Nursing Schools in New Orleans: 2026 BSN Admissions Guide

New Orleans packs a surprising range of nursing schools into one metro: an academic health sciences center, a Jesuit university, two HBCUs, a Catholic university on the West Bank, and two career-focused campuses in the suburbs. Our database tracks five BSN programs inside the city itself, plus nearby options in Kenner and Jefferson that many New Orleans applicants also target.

The numbers below are published minimums on file as of July 2026. Treat them as floors, not targets: competitive applicants usually land above them, and schools update cutoffs every cycle, so always check the school's page for current numbers. You can browse every program on our New Orleans hub and the wider Louisiana hub, or check your odds free against the real requirements.

Public options in New Orleans

LSU Health New Orleans

LSU Health New Orleans is the city's flagship: an upper-division BSN inside an academic health sciences center. Published requirements are a 3.0 prerequisite GPA, a B- or better in each science course, and a HESI A2 with a minimum 80 percent cumulative score, the toughest published exam bar in the city. An essay and an online interview are also part of the process. Applications go through NursingCAS, with an August 31 deadline for spring entry, and the program admits for both fall and spring.

Southern University at New Orleans

SUNO, a public HBCU, runs a traditional four-year BSN that is explicitly not a bridge program. The published floor is a 2.7 overall GPA, plus a campus-proctored ATI TEAS taken within the last six months, a proctored essay, and a committee interview. No numeric TEAS minimum is published. Applications go through NursingCAS.

Private options in New Orleans

Loyola University New Orleans

Loyola, the city's Jesuit university, admits students as pre-nursing first-years who progress into the major with a 2.5 cumulative GPA and a C or better in science prerequisites; a direct-admit path exists with a 3.0 prerequisite GPA. There is no entrance exam on any official page, and applications are accepted year round, which makes Loyola one of the most flexible entry points in the metro.

Dillard University

Dillard, a private HBCU, is described on its official pages as Louisiana's oldest accredited baccalaureate nursing program (currently operating under conditional approval from the state board). Published requirements: a 2.7 overall GPA, a 2.8 cumulative science GPA, and a HESI A2 with 77 percent or higher on the Reading Comprehension, Basic Math, Chemistry, and Anatomy and Physiology components. There is one fall cohort per year, with a March 1 deadline.

University of Holy Cross

On the West Bank in Algiers, University of Holy Cross publishes a 2.5 cumulative GPA and requires the ATI TEAS at the Proficient preparedness level (no numeric percentage is published), plus a Nelson-Denny reading test. Fall admission letters typically go out by mid-May, and no hard application cutoff is published, so earlier is safer.

Worth a look just outside the city

These two campuses sit in the suburbs, minutes from New Orleans proper, and draw heavily from the same applicant pool:

• Herzing University in Kenner runs a direct-admit, roughly 3-year BSN with a 2.5 cumulative GPA floor and an ATI TEAS composite of 58. A&P I and II require a B+ or better. Admissions are rolling with no fixed deadline.
• Chamberlain University's New Orleans campus in Jefferson requires no prerequisite courses at all, since everything is built into its 3-year BSN. The HESI A2 is required (ACT, SAT, or TEAS accepted instead), with no published GPA or exam minimum; admissions are holistic.

How admissions work in New Orleans

A few patterns stand out across the metro:

1. The spread between floors is wide. LSU Health wants a 3.0 with an 80 percent HESI; Loyola and Holy Cross publish 2.5 GPA floors with no hard exam score. Few metros give applicants this much room to match a school to their numbers.
2. HESI A2 and TEAS split the market. LSU Health and Dillard use the HESI A2 with real section or cumulative cutoffs, while SUNO, Holy Cross, and Herzing use the TEAS, mostly without published minimums.
3. Interviews and essays matter here. LSU Health and SUNO both require an essay plus an interview, so your application is more than a numbers screen.
4. Timing varies a lot. Dillard has a single March 1 fall deadline, LSU Health runs NursingCAS cycles for fall and spring, and Loyola, Herzing, and Chamberlain accept applications on flexible or rolling schedules.

For statewide strategy, see how to get into nursing school in Louisiana, our list of the easiest nursing schools to get into in Louisiana, and what GPA you need for nursing school.

See where you stand in New Orleans

Every requirement above is already loaded into our free tool. Enter your GPA, science grades, and any exam scores, and the chance calculator will show your fit for every New Orleans area BSN program in seconds, no account required.

*This guide is for planning only, not official admissions advice; always confirm requirements with each school.*