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Easiest Nursing Schools to Get Into (2026)

If you are searching for the easiest nursing schools to get into, you are usually trying to find an accredited BSN program that will actually read your application. That is a fair question. It is also easy to get a misleading answer, because most schools do not publish an acceptance rate, and a low minimum GPA is not the same thing as an easy admit.

On this page, "easiest" means the lowest published cumulative GPA floor in the Nursing School Planner dataset, with a second look at programs whose exam field is empty. Every number comes from a program record we already publish. Nothing here is a guessed acceptance rate or a made-up admit average. Requirements change, so confirm the current figure on the school's own page before you apply.

This page uses the Nursing School Planner dataset of 329 BSN programs in 19 states. 242 of them publish a cumulative GPA minimum that is not an estimate. 46 of those sit at 2.50 or below, and 19 of that group also have no entrance exam on file. 1 program marked closed to new admissions is left out. 3 accelerated tracks are left off the main list because they require a prior bachelor's degree (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - Northwest, 2.50; Fairfield University, 3.00; Texas Tech University El Paso Health Sciences Center, 3.00).

How this list is ranked

  1. Published cumulative GPA minimum, lowest first. Estimated GPAs are left out. So are programs marked closed to new admissions, and accelerated tracks that require a prior bachelor's degree.
  2. Entrance exam field. An empty exam field is "no entrance exam on file." A filled field, such as TEAS or HESI, is required. This label does not read the notes, so a school can still mention another exam there.
  3. Tier is context, not a score. Local, Top TX, and Top US are labels already on the program. A Top US school with a low floor is still a competitive application.

The same rules cover the searches people use interchangeably: easy nursing schools to get into, easy nursing programs to get into, and easiest nursing programs to get into. "School" and "program" point at the same BSN records here.

Easiest nursing schools by published GPA floor

These programs publish a cumulative GPA minimum of 2.50 or lower. A floor is the line that lets you apply. It is not an offer of admission, and several of these schools also publish a higher science or prerequisite GPA. When the tier on file is Top US or Top TX, treat the low number as an eligibility line at a competitive school.

2.00 published minimum

2.40 published minimum

2.50 published minimum

Easy nursing programs with no entrance exam

"Easy nursing programs" usually means the application has fewer hard gates, not that the coursework is lighter. The programs below publish a cumulative floor of 2.50 or lower and have an empty exam field.

Among programs with a published cumulative floor, 96 have an empty exam field. The shorter list below is that group with a floor of 2.50or lower. The label follows the exam field only. A school's notes can still describe an exam, such as the Wonderlic or Kaplan, so read the program page before you skip exam prep.

For the wider no-exam set, including schools with higher GPA floors, see nursing schools that don't require the TEAS and nursing schools you can get into with a 3.0 GPA.

Easiest nursing programs to transfer into

Transfer admission is a different door. Some BSN programs are upper-division: you finish prerequisites, then apply. Others direct-admit freshmen and say transfers are limited or closed. We only list a program in this section when the notes describe a transfer path and the published cumulative minimum is 2.75 or lower.

We do not have transfer acceptance rates. A program is listed here only when our notes describe a transfer or upper-division path and the published cumulative minimum is 2.75 or lower. A freshman floor can be lower than the transfer floor at the same school, so read the program page before you apply as a transfer.

A transfer pathway is not automatically an easier pathway. If a school's notes do not describe transfer admission, it is not on this list, even if the freshman floor looks low.

Nursing schools that are easy to get into

There is no honest national ranking that says "this school will accept you." What we can say is which programs publish a lower floor, which ones skip the entrance exam, and which states in our dataset tend to publish lower floors. Use that to build a balanced list: one or two schools where you clear the published minimum with room to spare, and a reach you care about. Then check the science GPA, because a 2.50 cumulative floor often sits next to a 3.00 science or prerequisite requirement.

The program records do not have an acceptance-rate field. 2 notes mention a rate, and they are selective schools, so those figures are not used to build the accessible list:

The fuller breakdown of GPA floors and exam rules across the dataset is in BSN admissions by the numbers. If you want the GPA question on its own, read what GPA you need for nursing school.

Easiest nursing schools by state

State guides use the same published requirements and go school by school. Start with the state where you can actually attend.

These states are in the dataset but do not have a state guide yet. The hub still lists every program we track:

Frequently asked questions

What are the easiest nursing schools to get into?

The programs with the lowest published cumulative GPA floors in our dataset, listed above. A published minimum lets you apply. It does not mean the school admits everyone who meets it, and admitted classes are often well above the floor. We do not rank schools by acceptance rate, because that number is not a field on these programs.

Are easy nursing programs the same thing as easy nursing schools?

On this site, yes. Each record is a pre-licensure BSN program, and the "easiest" sort uses that program's published GPA minimum and entrance-exam rule. Accelerated programs that require a prior degree are kept off the main list so they are not mixed in with traditional BSN options.

Which nursing programs are easiest to transfer into?

Only programs whose notes describe a transfer or upper-division path and whose published cumulative minimum is 2.75 or lower. We do not have transfer acceptance rates. Read the program page, because the transfer GPA can be higher than the freshman floor at the same school.

Do the easiest nursing schools publish acceptance rates?

Almost none of them, in our records. The only acceptance rates written into program notes are for selective schools, and those rates are not used to build this list. If a page online quotes a precise acceptance percentage for a school that does not publish one, treat it as a guess.

Where should I look for the easiest nursing school in my state?

Use the state guides linked above. Each one explains that state's published floors, exam rules, and direct-admit exceptions. The state hub next to it is the full directory of programs we track, which is a different page from the "easiest" guide.

*This guide is for planning purposes only, not official admissions advice. Always confirm current requirements on each school's official admissions page before applying.*

Note: This tool is for planning purposes only. It does NOT guarantee admission. Always verify official requirements, deadlines, and policies directly with each nursing program before applying. Use this as a guide, not an official source. Program requirements change, and data shown here may be approximate or outdated.