Aims Community College Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Aims scores nursing applicants across five categories (GPA on last 45 credit hours, institutional credits at Aims, HESI A2 composite, science-course letter grades in A&P I/II/Nutrition/Microbiology, and CNA/EMT/Paramedic work experience) for a maximum of 27 points, with the highest-scoring applicants admitted first. Before the narrow April 13-May 8 application window opens, calculate your own likely score across all five categories using Aims' published point tables, and target your remaining time before applying on whichever single category is your weakest link - most commonly the science-course GPA (worth up to 12 points, the largest single category).

Aims only permits the HESI A2 to be taken once a year, in a fixed window beginning August 1 of the application year and ending on the last day of application submission, and explicitly states scores from multiple exam sittings cannot be combined into one report. Schedule your single annual HESI attempt with real preparation already done, since you don't get a low-stakes early attempt - this is a once-a-year, all-in-one testing window with a hard 75% minimum in Reading, Vocabulary, and Math.

Aims requires a current, state-issued, non-restricted Certified Nurse Aide license just to be application-eligible (out-of-state CNA licenses are accepted), separate from the points-earning "work experience" category that requires 800 documented hours. Obtain your CNA license as early as possible in your prerequisite timeline - even without the full 800 hours needed for bonus points, the license itself is a non-negotiable eligibility gate distinct from the scoring rubric.

After successfully completing the first year of Aims' ADN program, students can take a summer course to earn a Practical Nurse Certificate and sit for the NCLEX-PN - a genuine, structurally built-in off-ramp rather than an informal workaround. If you're uncertain about committing to the full two-year ADN timeline upfront, know that Aims has designed this exit point deliberately, which can reduce the perceived risk of starting the program at all.