Western Carolina University
Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (A.B.S.N.) · Cullowhee, NC · school's own site (opens the school's website in a new tab)
ActiveIn personlast verified Oct 2026
Prerequisites
The courses Western Carolina says you need before you start, as published on its own pages. Credits, labs, and minimum grades are shown where the school states them.
- 01General ChemistryIntroductory Chem with Lab · CHEM 132CHEM 132 or higher; NCCC CHM 130 or higher with lab (Helpful Hints PDF lists CHM 131/131A or 151). Science prerequisite.
source · wcu.edu
“CHEM 132: Introductory Chem with Lab (4 sem. Credits)”
credits4labrequiredmin gradeC - 02Anatomy & Physiology IHuman Anatomy & Physiology I w/Lab · BIO 291NCCC BIO 165 or 168. Animal A&P not accepted.
source · wcu.edu
“BIO 291: Human Anatomy & Physiology I w/Lab (4 credits)”
credits4labrequiredmin gradeC - 03Anatomy & Physiology IIHuman Anatomy & Physiology II w/ Lab · BIO 292NCCC BIO 166 or 169. Animal A&P not accepted.
source · wcu.edu
“BIO 292: Human Anatomy & Physiology II w/ Lab (4 credits)”
credits4labrequiredmin gradeC - 04MicrobiologyEtiology of Infectious Disease w/ lab · ENVH 260/261Helpful Hints PDF lists 4 credits; program page and prerequisites PDF say 3. NCCC BIO 175, 176, or 275.
source · wcu.edu
“ENVH 260/261: Etiology of Infectious Disease w/ lab (3 credits) Note: this is a Microbiology course”
credits3labrequiredmin gradeC - 05NutritionHuman Nutritional Needs · ND 330Credits from prerequisites PDF. No NCCC equivalent; available online through WCU.
source · wcu.edu
“ND 330 Human Nutritional Needs. Equivalent 300 level course may be accepted.”
credits3labnomin gradeC - 06PathophysiologyPathophysiology for Nursing · NSG 346Credits from prerequisites PDF. Recommended at WCU; no NCCC equivalent.
source · wcu.edu
“NSG 346 Pathophysiology for Nursing (Recommend taking at WCU; Equivalent 300 level course may be accepted. Email wcunursing@wcu.edu .)”
credits3labnomin gradeC - 07StatisticsApplied Statistics · MATH 170Most statistics courses accepted; statistics from another discipline may be considered. Calculus not a substitute. NCCC MAT 151.
source · wcu.edu
“MATH 170 Applied Statistics (3 credits)”
credits3labnomin gradeC - 08General PsychologyGeneral Psychology · PSY 150Abnormal or developmental psychology not equivalent. AP 3+ or Cambridge AICE accepted.
source · wcu.edu
“Psychology 150 -General Psychology (3 credits)”
credits3labnomin gradeC
Minimum prerequisite grade
C or higher
source · wcu.edu
“Course Prerequisites, all grades must be a C or higher.”
Prerequisites in progress
3 of 4 science prerequisites complete by application deadline; all others before fall start
Requirements page: 'There are no exceptions.'
source · wcu.edu
“You must complete 3 of the 4 science prerequisites prior to applying. You can complete other prerequisites after the application deadline, as long as you finish them prior to starting ABSN courses in the fall.”
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Do prerequisites expire?
Prerequisite age limit
No time limit
Prerequisites PDF also says: 'There is no set expiration date for completed prerequisites.'
source · wcu.edu
“The ABSN program does not have a time restriction for the completion of any prerequisite coursework.”
Attempt limits Not published. Confirm with the school.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
GPA and grades
Minimum cumulative GPA for admission
3.0 from all coursework (undergraduate and graduate)
source · wcu.edu
“Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA from all coursework (undergraduate and graduate-if applicable).”
Science GPA Not published. Confirm with the school.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Is there an entrance exam?
Average TEAS of admitted students
85-89%
Historical average, not a minimum.
source · wcu.edu
“Historically, the average TEAS score for accepted applicants has ranged between 85-89%.”
Entrance exam Not published. Confirm with the school. Our two readings of the page disagreed (“ATI TEAS (most current version); no minimum published” vs “TEAS (most current version) required; official ATI scores must be submitted with the application”), so we are not publishing a value yet.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Where can courses be taken?
Online labs Not published. Confirm with the school.
Community college courses Not published. Confirm with the school. Our two readings of the page disagreed (“NC Community College equivalents accepted for science, psychology and statistics prerequisites” vs “North Carolina Community College equivalents are listed and accepted for most prerequisites”), so we are not publishing a value yet.
Pass/fail Not published. Confirm with the school.
Credit by exam Not published. Confirm with the school. Our two readings of the page disagreed (“AP score of 3+ or Cambridge AICE A/AS accepted for General Psychology” vs “An AP score of 3 or above (or Cambridge AICE A or AS) can satisfy PSY 150”), so we are not publishing a value yet.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Application deadlines and start dates
Upcoming cycles Western Carolina publishes. A date without a year on the school's page is noted rather than guessed.
No upcoming application dates published. Confirm with the school.
NursingCAS
Yes, after admission to WCU
source · wcu.edu
“Part 2: Application and admission to the ABSN program through NursingCAS.”
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Cost
Tuition and fees as the school publishes them. Living costs vary; the source link has the full table.
Tuition & fees per fall/spring semester (2025-2026)
Resident $3,524.78; non-resident $5,524.78 per fall/spring semester; summer $171.71/credit in-state, $338.37/credit out-of-state
Includes $1,182.28 health insurance fee, waivable. NC Promise applies. Additional costs are listed per semester.
source · wcu.edu
“Resident: $3524.78 Non-Resident: $5524.78”
Application fee Not published. Confirm with the school.
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Other requirements
What the school asks for beyond courses and scores.
Prior degree
Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution
source · wcu.edu
“Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university”
Transcript evaluation
No official pre-application transcript evaluation
Informal evaluations available at open house with appointment.
source · wcu.edu
“We do not offer an official transcript evaluation prior to applying to WCU.”
- Official TEAS scores must be sent from ATI and submitted with the application.
source · wcu.edu
“Official scores must be sent to WCU Nursing from Assessment Technology Institute (ATI) and must be submitted with your application.”
- International coursework requires course descriptions and syllabi for evaluation; contact the Office of Global Engagement.
source · wcu.edu
“Please note that review of coursework completed outside of the United States will require additional steps, such as submission of course descriptions and course syllabi for coursework evaluation.”
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Good to know
What the school says about the program that is not a requirement: how it selects, how many it admits, what to expect.
Format
In-person classes at Biltmore Park plus clinicals
Clinicals primarily in Buncombe County with some travel around Western North Carolina.
source · wcu.edu
“In general, you should expect 2-3 days of in-person classes at the Biltmore Park campus and 1-3 days of clinical experiences at surrounding healthcare facilities, depending on the semester and the week.”
Start term
Fall only
source · wcu.edu
“Fall Entry Only”
Class size
55 students
source · wcu.edu
“We currently seat a class of 55 students.”
Online providers
StraighterLine, Sophia, Study.com courses can be checked via the ACE section of the LookUp tool
FAQ: 'Many students will utilize online proprietary educational institutions to meet prerequisite requirements.'
source · wcu.edu
“Use Ctrl + F (or Command + F if you are using a Mac) to search for StrLn, which is what we use for StraighterLine courses. There are also Sophia for Sophia Learning, Study.com, and others included under this section!”
NSG 346 and ND 330 timing
Usually taken online at WCU the summer after admission
300-level; most transfer courses do not qualify.
source · wcu.edu
“The majority of ABSN students take these courses online through WCU during the summer after being admitted to the ABSN program, before officially starting classes in the fall. Slots are held for all admitted ABSN students.”
Last verified Oct 2026 · Something wrong here? Report an error
Sources
Every page we read for Western Carolina, with when we last checked it. Tier 1 is the program's own pages; tier 2 the nursing school's general pages; tier 3 university-wide pages.
- Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursingtier 1 · program page · checked Oct 23, 2026
- Requirements & Coststier 1 · program page · checked Oct 23, 2026
- https://www.wcu.edu/_files/learn/ABSN-Prerequisites-23.pdftier 1 · pdf · checked Oct 23, 2026
- Admission & Program FAQstier 1 · how to apply · checked Oct 23, 2026
- https://www.wcu.edu/_files/ABSN-Prerequisite-Information.docxtier 1 · how to apply · checked Oct 23, 2026
- https://www.wcu.edu/_images/learn/Requirements.pdftier 1 · pdf · checked Oct 23, 2026
Open questions we're still checking
- Fall 2027 deadline not yet posted; page says deadlines are announced around late October.
- No minimum TEAS score published; only historical average (85-89%).
- MICRO credit count differs: 3 credits on program page vs 4 in Helpful Hints PDF.
- ABSN-Prerequisite-Information.docx was unreadable (binary content) and may contain additional details.
- Application fee, essays, recommendations, and the exact fall start date are not stated.
- The deadline for the cycle after Fall 2026 is not yet posted; the page says deadlines are announced around late October.
- No TEAS minimum score, application fee, online lab policy, or pass/fail policy is published.
- MICRO credits conflict: the program page lists 3 credits, while Requirements.pdf lists 4.
- Two readings of the page disagreed on entrance_exam: ATI TEAS (most current version); no minimum published | TEAS (most current version) required; official ATI scores must be submitted with the application.
- Two readings of the page disagreed on community_college_policy: NC Community College equivalents accepted for science, psychology and statistics prerequisites | North Carolina Community College equivalents are listed and accepted for most prerequisites.
- Two readings of the page disagreed on credit_by_exam: AP score of 3+ or Cambridge AICE A/AS accepted for General Psychology | An AP score of 3 or above (or Cambridge AICE A or AS) can satisfy PSY 150.
Something wrong here? Report an error
ABSNcheck summarizes requirements that schools publish on their own websites, with a link to each source and the date we last verified it. Schools change requirements, sometimes contradict themselves, and make individual decisions. Results show whether you meet published minimums; they are not an admission decision or a guarantee, and are not official advice from any school. Always confirm requirements with each program before you apply or enroll in a course.
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