These FAQs are designed to provide a better understanding of SJ Delta College’s Associate Degree Nursing Program (ADN). They provide basic information, about the ADN program prerequisites, application process, and other common questions. If you have any questions about the ADN program that are not covered here or elsewhere on our website, please email healthscienceapps@deltacollege.edu
Due to changes in legislation and the Education Code, admission criteria has been changed to a multi-criteria screening which includes previous degrees/relevant health care licenses and certificates, science prerequisite GPA, other prerequisite GPA, science repeats, work/volunteer experience in health care with direct patient care, life/special circumstances, second language proficiency, and TEAS test score. For detailed information, please refer to the ADN Admission Information
There will be an application online at the ADN website during the application window period.
Applicants may still have an opportunity to pursue a rewarding career in the health care field by applying for the psychiatric technician (PT) program. A psychiatric technician is a state licensed professional who cares for client with mental disorders and developmental disabilities under the direction of a physician, registered nurse or a therapist. The PT Program is 14 months long and covers topics such as pharmacology, med surg nursing, psych nursing, developmental disabilities nursing and more. To apply you need to complete the following course with a grade of “C” or better: Anatomy, Physiology, Human Development, Nutrition and Psychology. If you meet these requirements, please contact gerry.hinayon@deltacollege.edu for more information.
PTs can also qualify for advanced placement in the ADN Program, subject to space availability and after taking the course HS 43
Yes, applicants applying for admission to the ADN program are required to have a current Application for Admission on file with our college. All applicants to the ADN program must have an active Delta College student I.D. number and Delta College email address. All correspondence from the college will be sent to the Delta College email account.
There are two application periods per year and students are accepted each fall and spring semesters.
We anticipate admitting between 40 and 50 students, depending on the budget situation. Using the multi-criteria screening, 90% of the spaces will be filled by rank order (highest points); the remaining 10% will be selected by computerized random selection of qualified applicants.
Grade Points are determined by using the following values: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0. Multiply the value for the letter grade received by the number of units for that class. For example: if you earned a “B” in a four-unit class – you have earned 12 grade points (3 times 4). Classes taken on a “Credit/No Credit” or “Pass/No Pass” basis do not have attempted units or grade points – only classes with a letter grade have these. (Units earned for a class with “Credit” or “Pass” are counted only in “Completed Unit” totals).
For Example:
| Units Attempted | Units Completed | Grade | Grade Points | |
| Class 1 | 3 | 3 | A (4) | 12 |
| Class 2 | 4 | 4 | C (2) | 8 |
| Class 3 | 0 | 2 | P | 0 |
| TOTALS = | 7 | 9 | 20 | |
So the cumulative GPA would be 20/7, which is 2.857.
Studies performed at Delta and other colleges in California correlate the 2.5 GPA in the prerequisites to greater than 70% chance of success in the ADN program. This is also the recommended minimum GPA from the Chancellor's Office as a result of the prerequisite validation study conducted by the Center for Student Success. Some schools require higher than 2.5 GPA in prerequisite courses for admission.
The Education Code calls for using the GPA from the "fixed set of required prerequisite courses that all applicants to the nursing program administering the multi-criteria screening process are required to complete." So, the law does not allow consideration of cumulative GPA in the multi-criteria selection process.
Again, in the prerequisite validation study, the numbers of repeats in the science courses negatively impacted a student’s chance of success in the ADN program.
The nursing program is a two-year program offered in four semesters. There are no nursing classes during the summer Intersession.
No. In order to receive points for a degree, the degree must be posted to your academic record and an official transcript is required as documentation.
You will be required to take coursework that is unique and exclusively required to earn a nursing degree from our program. That means you will be required to take COM ST 001A (Fundamentals of Speech), PSYCH 001 (Introduction to Psychology), and SOCIO 001A (Problems of a Changing Society).
San Joaquin Delta College does not evaluate foreign transcripts nor is credit granted for foreign coursework.
Students with a degree (AA/AS, BA/BS or higher) from a school outside the United States must have their foreign transcript evaluated by a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) approved independent agency (evaluation must be in a sealed envelope from the agency). The evaluation must specify equivalency to an AA/AS or a BA/BS degree or higher from a U.S. regionally accredited college.
The NACES evaluation will be used ONLY to award points as part of ADN admission criteria.
You do not need to submit documentation at the time of application. However, you should have all the required materials available in case you are invited to submit all required documentation.
Yes, every applicant is required to submit official transcripts from all U.S. regionally approved college/university attended, regardless of applicability to nursing requirements, even if the Evaluations Department has received your transcript(s) in the past.
For another college’s courses to be considered for transfer to Delta – that college must have a “regional accreditation” just as Delta has. This means that the other college must be accredited by one of the following:
The most common reasons students are disqualified are:
Prerequisites were taken at another college/university and the course descriptions were missing or the descriptions submitted were the wrong course description.
Course descriptions are required for all prerequisite coursework completed at regionally accredited college/universities, other than San Joaquin Delta College.
Wrong course and grade listed for the prerequisite in the online application.
We use the FIRST passing grade for prerequisites. If you took Eng 1A at University ABC in Fall 2001 and passed with a “C” and then repeated the same course at XYZ Community College in Spring 2008 and passed with an “A”, we will use the first passing grade (C) from Fall 2001. That is the course description you would need to submit.
Incorrect or incomplete information reported on the application. Documentation is missing or is insufficient to support application information. Official transcript missing or transcript is not “official”.
An official transcript means the transcript is submitted in a SEALED envelope from the college/university. If the envelope has been opened or the seal broken, the transcript is not “official.” Applicants invited to submit documentation will be required to submit official transcripts for ALL lower and upper division courses completed at any and all regionally accredited U.S. institutions, regardless of applicability to nursing requirements. All required official transcript(s) must be submitted as part of the ADN Supporting Documentation packet even if transcripts have been previously sent to the college for any purpose or at any other time.
Do NOT send official transcripts to the Health Science Division.
Prerequisite course is not equivalent to San Joaquin Delta College course(s).
Many students presume the course they took at another school is equivalent to Delta College prerequisite. If you are unsure, ask for assistance from a counselor before you complete your online application or request that your transcript be evaluated for equivalency by San Joaquin Delta College before you apply to the program. If you chose this option, be sure you allow several months for your transcript to be evaluated by our college!
Prerequisite courses are “In Progress” or final grade not posted to the official transcript.
We do not accept “In Progress” coursework. If you completed a course but your final grade is not posted to your transcript, you will be disqualified.