Holyoke Community College Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

HCC offers separate applications for PN, ASN, an Educational Mobility 1+1, an Advanced Placement LPN-to-RN ASN Pathway, and a Concurrent Enrollment HCC ASN/Westfield State University BSN Pathway - each with its own eligibility criteria and application. If your goal is ultimately a BSN, apply directly to the Concurrent Enrollment WSU pathway rather than the standalone ASN, since it lets you work toward both credentials simultaneously instead of reapplying to a four-year program after finishing your associate degree.

As of January 20, 2026, HCC will no longer accept lab science courses from nontraditional sources, and all program courses must come from an institution accredited by one of the seven DOE-recognized agencies or CHEA. If any of your prerequisite science credits came from a nontraditional, self-paced, or unaccredited provider, confirm their acceptance status with HCC's Nursing Office well before this rule affects your specific application, since older guidance about accepted course sources may no longer be current.

MassEducate and MassReconnect cover tuition and fees for eligible Massachusetts residents pursuing an associate degree or certificate, but these are "last-dollar" awards applied only after all other federal/state aid - meaning your FAFSA and any Pell Grant must be filed and processed first, or the last-dollar calculation won't reflect what you actually owe. File your FAFSA (or MASFA if FAFSA-ineligible) as early as possible each year, since MassEducate eligibility must be re-verified annually and isn't a standing, automatic award.

HCC explicitly states students cannot transfer in a course from another institution to replace a grade for a course already completed at HCC - the replacement must be retaken at HCC itself. If you need to improve a grade in a course you originally took at HCC, register to retake it at HCC directly rather than assuming an equivalent course elsewhere will satisfy the grade-replacement policy.