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College of Nursing

Upper Division Application

The upper division application includes the following:

  1. Application form (not used as part of application scoring)
  2. Progression GPA (PGPA) 
  3. One audio-visual interview
  4. One written interview

Progression GPA (PGPA) will account for 95% of the final admission score. PGPA is calculated based on the following:

  • Individual grade earned in each designated progression course will be used to calculate PGPA. Current students who want to view tutorials on calculating PGPA can watch tutorial videos available in the Blackboard Ultra BSN Lower Division virtual community site.
  • If a student chooses to retake a progression course, any/all attempts will result in those letter grades being averaged in the final PGPA calculation. This includes lab-designated progression courses (i.e. BIOL 243L, etc.)
    • *NOTE: Grades earned in any course within the USC system, regardless of attempts, including the original grade, will remain on the transcript and will be counted towards the institutional GPA. If grade forgiveness is applied, the grade will not be counted in the institutional GPA but will remain on the transcript.
  • Students who earn grades of D+, D, F, FN, or WF in designated progression courses are eligible to apply for University grade forgiveness. Students must adhere to all University Registrar policies related to grade forgiveness.

Interviews will account for a combined total 5% of the admission score. Students will complete interviews through a third-party vendor including completion of one audio-visual interview and one written interview. Rubrics for the audio-visual and written interviews will be published at least 2 weeks prior to the opening of the upper division application to aid student preparation.

Application Closed

The upper division application will open in late fall and close by mid-December each year. 


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