High School Students/Graduates
Program Eligibility Requirement Updates
- Nursing Information Sessions are mandatory for all applicants to the nursing program. A proof of attendance is given to all registrants at the end of the session and should be uploaded with the nursing application.
Keys to Success
- Keys to Success is a mandatory orientation/workshop that all nursing students must attend shortly after being accepted into the program. This usually occurs in June and is held at the Lakeview Auditorium on the GHC Floyd campus and runs 9am-4pm.
Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 PM on April 1st each year (for summer semester start). The online application will be available under the Process for Admission tab from January 1st through April 1st.
**Applications received in the last two weeks before the April 1st deadline are not guaranteed to be reviewed for missing or incorrect requirements.
Admission to the college
Submit the following materials to the Georgia Highlands College admissions office:
- Completed Georgia Highlands College application
- Copy of high school transcript
- Official copy of transcripts from all colleges previously attended
- Check Admissions Status
- If accepted for the program, all admissions requirements MUST be complete in order to be registered for nursing classes.
Atrium Health Floyd Full-Time Nursing Pathway
Admission to the program is a two-step process, requiring the student to apply to the college and then the nursing program.
- Applicants must submit the following materials to the Georgia Highlands College Admissions Office:
- Completed Georgia Highlands College Application for the summer after high school graduation.
- Copy of high school transcript.
- A high school academic/HOPE GPA of 3.0.
- Official copy of transcripts from all colleges previously attended if a dual enrollment student.
- These are only required if the applicant attended college classes while dual enrolled at another institution, GHC dual enrollment students will skip this process.
- An official ACT or SAT score report must be submitted to the GHC Admissions office.
- Check Admissions Status
- If accepted into the program, all GHC Admissions requirements MUST be completed in order to be registered for nursing classes.
- Applicants must meet the following requirements for nursing program eligibility:
- Must be 18 years of age by August 1st of application year.
- An ACT composite score of at least 24 or SAT score of at least 1230.
- An ACT English score of at least 22.
- An ACT Math score of at least 20.
- If English is the student’s second language, proof of the following achievement on the TOEFL is also required:
- 550 on paper-based exam
- 213 on computer exam
- 80 on internet exam
Application Process for the Atrium Health Floyd Full-Time ASN Pathway (Application Deadline 11:59pm April 1st)
After submitting the required documents to the GHC Admissions Office for college acceptance, students must submit their nursing application with the following documents by 11:59pm April 1st:
- Driver’s license or other government issued photo ID
- Proof of attendance from a nursing information session
- Optional CNA license
An admission decision will be made before the end of April and applicants will be notified by the email provided on their nursing application. Accepted applicants will start classes in the summer semester.
Each student must take responsibility for making sure his/her records are current, complete and received prior to the application deadline.
Criminal background checks and drug screenings are required for clinical practice by institutions used by the nursing program for the clinical experiences associated with the nursing courses. These will be completed after being accepted into the nursing program. A student will be required to participate in these checks upon acceptance to the program and at least annually while in the program. All criminal background checks and drug screenings will be at the expense of the student. Criminal background checks and drug screening are to be performed through AdvantageStudents (www.advantagestudents.com) as required by many of the clinical facilities. Clinical experience is a component of all required nursing courses. A course cannot be satisfactorily completed without completing the clinical component of the course. Should a student be denied placement by a clinical facility related to results on a criminal background check or drug screening, the student will be dismissed from the program with no opportunity for readmission.
A student who has been arrested or convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation may not be permitted to take the RN licensure examination. This decision rests with the Georgia Board of Nursing (sos.ga.gov Mandatory Reporting).
Current GHC Dual Enrollment Students
- Acceptance to the Nursing Program
- Students are responsible for reaching out to the Associate Degree Nursing Program to ensure their application is complete by emailing Nathen Barriga at nbarriga@highlands.edu.
- No required documentation will be accepted after the April 1st deadline.
Dual Enrollment Students Enrolled at Another Institution
- Admission to Georgia Highlands College
- If you have questions about the college admission process, please visit the GHC Virtual Hub.
- Submit all previous dual enrollment college transcripts to the GHC Admissions office for evaluation.
- Acceptance to the Nursing Program
- Students are responsible for reaching out to the Associate Degree Nursing Program to ensure their application is complete by emailing Nathen Barriga at nbarriga@highlands.edu.
- No required documentation will be accepted after the April 1st deadline.
**Clinical experience is a component of all required nursing courses. A course cannot be satisfactorily completed without completing the clinical component of the course. Should a student be denied placement by a clinical facility related to results on a criminal background check or drug screening, the student will be dismissed from the program with no opportunity for readmission.
- Annual Flu Vaccination – due by late October
- Flu vaccination form available
- DO NOT complete this requirement before August 1st
- BLS – American Heart Association certification only
- MMR
- Positive titer showing immunity or
- Proof of two or three dose vaccination series
- Physical
- The last page of the Student Health Screen Requirements
- A different physical form will not be accepted
- The last page of the Student Health Screen Requirements
- TB
- Quantiferon Gold TB test
- TDAP
- TDAP vaccination within the last ten years or
- TDAP vaccination older than ten years plus a TD booster within the last ten years
- Varicella
- Positive titer showing immunity or
- Proof of the two dose vaccination series
- Covid 19
- Not required, but students who are vaccinated are encouraged to upload proof
- Hepatitis B
- Positive titer showing immunity and proof of two or three dose vaccination series
- Students with low or no immunity, and proof of the two or three dose vaccination series, can submit a Hepatitis B Declination Form once assigned to clinical rotations
- Advantage Students/InfoMart Background Check & Drug Screen
- All students must create an Advantage Students/InfoMart profile with their GHC student email and link Advantage Students to ACEMAPP for clearance
- Only students attending clinicals at AdventHealth Redmond will be required to upload their background check and drug screen to ACEMAPP
- Students attending clinicals at Atrium Health Floyd, Piedmont Cartersville, Northside Cherokee, and WellStar Paulding's background check and drug screens will be satisfied by linking to ACEMAPP
- Only students attending clinicals at AdventHealth Redmond will be required to upload their background check and drug screen to ACEMAPP
- All students must create an Advantage Students/InfoMart profile with their GHC student email and link Advantage Students to ACEMAPP for clearance
Document examples and expanded requirement information available on our Clinical Credentialing website: https://sites.highlands.edu/nursing/associate-of-science-in-nursing-program/clinical-credentialing/
Criminal background checks and drug screenings are required for clinical practice by institutions used by the nursing program for the clinical experiences associated with the nursing courses. These will be completed after being accepted into the nursing program. A student will be required to participate in these checks upon acceptance to the program and at least annually while in the program. All criminal background checks and drug screenings will be at the expense of the student. Criminal background checks and drug screening are to be performed through Advantage Students (www.advantagestudents.com) as required by many of the clinical facilities. Clinical experience is a component of all required nursing courses. A course cannot be satisfactorily completed without completing the clinical component of the course. Should a student be denied placement by a clinical facility related to results on a criminal background check or drug screening, the student will be dismissed from the program with no opportunity for readmission.
A student who has been arrested or convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation may not be permitted to take the RN licensure examination. This decision rests with the Georgia Board of Nursing (sos.ga.gov Mandatory Reporting).
Students with a criminal record must contact the nursing program interim director Dr. Walker (swalker@highlands.edu) for advice before submitting an application regarding the licensure examination.
The nursing program is split between the Floyd Campus and Heritage Hall Site, please visit the new Virtual Tours website to take an online tour of each Georgia Highlands campus.
The full-time plan of study is an option that allows high school students who meet the criteria below to apply to the traditional program by April 1st of their senior year. In the full-time plan of study, students take their core curriculum courses along with their nursing courses. Students following the full-time plan of study can graduate with their associate degree in nursing within five (5) semesters. The full-time plan of study starts with courses in the summer semester following graduation from high school. The course load for the summer semester will be 8 semester hours followed by four semesters (fall-spring-fall-spring) with course loads of 14-17 semester hours.
Steps for admission into the nursing program:
- Admission to the College. Submit the following materials to the admission office:
- Completed Georgia Highlands College Application
- Copy of high school transcript
- Acceptance to the Nursing Program. Submit materials that document the following requirements by the application deadline to ensure consideration for acceptance:
- A high school academic / HOPE GPA of 3.0
- An ACT composite score of at least 24 with an English score of at least 22 and a Math score of at least 20 or an SAT score of at least 1160
Full-time ASN Program Sample Plan of Study
Semester 1 (8 hrs) Summer
- NURS 1000 - Introduction to Professional Nursing - 1hr
- MATH 1001 - 3hrs
- BIOL 2251 - 3hrs
- BIOL 2251L - 1hr
Semester 2 (16 hrs) Fall
- NURS 1100 - Conceptual Foundations of Nursing - 6hrs
- NURS 1001 - Health Assessment - 2hrs
- BIOL 2252 - 3hrs 1st 8 wks
- BIOL 2252L - 1hr 1st 8 wks
- BIOL 2260 - 2nd 8 wks - 3hrs
- BIOL 2260L - 2nd 8 wks - 1 hr
Semester 3 (16 hrs) Spring
- NURS 1200 - Nursing Practice for Common Health Issues - 8hrs
- NURS 1002 - Pharmacology - 2hrs
- ENGL 1101 - 3hrs
- COMM 1100 - 3hrs
Semester 4 (12 hrs) Fall
- NURS 2500 - Nursing Practice for Complicated Health Concerns - 9hrs
- HIST 2111 or 2112 OR POLS 1101 - 3hrs
Semester 5 (14 hrs) Spring
- NURS 2600 - Nursing Practice for Complex Health Problems - 5hrs
- NURS 2650 - Transition to Professional Nursing - 3hrs
- Humanities elective - 3hrs
- HIST 2111 or 2112 OR POLS 1101 - 3hrs
Dual enrollment students have the opportunity to complete the core curriculum courses for the ASN program while still in high school. Students are encouraged to work with their high school counselors and a nursing advisor to create a plan of study. It is possible for a dual enrollment student to be ready to apply to the traditional program by April 1st of their senior year provided the student will be at least 18 years of age by August 1st of that year and meets the criteria below. Once dual enrollment students have graduated from high school, they can continue to work with the nursing advisor to stay on track for early completion of RN-BSN core curriculum courses. Students have the opportunity to position themselves to complete the RN-BSN program within two (2) semesters following graduation from the ASN program.
Steps for admission into the nursing program:
- Admission to the College. Submit the following materials to the admission office:
- Completed Dual Enrollment Update Form
- Copy of final high school transcript including graduation date
- Acceptance to the Nursing Program. Submit materials that document the following requirements by the application deadline to ensure consideration for acceptance:
- A minimum GPA of 2.5 in the required general core courses and a grade of C or better in BIOL 2121K, BIOL 2122K, and BIOL 2161K; ENGL 1101; and MATH 1001 or MATH 1111. The C or better in the biology courses includes both class and lab.
- Minimum of a 70 composite score on the ATI TEAS test. Official transcript for the ATI TEAS is required. The ATI TEAS must have been taken within one year of the application deadline. ATI TEAS tests greater than one year old must be taken again. Only two attempts will be allowed per application cycle.
- Optional CNA license
Current GHC Tuition & Fees: https://www.highlands.edu/tuition-and-fees/
The Full-time Nursing Program is 64 credit hours total:
First Semester: 8 credit hours
Second Semester: 14 credit hours
Third Semester: 16 credit hours
Fourth Semester: 12 credit hours
Fifth Semester: 14 credit hours
Approximate Program Costs:
- Covered for all ASN students by our partner, Atrium Health Floyd:
- Nursing Resource & e-Book Bundle: approximately $800 per semester
- One nursing uniform: (Scrubs, shoes, jacket, and patch) approximately $325
- Additional nursing uniforms are paid for by the student.
- Covered for all ASN students by the nursing department:
- Clinical supplies: Approximately $220 per semester for the first semester.
- ACEMAPP: the $50 per year clinical credentialing system used by our clinical partners.
- Costs for students:
- Tuition & Course Fees
- Health Insurance
- If students use school provided health insurance, it costs approximately $1,100 per semester.
- If students want to use their personal health insurance, they must submit a waiver that is handled completely by the GHC Business Office. The waiver removes the $1,100 fee each semester and is available at certain times at the start of each semester and can be completed using the Student Health Insurance link under our Navigation links.
- Background Check & Drug Screen: approximately $100 each year
- Students are not to complete their background check and drug screen until they have been accepted into the nursing program and told to do so.
- Liability Insurance: approximately $16 per year and included in student tuition and fees.
Nursing Scholarship Information
Information about the Atrium Pathway/Scholarship Program is available here: https://sites.highlands.edu/nursing/asn_pathways_program_faqs/
General scholarship information is available through the GHC Financial Aid website: https://sites.highlands.edu/financial-aid/
Nursing information sessions will be in room W333 in the Walraven building on the Floyd campus at 3175 Cedartown Highway Rome, Georgia 30161. Please pay attention to the location link beside each session date to ensure you attend the right location. Proof of attendance from an information session is required for program eligibility and is given out at the end of each information session. If a student loses their proof of attendance, they will be required to attend another information session.
2025 Virtual Information Session Dates (Arrive early, no one will be admitted after 3:35pm):
2025 Live On Campus Information Session Dates and Times:
