Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN)

Personal Statement Content: Each applicant is required to complete a personal statement which will be used
for the purpose of evaluating your application to the ABSN program. Please answer and address ALL six of the
following questions in essay format: 

1. Describe the event or time in your life that made you decide to pursue a career in nursing.
2. What are your strengths in your background that will assist you as you serve the population who seek out medical care?
3. What attributes can you bring to the program that will benefit your fellow students?
4. Due to the time commitment for the 15 months, how do you plan to commit yourself to this intense program?
5. Once you have completed your BSN, are you planning to pursue an advanced degree? If so, in what area of expertise?
6. Have you researched the opportunities in the nursing field? If so, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Personal Statement Formatting: Please use the following guidelines to properly format your Statement of Purpose: 

• No more than two pages, typed and in essay format. Please do not use “question and answer” format
• Double-spaced, 12-point type, Times New Roman font
• Include your full name and the page number at the top of each page (e.g. Matty Matador 1)
• File naming convention: first name last name SOP (ex: John Smith SOP).
• PDF or Word file formats only

Resume Content: The contents of your resume should be an accurate snapshot of your education and relevant work history, as it relates to your application to this program. Volunteer experience older than 24 months may also be included in your resume.

Resume Formatting: Please use the following guidelines to properly format your resume:

• File naming convention: first name_last name _resume (ex. John_Smith_Resume)
• PDF or Word file formats only

Applicants with unpaid volunteer experience that included patient care in a clinical setting within 24 months prior to the application deadline will be asked and are encouraged to include details about: the location/institution name(s), amount of hours completed, and a brief description of the volunteering responsibilities/duties when prompted in the online application. Please note that CNA/EMT etc. school
training/clinical hours are not considered volunteer hours.

If you have no acceptable volunteer experience, please answer “No” on the online application, and ignore.

You will also need to upload documentation to validate stated experience. Acceptable documentation can be in the form of:

• Written letter verification from a supervisor or manager who oversaw volunteer/un-paid experience, on organization letterhead, detailing duties and hours
• Timesheet/Log of hours

Volunteer Experience Upload Formatting: Please use the following guidelines to properly format your uploads:

• File naming convention: first name_last name _Volunteer-Location (ex. John_Smith_Volunteer-CSUN)
• PDF or Word file formats only
• Please note that due to technical limitations, individual file sizes can be no larger than 2MB

**Please direct questions about other types of documentation and volunteer experience to csunnursing@csun.edu.

Applicants in possession of appropriate clinical certifications and/or licenses (Examples: LVN, CNA, EMT, Clinical
Care Extender Certificate, Phlebotomy, EKG/Monitor Tech, other etc.) will be asked to list them and the dates
they were completed in the online application. 

• When typing them into the online application, please use the following format:
  • Certification Name (Date Completed) – Example: CNA (08/2020)

You will also need to upload documentation of your certificate/license to validate. Acceptable documentation can be in the form of a PDF copy or scanned image of physical certificate or license. 

Clinical License/Certification Upload Formatting: Please use the following guidelines to properly format your uploads:

• File naming convention: first name_last name _Certificate/License (ex. John_Smith_CNA)
• PDF, .jpeg, or .png file formats preferred
• Please note that due to technical limitations, individual file sizes can be no larger than 2MB

**Please direct questions about other types of documentation for clinical certifications and/or licenses to csunnursing@csun.edu.

As stated on the website, all applicant must complete the following science prerequisites (19 units) within 7 years before applying to the ABSN Program:

• BIOL 211/212: Human Anatomy and Lab (2/1)
• BIOL 215/L: Introductory Microbiology and Lab (2/2)
• BIOL 281/282: Human Physiology and Lab (3/1)
• CHEM 103/L: Introductory Chemistry I and Lab (3/1)
• MATH 140: Introductory Statistics (4) - This course can fall outside the seven (7) year application deadline requirement.

In the online application, you will be asked to enter your Grade, number of Units, Date Completed (Term and Year), Course number, and Educational Institution where you completed the course for each science prerequisite. Course equivalencies can be checked at assist.org or with the help of an academic advisor.

• All science prerequisites must have been completed (and all final grades posted on submitted transcripts) within 7 years of the application deadline. Any prerequisite courses which are older than 7 years (with the exception of Introductory Statistics) will not be accepted and must be re-taken prior to applying in order to qualify.
• We will accept online prerequisite labs taken from 2020 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
• The lecture and lab portion of each prerequisite must be taken concurrently to satisfy the prerequisite requirements for the CSUN Nursing program.
• All prerequisite course grades must be “C” or higher. If you have re-taken any courses within the 7 years with a “C” or higher, please only input your highest grade achieved in the online application.

All applicants to the CSUN ABSN Program are required to thoroughly read and confirm their understanding of the responsibilities outlined in the Self-Disclosure of Scheduling Availability Agreement, before commencing their application. The link to the current Agreement is linked under STEP 1 on the Application Instructions webpage and here: https://tsengcollege.csun.edu/sites/default/files/programs/ABSN_Agreement.pdf  A question in the online application will ask you to acknowledge your understanding of the Self-Disclosure of Scheduling Availability Agreement.