Pre-nursing students should note that the pre-nursing curriculum (PNU) is not a major offered by Mercer University, and there is no degree or certification earned for completing the pre-requisites for the GBCN.  However, completion of the Mercer pre-nursing curriculum followed by completion of the nursing curriculum at the GBCN leads to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and eligibility to sit for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam.

Mercer PNU students may decide to apply to nursing schools other than Mercer’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing.  Students who are considering application to a nursing school other than Mercer’s GBCN should note that not all nursing schools share the same admission requirements.  Students that plan to attend a non-Mercer nursing program will therefore need to fulfill the pre-requisites for admission to the nursing school(s) to which they plan to apply.

Students who are pursuing a pre-nursing curriculum at Mercer must indicate so on their application forms.  Pre-nursing students are encouraged to sign up for Healthvoc-L, the e-mail list for students interested in health-related vocations.  Students may subscribe to this service by sending an e-mail to mailserv@mercer.edu.  The body of the message should contain the following text:   subscribe healthvoc-L; end.  Announcements related to advising, academic and career programs, and seminars will be sent to this list.  Note that students are required to use their Mercer University e-mail addresses for all electronic correspondence.

Guaranteed Admission Program for Pre-Nursing Students

The Guaranteed Admission Program for Pre-Nursing students (GAP-PNU) is the result of an agreement between Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts, College of Continuing and Professional Studies, and the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing.  The GAP-PNU is designed for first-year students at Mercer University in Macon.  In order to participate in the GAP-PNU, a student must complete ALL of his/her pre-nursing coursework within the colleges of Mercer University; students who take college courses at institutions other than Mercer after they graduate from high school are no longer eligible for the GAP-PNU.  In order to meet the minimum requirements for admission to the GBCN Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (BSN), a GAP-PNU student must complete all pre-nursing curriculum requirements at Mercer by the end of the spring semester of his/her second year and comply with all guidelines set forth below.

Note that, with the approval of the GBCN’s Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Program, dual enrollment credit (i.e., college courses taken by a student while s/he is still in high school) may be accepted to fulfill the pre-nursing requirements, though no class in which a student earned a grade below a “C” will transfer to Mercer.  Similarly, AP or IB credits may be used to fulfill pre-nursing requirements. 

Request for Participation

Students interested in and eligible to participate in the GAP-PNU must submit a completed “Request for GAP-PNU Participation” (RequestforParticipationPNUGAP.pdf) to the Mercer University pre-professional advisor (in Macon) by November 15 of their first year at Mercer. 

Academic Performance

A GAP-PNU student must maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0, as well as a 3.0 GPA in all math and science courses in the pre-nursing curriculum.  Students may not elect to be graded on an “S/U” basis in those math and science courses required for the pre-nursing curriculum.  The overall and math/science GPAs of all GAP-PNU students will be reviewed after their first year as undergraduates and after both the fall and spring semesters of their second year.  If a student’s overall GPA or math/science GPA is below a 3.0 at any of these times, the student will no longer be eligible to participate in the GAP-PNU.

Advising

Starting in the fall of his/her first year at Mercer, a GAP-PNU student must participate in the academic advising programs for pre-nursing students provided by the pre-professional advisor at the College of Liberal Arts.  Included in these events are visits to the Macon campus by representatives from the GBCN, who provide specific guidelines and advice to all pre-nursing students planning to attend the GBCN.

Application to the GBCN

GAP-PNU students are required to apply to the GBCN by January 15 of their second year.  GAP-PNU students are required to submit scores for the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) with their application packet; a minimum TEAS score is required to maintain eligibility for the GAP (for the fall of 2009, the minimum acceptable composite TEAS score is 78.7%).  Please see http://www2.mercer.edu/Nursing/Admissions/default.htm for details about the application process; visit http://www2.mercer.edu/Nursing/Admissions/Nurse+Entrance+Test.htm for information about the TEAS.  

Final acceptance into the nursing program is contingent upon a successful interview with the program’s faculty.

For more information about this or other pre-professional programs at Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts, contact the pre-professional advisor, Dr. Carol Bokros (Academic and Advising Services, Penfield Hall on the Macon campus; bokros_c@mercer.edu; 478-301-2250).

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