Chamberlain University-Illinois (Tinley Park) Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Chamberlain's BSN admission requires a completed HESI A2 entrance exam - a nursing-specific assessment covering anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry, math, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. ACT, SAT, or TEAS scores may be substituted in lieu of the HESI A2, and scores are valid for five years from test date. The HESI A2 score is calculated as a custom composite from a subset of exam sections for admission purposes and is separately reviewed for BIOS (biology/science) placement. This is not the NCLEX - it is a pre-enrollment assessment used to evaluate academic eligibility and is reviewed by Chamberlain's BSN Admission Committee. Students who schedule their first start date without first completing and receiving results from the HESI A2 (or equivalent) have an incomplete application that cannot advance to enrollment. Chamberlain offers six annual start dates across its Illinois campuses - Chicago (evening/weekend cohort option available), Addison, and Tinley Park - meaning a student who misses one start date has another within approximately two months, but only if their HESI A2 or equivalent is on file.

Chamberlain University is a private for-profit institution, a subsidiary of Adtalem Global Education (which also operates Walden University). For-profit status does not invalidate its accreditations: HLC regional accreditation (the same accreditor as the University of Illinois and Northwestern University) and CCNE programmatic accreditation for its BSN, MSN, and DNP programs are both independently awarded and carry the same weight with hospital employers as the same accreditations at nonprofit institutions. What for-profit status does require is specific due diligence: total program cost compared to CCNE-accredited nonprofit alternatives in Illinois (Loyola University, DePaul, Northern Illinois University); NCLEX first-time pass rate at the specific Illinois campus a student will attend (national 2025 rate: 79.75%, but campus-level rates vary and students should request the campus-specific figure); and median graduate earnings from the Department of Education's College Scorecard for the specific program. For-profit status also means Chamberlain's marketing is more aggressive than nonprofit institutions, which can create inflated expectations - counselors should present verified data rather than enrollment representative claims.

Chamberlain's most operationally distinctive feature is its absence of waitlists and its six annual cohort start dates across Illinois campuses. For working adults, career changers, and students who were waitlisted at traditional BSN programs, this creates a practical pathway that public university nursing programs - which typically have one cohort per year and competitive ranking processes - cannot match on scheduling flexibility. However, the absence of a waitlist does not mean open enrollment: Chamberlain requires a background check, fingerprinting, and drug screen as conditions of acceptance. The admissions page lists specific categories of criminal offense that create automatic ineligibility, and students with any criminal record should contact Chamberlain's admissions team before completing the HESI A2 process, because some healthcare facility affiliates will refuse clinical placement for students with certain backgrounds even if Chamberlain's own eligibility criteria are met. State boards of nursing in Illinois (and other states where graduates plan to practice) additionally have their own license eligibility criteria that may differ from Chamberlain's admissions requirements.

Chamberlain's Commitment to Completion Grant (CCG) provides up to $11,000 in total savings, including two courses at no cost, applied automatically to qualifying students' accounts. Chamberlain describes it as applying "right when you need it most" - meaning it is designed to reduce the cost at a point in the program where financial strain most often causes students to stop out. In 2025, Chamberlain awarded more than $87 million overall in scholarships, grants, and financial assistance across all programs. Military students and Chamberlain alumni pursuing advanced degrees receive additional tuition savings. Students must complete the FAFSA and connect with an Enrollment Representative to understand all available financial assistance before their start date - the combination of the Commitment to Completion Grant, Pell eligibility, state grants, and any employer tuition assistance can materially reduce the total cost compared to the sticker tuition rate. Out-of-pocket estimates based on sticker price alone systematically overstate what most students actually pay at Chamberlain.