Please know that all nursing programs are very competitive and the criteria used to evaluate applications to the Missoula College Registered Nursing Program are listed below. Application points are accrued for each of the five categories.

GPA of Prerequisite Courses

Approximately 32% of the application points are awarded for the grades in the 6 prerequisite courses.  It is important to have high grades in these courses in order to present a competitive application.

Kaplan Nursing School Entrance Exam Score

Approximately 32% of the application score is comprised of the "Kaplan Nursing School Entrance Exam" score.  Minimum score of 65% to be eligible to apply.

• Description:  The Kaplan's Nursing School Entrance Exam is a proctored, comprehensive, computer-based test required of our RN program applicants.  The test is a pre-admission assessment that predicts a student’s ability to succeed in nursing school. It is nationally normed and measures performance as well as gaps in physiology, math, and reading. It is designed for students with a high-school education (or equivalent), and does not require any previous nursing education. However, the more anatomy and physiology courses taken, the better.

• Cost:  No fee if taken at Missoula College. If an applicant cannot attend one of the testing times available at Missoula College, the test may be taken using Examity, an outside proctoring service, for a small fee.

• Preparation:  See application as well as search online for Kaplan nursing entrance exam, which will yield information about the test and preparation materials. Studying for the exam is absolutely needed to do well.

• Attempts:  Only 1 attempt is allowed per application period.  A previous score no older than 12 months is eligible; however, only the most recent test score will be used for the application.

• Test Age:  A Kaplan exam result no older than 12 months is acceptable.  

• Signing Up / Registering for Kaplan Entrance Exam:   The procedure for registering for and taking the exam, as well as exam preparation are detailed in the program application, which posts to the Health Professions Department application webpage (https://mc.umt.edu/health/applications).

Interview

Approximately 32% of the application score is comprised of points earned during the interview.  NOTE:  Critical to being invited for an interview are: high grades in the prerequisite courses; doing well on the Kaplan exam; and any additional points accrued for hands-on healthcare experience and corequisite course completion.

• For Fall Admission: Interviews are generally scheduled in early June.

• For Spring Admission: Interviews are generally scheduled in early January.

• Applicants are notified whether or not they will be invited to be interviewed. 

Healthcare Experience

Up to 4% is added to the total application score for approved documented "hands-on" healthcare experience. CNA and LPN experience is preferred, but others are considered on a case-by-case basis.

• Experience must be within the past 5 years of application submission.

• Application points are awarded, starting at a minimum of 200 hours of paid experience; points increase according to the number of hours accrued; and the maximum number of points awarded is for 1000 or more hours.

Corequisite Course Completion

Applicants can accrue up to an additional 2% in application points for completion of the 4 corequisite courses by the end of the term in which the application is submitted.

Admission Decisions

• Admission decisions are finalized once the current semester's final grades are officially posted.  

• All applicants will be notified of the admission decision made about their application.

• Applicants often have to apply more than once to be admitted to our program because only 18 spots are available each semester due to the required faculty/nursing student ratio and due to the number of clinical experiences available. All nursing programs are competitive.