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What’s new for 2019

The 2019 ABSN application is completely online! This means you don’t have to download forms, print, or mail any physical documents to the Seattle campus.

If you encounter any issues while completing your application, please reach out to us at asknursing@uw.edu or 206.543.8736.

Please review important information about potential changes for the 2019 ABSN cohort if you are considering applying.

ABSN application checklist

Follow this checklist to make sure you have everything you need to submit a complete application for admission:

  1. Check your eligibility
  2. Order official transcripts
  3. Designate a recommender
  4. Create your online account
  5. Complete your personal information
  6. Create a new ABSN application and enter your Natural World coursework
  7. Complete the ABSN application
  8. Write the proctored essay
  9. Apply to UW
  10. Apply now

Printable instructions

You may download printable instructions for the ABSN application process with more detailed information.

1. Check your eligibility

To apply to the ABSN program, you must have:

  • A baccalaureate degree in a non-nursing field, OR sufficient time to complete a bachelor’s degree in time to start the program
  • A cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.8 for all completed college-level coursework
  • At the time you submit your application, at least three of the Natural World prerequisite courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for those courses
  • A minimum grade of 3.0 (“B”) in each ABSN prerequisite course, including all Natural World courses, Lifespan Growth & Development, and Statistics
  • Minimum 100 hours of volunteer or paid hands-on healthcare experience in one setting over the course of three months, completed within 12 months prior to applying to the ABSN program
  • Proof of English language proficiency

If you do not meet the minimum requirements above, you should not submit an application at this time.

2. Order official transcripts

You must submit an official transcript from every school you have attended – including the University of Washington – even if credits from one school appear on the transcript of another. Unofficial transcripts are not accepted.

You will scan or take a high-resolution photo of each transcript, including the reverse side.

Transcripts must be in PDF or JPEG format.

3. Designate a recommender

You will designate one recommender, who will submit a recommendation letter to your online application. You may wish to make time to sit down and discuss this letter with them. Arrange for your letter of recommendation well in advance of the application deadline.

Additional letters of recommendation will not be considered.

The letter of recommendation should be written by someone who supervised you during your hands-on healthcare experience. Ideally, this person will be a registered nurse (RN).

Family members or close, personal friends are not eligible to write your letter of recommendation.

Your recommender will respond to the following questions:

  1. Please describe the setting in which you supervised the applicant. Give details about their responsibilities and relationship to patient care.
  2. Give an example of how the applicant addresses issues of diversity. Are they sensitive to diversity issues? Are they willing to engage in patient care delivery in all settings? Are they able to deliver care to all patient populations? Give examples of each, if possible.
  3. Does the applicant, in your opinion, know that their values, attitudes, beliefs, emotions and experiences affect their perceptions and relationships with others? Provide an example.
  4. Give an example of how the applicant does or does not demonstrate problem-solving skills. In your opinion, does the applicant have the maturity and emotional stability to function effectively under stress? If you observed the applicant dealing with conflict or crisis, please describe the situation and how the applicant handled it.
  5. Give an example of how the applicant does or does not function as a member of a team in diverse interpersonal, academic, community and/or working environments.
  6. What qualities and traits does the applicant possess that would make them a successful professional nurse?
  7. What are some areas on which you think the applicant could improve?
  8. Please verify the number of hours you supervised the applicant in the healthcare setting.

4. Create your online account

  1. Go to https://apps.nursing.uw.edu/undergrad-applications/
  2. Click Create account.
  3. Enter your email address, create a password, and then confirm your password. The email address you choose will be used throughout the application process and cannot be changed.

For your security, you will use two-factor authentication every time you log in. You can choose to receive security codes via mobile phone or email. Mobile carrier text messaging rates may apply.

5. Complete your personal information

After creating your online account, complete your personal information (name, birthdate, phone numbers, etc.), contact addresses, and the colleges/universities you have attended.

Upload scans or high-resolution photos of your transcripts in PDF or JPEG format for each college/university attended. If you attended a college or university outside the U.S., upload a foreign transcript evaluation report for these schools. Please do not upload the original foreign transcript.

You do not need to submit a foreign transcript if you attended a foreign university through a study abroad program and the credits appear on your school’s transcript, but you must submit a foreign transcript and evaluation if you are using a course taken internationally as a prerequisite course.

6. Create a new ABSN application and enter your Natural World coursework

Create a new ABSN application through your profile. First, you will enter your Natural World prerequisite coursework. You must have a minimum of three Natural World courses complete at the time you apply with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for those courses.

If you do not meet the minimum requirements, you will not be able to continue with the application at this time.

7. Complete the ABSN application

If you are eligible to apply based on your Natural World coursework above, you will continue on to complete the following sections:

  1. Additional required courses
  2. Resume*
  3. Personal statement*
  4. Optional statement*
  5. Letter of recommendation
  6. Proctored essay information
  7. Essential qualifications agreement
  8. Background check authorization

*We highly recommend that you write your resume, personal statement, and optional statement in a word processor and copy and paste the final text into the appropriate section of your online application.

Review the guidelines for each application part in our PDF instructions or the online application.

8. Write the proctored essay

All ABSN applicants must write the proctored essay. If you do not write the essay, your application will no longer be considered for admission.

Applicants who live in the greater Seattle area are expected to come to the UW Seattle campus to write the proctored essay. Out-of-area applicants for whom it is unreasonable to travel to UW Seattle should designate an official who will proctor the essay.

The proctored essay is scheduled for 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, 2018. Directions to the Health Sciences Building can be found here, and you will receive the room number once you submit your application.

There are NO early or make-up sessions for the proctored essay.

If you will need disability accommodations to write the proctored essay, please read our instructions for accommodations confirmation.

9. Apply to UW

After you receive your admissions notification for the ABSN program in December, you will apply to the UW Seattle campus as a post-baccalaureate applicant.

Visit http://admit.washington.edu/apply/postbaccalaureate/ for more information.

10. Apply now

The 2019 ABSN application is now open.

Begin your ABSN application