Updates for Applicants

Announcements and Updates

This webpage includes a variety of important announcements and updates for prospective students in De Anza's nursing programs.

Scroll down or click each link below for more information.

• Readiness form updates
• Next application period
• Waiting list update
• Important information for the next class
• COVID-19 vaccination policy
• HESI Admission Assessment Exam
• Social Security number or alternate ID number required for admission

Readiness Forms – Update

(Updated on February 18, 2025)

Students who are on the Nursing Program waiting list must complete and return a Readiness Form as requested/Quarter in order to maintain eligibility for admission in future Quarters.

The Readiness Form for the 2025 Fall Quarter should be submitted between May 1 and May 30, 2025.

Download the Readiness Form

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Next Application Period: Sept. 1-15, 2025

(Updated on April 16, 2025)

• Be sure to review the information on the Overview for Applicants webpage so you are prepared to submit your application.
• You must take the HESI Admission Assessment Exam no later than the application deadline. See the Program Information document posted on the Overview for Applicants webpage for more information.
• You must submit official transcripts for all college coursework completed after April 15, 2018 outside De Anza or Foothill College, as well as any other official transcripts for courses completed earlier to meet Nursing program prerequisites.
  • • Submit your transcripts to De Anza's Office of Admissions and Records and notify the office that you are applying to the Nursing program.
    • See the Program Information document posted on the Overview for Applicants webpage for more information.
• Submit any petitions for prerequisite course equivalency well before the application deadline, to allow time for review and processing your petition.
• We recommend that you attend an Information Meeting and schedule an Application Review prior to mailing in your application.

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Wait List Update

(Updated on April 16, 2025)

The RN Program Wait List released in April 2025 shows applicants through January 15, 2025.

• The list now has 57 people on it. 
• If any information appears to be incorrect, please contact the Nursing Department office.

Download the Current Waiting List

• The department admits a new group of 20 students each quarter (Fall, Winter and Sping), or a total of 60 students per year.
• All students must submit a Readiness Form as requested/Quarter in order to remain on the waiting list.  Students who fail to submit the form will be removed from the Waiting List.
• Students who are selected for entry are allowed to defer entry one time only. If the student does not enter the following quarter, they will be removed from the Waiting List.

• How is each starting group selected?

  Three times per year an announcement is put up on the nursing web site asking people on the waiting list to send in a Readiness Form for an upcoming quarter.

  After the announced deadline for forms, the class and alternates are selected from the people highest on the Nursing program waiting list that have turned in a Readiness Form saying they are ready to start. 

  Alternates are used to fill vacancies in the class that may occur prior to the second day of the starting quarter. Alternates not used are returned to the waiting list and are not guaranteed a place in the following class. They must send in another readiness form for the following starting quarter.

• When will I be able to start the RN Program? 

  Here is how to figure out the worst case entry time: Worst case means everyone above you on the list gets in ahead of you. Let's say that you are in position 100 on the waiting list. Since we are admitting classes with 20 students, we divide the number of students on the list through you (100) by 20 resulting in 5 full classes.

• How should I prepare to enter the program?

  All students on the waiting list should be completing immunizations and/or documenting immunity via titer reports. Please refer to the Immunization Worksheet and the Flu Vaccination Verification Form available on the Overview for Applicants webpage.  Other health requirements (physical exam and TB testing) that must be completed no earlier than one month before entry into the program will be discussed at an Orientation Meeting for the invited class and alternates. 

  We also highly recommend that students be well prepared in English skills and review their biology as they approach the time of entry into the nursing program. Research has shown that good English skills (spoken and written) and knowledge of nursing prerequisite material in biology are predictors of success in two-year nursing programs.

  Please note that you must complete De Anza's Sociology 1 or Anthropology 2, or their equivalent, before you start the second quarter of the RN program. You should also take the time you are waiting to finish any uncompleted GE classes needed to get an A.S. degree in Nursing from De Anza. 

  GE requirements are summarized on the Getting Started document available on the Overview for Applicants webpage.

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Important Information for the Next Class

(Updated on November 8, 2024)

The Fall 2025 class of 20 students, along with 10 alternates, will be selected according to their Waiting List order and readiness to start the program. Please remember:

• You will not be selected for Fall Quarter if you did not complete a Readiness Form by the previous deadline (May 30, 2025).
• Students who do not submit a Readiness Form as requested will be removed from the Waiting List.
• Mandatory orientation: Students selected for the Fall Quarter will receive an email invitation  May 27, 2025 to attend a mandatory Orientation meeting on Friday, June 14, 2025 from 9 to 11 a.m. via Zoom. 
• Deferrals: Students who are selected will only be allowed to defer entry one time. If the student does not enter the following Quarter, they will be removed from the Waiting List.
• Alternates: Students who are selected as Alternates may be tapped to fill vacancies that occur before the second day of the Quarter. Alternates who are not tapped for the class will be returned to the Waiting List and must continue to submit the Readiness Form for future Quarters. Alternates are not guaranteed a place in the following Quarter.
• Time limit: Once in the program, students must complete the program within nine Quarters of their starting date (excluding summer sessions).
• Immunization requirements: Read the information on this webpage so you can be prepared for entering the Nursing program. A physical exam will be required within one month of beginning the nursing program. You may want to delay an upcoming physical a few months if you would have to pay for a second physical.
• Social Security/ITIN requirement: Please read the announcement below on this page regarding the requirement for having a U.S. Social Security or ITIN number.
• Sociology or Anthropology requirement: You must complete Sociology 1 or Anthropology 2 at De Anza, or their equivalent, before starting the second quarter of your Nursing program. We recommend taking it before you begin the program, so you don't have to take it with your Nursing classes in your first quarter of the program.

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COVID-19 Vaccination

All instructors and students must be vaccinated for COVID-19 as required by our clinical partners.

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HESI Admission Assessment Exam

(Updated on Oct. 2, 2018)

The exam registration process is described in two documents – the Program Information guide and the HESI/Evolve Reach Exam Registration Instructions – which can be found on the Overview for Applicants webpage.

You must take the exam before the application period deadline. Please review the testing registration procedure in the Program Information document on the Overview for Applicants webpage, even if you have previously read this material.

Exam Preparation

A new 6th edition of the HESI Admission Assessment Exam Review is available for purchase from your preferred bookseller. For details about this book, see the Program Information guide on the Overview for Applicants webpage.

• This book is not thorough enough to be a complete study resource. You will need to study other materials, such as your Anatomy and Physiology texts, to ensure success on this exam.
• The book has some vocabulary lists, math tables, and an overview of exam content, as well as practice questions and tests.
• One copy of the book is now available to check out for a maximum of three days in the Reserved Books section of the De Anza Library.

Test Recommendations

Remember:

If you score less than 75% on any required sections, you only have one more chance to retake the tests (within one calendar year from your first test session).

• You can combine the best scores from the first and second test sessions.
• Please note that you must request Version 2 of the exam if you have to take it again. This is indicated in the Program Information document section on registering for the exam.

If you have not scored at least 75% on all required scored sections after taking the second test, you will not be allowed to apply to any De Anza College Nursing program in the future.

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Social Security/ITIN Number Required for Admission

(Updated on March 7, 2024)

The Nursing Department has adopted an admission policy aligned with the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) requirement that all applicants for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam must have a U.S. Social Security number.

• For International students, the BRN is now accepting a Federal Employer Identification Number or Individual Taxpayer ID Number (ITIN). 
• Students must have a U.S. Social Security or ITIN number to qualify for admission to De Anza's Nursing program.