Advanced Placement & LVN-to-RN Entry

If you have previously attended an ADN program at another institution and have been academically dismissed, please email nursing2@sac.edu with the following documents:

1. Transcript of relevant coursework - Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology, and ALL Nursing courses.
2. Nursing program dismissal letter from previous institutions.

Note: Because Advanced Placement is for second, third, and fourth semester only, you must have passed Pharmacology and Fundamentals of Nursing to be eligible. Please consider the standard two year RN entry if you are in this category: sac.edu/nursingapply 

Once documents have been received, our staff will review the documents to determine eligibility. If you are considered eligible, you will need to meet with our Director of Nursing to discuss further steps. 

Eligible students will be placed into their respective semesters' waitlist. The current waitlist can be reviewed at the bottom of the page.

If you already have a nursing license at another state or country, you must first reach out to the Board of Registered Nursing in California to apply for licensure. If the BRN determines that you have some course deficiencies, you may be able to complete them through our nursing program at Santa Ana College. Because there is a time limit of completion for these BRN deficiencies, we will either fulfill all of the courses on the letter or none of them.

If your deficiency letter contains any of the following courses, it is not considered eligible for Santa Ana College Advanced Placement:

• Pre-requisite courses: Biology, Anatomy, Physiology
• Pharmacology

Otherwise, please email us a copy of your letter to nursing2@sac.edu. If there is a eligibility established, there will be a short meeting with the Director of Nursing to discuss options and policies/procedures for AP.

Current Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs) are able to apply to either the traditional first-semester entry of our SAC Nursing Program OR apply for the Advanced Placement LVN-to-RN option. The LVN-to-RN option allows eligible applicants to skip the first year of the ADN program, starting instead in third semester: NRN271(L) Mental Health & Acute Concepts. 

Steps to apply:

1. Send official transcripts to SAC Admissions & Records. 
   • Include LVN coursework and nursing pre-requisite coursework (Microbiology, Physiology, Anatomy, Freshmen Composition)
2. Send a copy of your CA LVN License and a signed/completed Prerequisite Verification Form to negrete_elva@sac.edu.

If there is a eligibility established, there will be a short meeting with the Director of Nursing to discuss options and policies/procedures for the LVN-to-RN program.

Note: Due to the HIGH DEMAND of the LVN-to-RN program, the waitlist will close at a cap of 50 students and will not open until further notice.