Frequently asked questions about Linfield’s prelicensure nursing degrees

No. We do not require the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) or any other similar test for students pursuing a health-related field. The one exception is for international students. We do require that they meet the English proficiency requirement detailed on our admission requirements pages for the BSN, ABSN and MEPN.

Linfield requires a minimum of one and a maximum of two recommendations to be included in your application. You need to request these recommendations through NursingCAS.

We suggest that you choose professional recommenders such as a work or volunteer supervisor, a professor or academic advisor that can speak to your ability to succeed in nursing school. You will enter your recommenders' contact information into NursingCAS. They will be sent an email link to the recommendation form that will prompt them to answer questions as well as provide a space to upload a letter of recommendation.

No. External applicants just need to complete the NursingCAS application for admission consideration to the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing and the university. Current Linfield students must complete the NursingCAS application.

When assessing your prerequisite GPAs, the best grades are considered when there is more than one possibility on your academic record. Linfield only allows two repeated attempts within the anatomy or physiology sequence to be used in the calculation of the minimum GPA requirements.

In the case where a student has more than one repeat on a single anatomy and physiology course, the highest grade for the first two attempts will be used. A “W” or withdrawal from either an anatomy or physiology course will be counted as an attempt under this rule. There are no restrictions about the number of retakes for other courses prerequisite courses.

Please refer to the application calendar on the website here.

International applicants seeking admission as an F-1 student must also submit to NursingCAS:

• International financial guarantee form and certified bank statement demonstrating liquid funding for the cost of the program.
• Official academic transcripts from foreign institutions where college-level credit was earned.
• Official course-by-course evaluation of foreign academic credentials. The evaluation must be evaluated by a NACES member organization/company .
• Official results of the English proficiency exam.

Yes. You may apply for admission to the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing by submitting:

• The NursingCAS application
• All regular supplementary materials
• A letter or email directly from the dean/director of the previous school stating you are in good standing and would be allowed to continue enrollment in the nursing program. This should be sent by the dean to admission@linfield.edu

Admission to our prelicensure nursing programs is very competitive for a transfer student. Those who have started another Nursing program are not given an advantage in the admission process.

Only students from an accredited baccalaureate institution with regional accreditation and national professional accreditation as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, such as the National League for Nursing (NLN) or Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), will be considered for admission.

It is the policy of the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing that all admitted students are required to pass a background check before enrollment. Criminal history on a background check may:

• Be cause to deny or revoke admission to the School of Nursing
• Block student progression and placement in clinical sites
• Be cause for a student to be denied nursing licensure following graduation

Interviews are not part of the application process for our undergraduate, prelicensure BSN and ABSN programs. An interview is required for the MEPN program.

Transcripts must be sent to NursingCAS. Transcripts sent directly to Linfield will not be accepted as part of your application. Learn more about sending your transcripts to NursingCAS. All application materials must be sent directly to NursingCAS – we will not be able to accept any application materials sent to Linfield's Office of Admission.

We strongly recommend that you request your transcripts at least six weeks before the application deadline, but as close to your last enrolled term as possible. It is fine to submit transcripts with in-progress courses on them. 

No! Current Linfield University students must also complete the NursingCAS application. Visit the academic advising office (Melrose 010) to declare your major and confirm you are on the “pre-nursing interest” email list.

Yes, all prospective nursing students must complete an application through NursingCAS for the entry term you wish to apply to.

All prospective nursing applicants should review pre-nursing requirements and admission.

An official course-by-course evaluation of foreign academic credentials is required. The evaluation must be provided by a NACES member organization/company, preferably World Education Services. These must be submitted directly to NursingCAS, our common application service, along with any domestic official transcripts at the time of application.

This requirement has been met with the completion of a bachelor's degree and will be manually waived during the application review process.

How to submit a reference on NursingCAS:

• In the References section, click Add Reference.
• Select the reference type from the drop-down.
• Enter the reference's full name and email address.
• Select the date by which you would like this reference completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
• Enter a brief message or note for the reference. 
• Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the reference.
• Click the checkboxes to indicate your permission for NursingCAS (and programs) to contact your references. 
• Click Save This Reference Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the reference. 
• Confirm with your references that they received the email notification. 
• Use the Check Status tab to monitor the status of your references. Completed references are marked as "Complete" and have a complete date listed.
• Follow up with your references if their references are still marked as "Requested" or "Accepted."
• It is your responsibility to ensure that reference requests are received and completed on time. NursingCAS will not notify applicants about missing references. 

After receiving your application and official transcripts, NursingCAS will begin the verification process which means they will check your course entry against your transcript. If there is anything that doesn't match, NursingCAS will return your application to you. On average, verification takes two weeks. Applicants are responsible for monitoring the status of their application, checking for notifications from NursingCAS, and following up on any required actions. Verification by NursingCAS is required before an application is reviewed by Linfield.

To view your notifications, click View My Notifications on the left side of the application dashboard. NursingCAS will not send reminders about missing materials or verify it's complete. It is your responsibility to monitor your application to ensure all required application materials have been submitted.

If you are applying for financial aid, please confirm that you have entered your Social Security Number under Personal Information, Other Information. Your Social Security Number is required for financial aid processing. The school code for Linfield University is 003198.

If you have any in-progress or planned coursework that will be completed after you submit your application, check to ensure you have listed those courses in your application. After you complete each term, enter your grades and order and send a official transcript to NursingCAS. There are very limited changes that can be made to your application once you submit it.

Please also let Linfield's admission office know if you have an address or telephone number change so that we can update your record. All application communications will be sent by email; please check your junk/spam filters occasionally for our correspondence and status updates.

You will need to reapply through NursingCAS if you wish to apply to another start term. You can use an existing account from a previous cycle to re-apply in the current cycle. You also keep the same CAS ID number from the previous cycle.

To avoid processing delays and difficulties, do not create a new account. Duplicate accounts and any documents associated with those accounts are deleted. 

• Log in to the application. A welcome screen appears; confirm you want to begin the re-application process by clicking Start Reapplication.
• Ensure your profile information, including your contact information, is correct. 
• Decide if you want to copy application data. Your selection cannot be changed. 

Learn more about the NursingCAS reapplication process.

It is important to make sure that you are logged into the correct application cycle for the term you are applying for. On the log-in page, there is a blue box next to the field in which you enter your log-in information. Make sure that you are logging into the portal for the application cycle you wish to apply under.

Once logged in through the correct portal you should be able to find the Linfield program you are interested in. If you have issues finding Linfield’s programs on NursingCAS, first check to ensure you are in the correct application cycle especially if you have previously applied.

Official transcripts can be ordered directly from your NursingCAS application. Transcripts must be sent to NursingCAS. Transcripts sent directly to Linfield will not be accepted as part of your application. Learn more about sending your transcripts to NursingCAS. All application materials must be sent directly to NursingCAS – we will not be able to accept any application materials sent to Linfield's Office of Admission.

We strongly recommend that you request your transcripts at least six weeks before to the application deadline, but as close to your last enrolled term as possible. It is fine to submit transcripts with in-progress courses on them.

Yes, applicants are responsible for entering all undergraduate and graduate coursework completed at an institution of higher education accurately on the NursingCAS application. Learn more about NursingCAS transcript entry.

Yes, you can pay for Professional Transcript Entry through NursingCAS.  Please allow up to 15 business days for this service. This service is only available for completed coursework from accredited schools. Coursework from unlisted schools, foreign coursework and planned/in-progress courses are ineligible for PTE and must be entered by you. 

NursingCAS must receive all required transcripts before PTE can begin. See Sending Official Transcripts to NursingCAS for more details. Monitor your application to ensure your transcripts are received. On average, it takes up to seven business days from the date we receive your transcripts to post them to your application. Once your transcripts post, you will receive a confirmation email and you can view your transcript receipt dates on the Check Status tab.

Before PTE, you must submit and pay for your application. Once your application is submitted and we receive your transcripts, NursingCAS will begin work on your application within ten business days. Note that applications are placed in line for PTE on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Important Note: Be aware that you must review the coursework entry, approve it and resubmit your application before the application deadline or your application will be considered incomplete.

Find more information on NursingCAS’s PTE service.

Your application does not need to be verified by NursingCAS by the application due date. However, you must complete these steps by the application due date:

• Submit your application through NursingCAS
• Ensure all transcripts and recommendations are received by NursingCAS
• Pay the NursingCAS application fee 
• Ensure that all coursework completed at an institution of higher education is entered correctly in your application.
• If you have purchased PTE, you must review the coursework entry, approve it, and go to the “Check Status” tab to resubmit your application.
• If you do not follow these steps before the deadline, your application will be considered incomplete.

You cannot make changes to your NursingCAS application until it is verified. Once your application is verified, you can then go back in and add the course into the transcript entry section.

You can edit only certain parts of your application after you have submitted it. The editable parts of your application can only be changed once NursingCAS has verified your application. Learn more about what portions of your application can be changed after submission.

Once your application is submitted, you are only able to add new experiences to the experience tab. You are not able to edit existing experiences or delete an experience. If you need to modify the experience section of your application, you can add an additional experience to your application and only enter the hours you have completed since your previous entry.

If you run into difficulties, please reach out to Linfield School of Nursing admission team.

Your prior bachelor’s GPA is just one part of the criteria used in the admission review. A greater emphasis is placed on the following:

Overall Prerequisite GPA - minimum 3.0

Prerequisite Science GPA- minimum 3.0

Anatomy and Physiology GPA - 2.65

For Linfield’s two-year BSN program, pre-nursing students currently enrolled on the McMinnville campus (those with 30+ credits –residency) that have met all admission criteria will receive priority for the seats available in the fall and spring cohort. There are always seats available for external applicants.

Admission decisions are made on a point-based system. Each component of the application is assigned a point value. Once all applications are scored, applicants are ranked from highest to lowest point value and admission decisions are made based upon an applicant’s final application score.

Linfield does not consider nursing applications on a rolling basis, but we encourage students to submit their applications early to ensure all required materials make it NursingCAS in time for the application deadline. We encourage you to give yourself plenty of time to complete your application, collect your references and ensure your transcripts arrive to NursingCAS by the application due date.

We recommend that you request your official transcripts through NursingCAS as soon as they are updated and available for the term you are applying to. See these tips from NursingCAS to ensure a successful application.

After receiving your application and all required materials, NursingCAS will begin the verification process. On average, verification takes two weeks. Reach out to the Office of Admission or NursingCAS customer service if you have any questions about the status of your application.

To view your notifications, click View My Notifications on the left side of the application dashboard. 

If you are applying for financial aid, please confirm that you have entered your Social Security Number under Personal Information, Other Information. Your Social Security Number is required for financial aid processing. The school code for Linfield University is 003198.

If you have any planned or in-progress coursework that will be completed after your application is verified, you will want to use Academic Update in NursingCAS. Final transcripts must be received in NursingCAS for all admitted and waitlisted students by the final materials deadline posted in your admission portal.

Please also let Linfield admission know if you have an address or telephone number change so that we can update your record. All application communications will be sent by email; please check your junk/spam filters occasionally for our correspondence and status updates.

You will have to reapply for a new term. Linfield does not automatically move applications from one term into another. If you wish to reapply for a different term, you will need to re-submit your NursingCAS application – it does not automatically rollover.

NursingCAS has a re-application feature that allows you to use an existing account from a previous cycle to re-apply. Learn more about how to reactivate your NursingCAS application.

The date admission decisions will be released will be posted in your admission portal.

The Portland Campus is a non-residential campus.  Resource information is located on the website.

There are 72 seats available in each fall and spring BSN cohort. For accelerated programs there are 56 seats for the summer ABSN and 24 in the MEPN cohort that begins early January.

Find out more about the program cost.

Yes. View financial aid information.

The majority of clinical experiences occur in the greater Portland - Vancouver area. All students are responsible for providing their own transportation to and from clinical sites. If you choose to drive a personal vehicle, you are responsible for operating the vehicle in compliance with local, state and federal regulations, including Oregon State laws regarding automobile insurance.

Parking fees associated with clinical practice are also your responsibility.

Linfield’s nursing program is demanding of your time and energy. While this is each student’s personal decision, most nursing students choose to focus full time on the program while enrolled. There are opportunities for campus work-study for students with financial aid eligibility.

All programs and course descriptions can be found in the catalog.