evaluated after a student is admitted to the university and typically are completed several weeks after the student is admitted. Credits that are not acceptable for transfer include courses that are remedial, occupational, technical, noncredit, or career coursework used for the applied science degree from career and technical programs. For more information regarding dual enrollment and transfer credit transfer, see Transfer Credit Policies and Procedures.

Either exam is acceptable; the university does not have a preference for one over the other. The ACT college code for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is 4026. The SAT college code is 1843.

After you apply, check your application status online through your VIP account. Your VIP account will also list any documents such as official transcripts or test scores that UT hasn’t yet received. Keep in mind that transcripts and other documents might take a while to show up in the system. Please direct all follow-up questions and concerns to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 865-974-2184.

Due to the volume of applications received, the advising staff is not able to meet individually with potential freshman applicants to answer questions about the program. Freshman applicants are encouraged to attend a High School Open House to learn about the College of Nursing and the competitive admissions process.

Before the final freshman application deadline of December 15, a student who was admitted to another college within the University of Tennessee but decides to apply to the Nursing major can do so by making a written request to their undergraduate admissions counselor. Students will be asked to compose a nursing statement. Once the written request and nursing statement are complete, the application will be sent to the College of Nursing for review by the Nursing Faculty Admission Committee. Please note that nursing is a competitive major and the change of major and admission to nursing are not guaranteed.

After the final freshman application deadline of December 15, a student admitted to another college within the University of Tennessee who decides to request a change in major to nursing will need to apply through the change of major/transfer application process.

It is possible for students who have applied to the nursing major to be admitted to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, but not the College of Nursing; if this happens, students will be evaluated for admission to their second-choice major. Students not admitted to the program as a freshman can reapply through the change of major application process during spring semester of their sophomore year.

We also offer a Nursing Scholars Program as a partnership with the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The Nursing Scholars Program is a robust academic–practice partnership that will offer nursing students an opportunity to learn and train inside UTMC, the region’s academic medical center. See Change of Major and Transfer Student Admissions for more information.

Yes, the College of Nursing will establish a freshman direct admission waitlist for Fall. Since we have capacity for only a set number of students in the freshman class, many applicants will not receive offers of freshman admission. A waitlist is developed so that applicants may be offered admission if spaces become available in the freshman class.

Applicants that are placed on the waitlist for admission to the College of Nursing will be reviewed by Undergraduate Admissions for admission to the University of Tennessee and the second major of choice listed on the application. We understand that applicants are eager to have a final decision regarding their application, and the College of Nursing plans to make any offers of admission from the waitlist by April.

Applicants may submit updated high school transcripts and submit new test scores if applicable to the Undergraduate Admissions Office which will be added to your application (please do not send application updates to the College of Nursing), however, since offering students admission from the waitlist depends on space, additional letters of recommendation or personal visits will not affect the application decision.