Columbia State Community College (Columbia State) Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Columbia State's Nursing program requires a composite ACT score of 19 or higher (or 900+ SAT) simply to be considered, with no alternative path around this threshold except one specific exception: students who complete all required Learning Support (LS) competencies in reading, writing, and math receive nursing admission points equivalent to an ACT 19 automatically. Students whose ACT/SAT falls short of this threshold should ask a nursing advisor specifically about the Learning Support completion pathway rather than assuming a low test score disqualifies them outright.

Because exemption from or satisfaction of Learning Support competencies is a prerequisite condition for Nursing admission consideration (not just a nice-to-have), students who test into Learning Support coursework in reading, writing, or math should complete these requirements in their first semesters specifically, well before assembling a nursing application, since unresolved LS deficiencies can block application consideration entirely regardless of other qualifications.

Students transferring from another nursing program within the past three years can seek advanced standing with credit for prior nursing coursework (case-by-case, C or better required), but transfer applicants whose nursing coursework is older than three years lose this option and must pursue traditional admission instead - essentially starting the nursing sequence over. Students who paused a nursing program elsewhere should apply to Columbia State's bridge or transfer track well within that three-year window, and gather the required letter of good standing from their prior program's Dean/Director as part of that timeline, not after it's expired.

Columbia State's clinical training sites conduct independent criminal background checks and drug screens, and an affiliated site can bar a specific student from placement based on its own results - separate from whatever admission or licensure-level review applies. Students with any relevant history should ask the Nursing program director directly about affiliated clinical site policies before investing in prerequisite coursework, since a site-level exclusion could prevent completing required clinical hours even after formal program admission.