Step 5: Know your deadlines

Nursing programs open and close applications on their own schedules. Some take applications once a year. Others have more than one start term. Missing a window can mean waiting for the next one, so it helps to write the dates down early.

The nursing application deadlines calendar is where SEAPHE keeps the dates themselves, each linked to the school’s page with the date we checked it. This page explains how to use those dates.

What to do

• List the application window for each program on your short list.
• Note any earlier dates, like a university application that comes before the nursing one.
• Check when your prerequisites and TEAS score need to be done.
• Set reminders a few weeks before each opening date.
• Recheck each school’s page. Dates can change.

How application timing works

Deadlines come in a few shapes. Knowing which one a program uses tells you what to plan for.

• A fixed yearly window. The program opens and closes on the same dates each year.
• Two-stage applications. Many CSU programs ask for a university application through Cal State Apply and a separate nursing application, often through NursingCAS. Each can have its own dates.
• Start-date admission. Some private programs admit to specific start dates through the year.
• Dates not yet posted. Some schools post dates close to the window. The calendar shows “Not published” until they do.

SEAPHE’s calendar holds 189 dated application windows for 111 schools, each from the school’s own page (checked Oct 12, 2026). Where a school hasn’t published a date, the calendar says so rather than guessing.

Two school examples

These are the first ADN and BSN programs, alphabetically, in the calendar with both an opening and a closing date.

• Allan Hancock College (ADN, LVN to RN). “The RN Nursing Program application period is open June 1 – July 31 each year.” Applications must be received or postmarked by the final day (Allan Hancock College, checked Oct 12, 2026).
• CSU Bakersfield (traditional BSN, Fall 2027). Two stages: Cal State Apply opens Aug. 1, 2026 and closes Dec. 15, 2026; NursingCAS opens Oct. 1, 2026 and closes Jan. 15, 2027 at 8:59 p.m. PST (CSU Bakersfield, checked Oct 12, 2026).

The CSU Bakersfield example shows why the earlier date matters. The university application closes a month before the nursing one.

How long it takes

Window lengths vary; check with the school.

Typical costs

Application fees vary; check with the school.

Common mistakes

• Tracking only the nursing deadline. A university or college application may close first.
• Using last year’s dates. Check the current cycle on the school’s page.
• Missing the time of day. Some portals close at a set hour, sometimes in a different time zone.
• Leaving documents to the last day. Transcripts and scores can take time to arrive.
• Not checking what must be done by the deadline. Some programs need prerequisites or the TEAS finished before you apply.

Your SEAPHE tool

• Nursing application deadlines: a calendar of published dates, each linked to the school’s page with the date we checked it.

Next step: Step 6, Understand admission points.