Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Application materials

Required materials

Applications without all required materials will not be considered.

Nursing Centralized Application Service (NCAS) application (required)

We process applications through a service called Nursing Centralized Application Service, or “NCAS”. You’ll complete your application and submit/upload all your documents in the NCAS system. See application deadline information on How to Apply.

About reapplying

If you previously applied to a nursing program using NCAS, use the re-applicant feature to create your new application. This will save you time and energy. Review what you can and cannot use from your previous application.

Letter of interest and resume (required)

Upload your letter of interest and resume together, as one document, to your NCAS application under the documents tab in the CV/Resume section.

  • Letter of interest (one page maximum) must address:
    • Why are you interested in applying to the PCC nursing program?
    • What research have you done to ensure nursing is the right career for you and your long-term goals?
    • Was there a specific experience, interaction or person you can cite that has influenced your decision to pursue to a nursing degree?
  • Resume (two pages maximum) must include the following sections:
    • Education: any past degrees and current institution you are attending, if applicable.
    • Work experience: your most relevant (not recent) jobs and a brief description of how this work enhances your qualifications as a nursing student, or how it has prepared you to be successful in nursing school.
    • Community engagement: volunteer or unpaid work experience.
    • Awards, achievements, and skills: leadership opportunities, awards or achievements, special skills or credentials, or other languages spoken.

Transcripts (required)

Submit official, electronic transcripts from all colleges attended, including PCC, directly to NCAS. Electronic PCC transcripts can be ordered (via Parchment) through your MyPCC web portal. For electronic transcript ordering details, please visit the student records page. Send transcripts at least two weeks before the deadline. NCAS takes 7-10 business days to post transcripts, and transcripts must be posted by the deadline. See how to check transcript status. You may submit transcripts prior to completing your NCAS application. If you are currently enrolled in prerequisite courses, wait until grades have posted before order your transcript to be sent to NCAS.

If your school does not send electronic transcripts, please provide your registrar with your individual Transcript Request Form found in the NCAS transcript section. The transcript request form will include your NCAS identification number which will ensure efficiency when linking your paper transcripts to your electronic NCAS application. For detailed guide on sending transcripts, please visit the NursingCAS help center.

Mail official transcripts directly to NCAS at:
NursingCAS
P.O. Box 9201
Watertown, MA 02471

About professional transcript entry

NCAS offers professional transcript entry for an additional fee. We do not encourage applicants to use this service, even though transcript entry can be time-consuming. NCAS is not responsible if you miss important deadlines – see the “turnaround times section” for important details.

About foreign transcripts

If you have foreign transcripts, you must have an official transcript evaluation sent to NCAS. See the list of foreign evaluation vendors.

Application fee (required)

NCAS fee: The cost to apply through NCAS is $60 for an undergraduate program, and $45 for any additional undergraduate programs. This non-refundable fee is due each application year. This fee is paid directly to NCAS.

Healthcare credential verification form (if applicable)

To earn points for healthcare licenses or credentials, submit the healthcare credential verification form with your NCAS application. All credentials are considered on a case-by-case basis by the admissions committee. There is no expiration or minimum number of practice hours required. Applicants must provide copies of professional credentials. Applicants must provide copies of professional credentials. Acceptable proof of credentials must come from a professional credentialing body such as the OSBN, ARRT, OVMEB, ADA, Etc. Diplomas or certificates of completion are not acceptable forms of certification or credentials. All supporting documents must be translated to English and uploaded in your NCAS application. Failure to upload the form and provide supporting documentation will impact consideration for experience points.

Healthcare experience (if applicable)

To earn points for healthcare experience, submit the healthcare experience form with your NCAS application. Experience hours must be complete by the end of fall term prior to the application deadline. International or domestic hours of healthcare experience will be considered. Paid or unpaid experience can be completed in a variety of settings. Some examples of acceptable settings can include but are not limited to: a medical setting, home care, community health, health education, or military experience. All supporting documents must be translated to English and be uploaded in your NCAS application. Healthcare experience points will not be awarded if the form is incomplete or supporting documentation is missing. Review an approved list of accepted healthcare credentials for the PCC Nursing Program.

Community engagement (if applicable)

Applicants may earn 2 points toward their application for 50+ hours of documented volunteer service benefiting rural, underserved and/or underrepresented populations community engagement.

Service member experience (if applicable)

To earn points for service, submit the service member experience form if you have served as active or reserve members of the United States Military, Veterans of the United States Military and AmeriCorps, or Peace Corps Volunteers. Submit any documentation regarding military title, job duties, and length of service in that role, and honorable discharge papers (if applicable).

Job Shadowing/Alternative Shadowing Option (if applicable)

Applicants may earn 2 points for completing either 2-hours of a job shadowing experience with a registered nurse or completing the alternative shadowing option. The alternative shadowing option requires students to watch a series of videos and review articles related to becoming a nurse and career/job considerations. Please complete alternative shadowing option form by the end of fall term, prior to the application deadline. The alternative shadowing option is only available to students for the 2024 application cycle.

Placement test scores (if using scores to meet math competency)

Students can use placement test score reports to satisfy the math competency requirement. You must place into MTH105 or MTH 111Z (College Algebra) as determined by PCC equivalent ALEKS placement test scores. Raw test scores are required and are evaluated using the PCC testing center guidelines for placement. Upload a copy of your raw test scores with your application. Accepted file formats are: MSWord (.doc, .docx), JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg), PNG (.png), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Portable Document Format (.pdf), and ASCII Text file (.txt). The size limit for each file upload is 5MB.

For more information about PCC approved Math courses that can be used to satisfy this requirement, please review the admissions guide FAQ section.