Palm Beach State College Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Palm Beach State College has an open admissions policy: high school diploma or GED, official transcripts, and a completed application are all that is required. No test scores, no GPA minimum, no essay, no recommendations. However, many of PBSC's most in-demand programs - nursing, dental hygiene, radiology, CT/MRI imaging, medical assisting, EMT, paramedic, fire science, criminal justice, and others - are designated as limited or controlled access and require a separate competitive application after you are enrolled as a general college student. These programs award admission based on a points system that factors in GPA, prerequisite completion, county residency, military status, relevant work experience, and other documented criteria. Being admitted to PBSC does not admit you to any of these programs. Identify your target program's limited/controlled access application requirements and deadlines on pbsc.edu/admissions/limited-controlled-access-program-applications on or before your first semester, not after you have enrolled and begun coursework.

Palm Beach State College was founded in 1933 as Palm Beach Junior College, the first public junior college in the state of Florida. It was known as Palm Beach Community College from 1988 to 2010, when it changed its name to Palm Beach State College upon adding bachelor's degree programs. Bachelor's degrees are now available in Supervision and Management (BAS - four concentrations: General Management, Entrepreneurship, Health Management, and Project Management), Information Technology (BS - three concentrations: Database Administration and Data Analytics, Project Management, and Security and Network Assurance), Radiologic Sciences (BS), and Nursing (BS, RN-to-BSN completion program). These are full four-year bachelor's degrees at approximately $6,900 total for Florida residents (for IT concentrations). Completion time for students entering with an associate degree or 60+ equivalent credits is typically 18 to 24 months. The business programs are ACBSP accredited. For students who want a bachelor's degree at the cost of a community college, PBSC's bachelor's tracks are one of Florida's most direct and affordable pathways.

PBSC operates five full campuses across Palm Beach County, and specific programs are campus-specific. The main Lake Worth campus (114 acres, 51 buildings) is the most comprehensive. The Loxahatchee Groves campus is where the Dental Hygiene program is located and where the new Dental and Health Innovation building is under construction. The Palm Beach Gardens campus is home to the new SoFi Center development. The Boca Raton campus sits adjacent to Florida Atlantic University, making it useful for students planning to transfer to FAU. The Belle Glade campus serves the western agricultural area of Palm Beach County. All campuses offer general education courses, but clinical, health, and vocational programs are concentrated at specific locations. If you are applying with a specific program in mind - dental hygiene, health sciences, information technology, or business management - confirm which campus delivers that program before selecting your home campus during enrollment. PBSC does not offer on-campus housing; all students commute from off-campus housing.

PBSC has been nationally recognized for its support of military-affiliated students by multiple military publications, appearing on major "best for veterans" lists. Military and Veterans Services staff serve students across all five campuses with dedicated advising, benefit certification, and transition support. Athletic scholarships are available in baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, and volleyball for student-athletes who have demonstrated high proficiency; athletes should contact the coach of their sport directly, as scholarship decisions are made at the program level. The college's open admissions policy means that military-connected students who may have non-traditional academic records from years of service face no enrollment barrier at general admission. However, limited-access programs (nursing, fire science, criminal justice) use a points-based competitive system that awards extra points for veteran status - a genuine admission advantage to document carefully when applying for those programs.