Pre-Nursing students aim high

A small but mighty cohort of undergraduates are getting a head start on their health care careers as the first students in the new Pre-Nursing pathway at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston.

Short-term, they all have their sights set on direct admission to the No. 1 Bachelor of Science (BSN) program in Texas next year. Long-term, all plan to pursue graduate degrees.

“I’d like to go as soon as I can from a BSN to a nurse practitioner,” said Thomas Painter, who already holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Texas at Dallas. Painter considered pursuing a PhD and worked in a neuroscience lab before he decided on a nursing career. “I talked to NPs and DNPs who I know personally, and they said you can do some nice psychiatric concentrations in nursing.”

His three classmates are all high school high achievers who graduated in May 2025 and aspire to become nurse anesthetists, eventually. James Emmanuel Nacar and Gabriel Ronquillo Erazo both completed the 24-30 hours of prerequisites required for acceptance to the Pre-Nursing pathway via dual credit courses, and Julianna Zia finished up two remaining classes this summer before the fall semester began in August.

“I applied because I thought attending the No. 1 school in Texas would help me a lot in my career,” said Ronquillo Erazo, echoing the sentiments of his classmates.

The four met during orientation, and Zia said she was excited to mingle with other students beginning the Pacesetter Accelerated BSN program. She hopes to be one of them in 2026.

Over the next two semesters, the Pre-Nursing students will complete 24 science prerequisites and may choose to take an elective, Communication in Health Care Settings. If they earn a grade of “B” or better in each course, they will be eligible to apply for direct admission to the accelerated Pacesetter BSN program without taking the nursing school entrance exams.

Nacar originally planned to take all nursing prerequisites at a community college and then apply to the Pacesetter option, but his teachers encouraged him complete the science courses at Cizik School of Nursing to increase his chances of acceptance later.

“Our BSN program is quite rigorous, and part of the reason we established the Pre-Nursing pathway was to provide the high-quality science education needed to succeed,” said Sara Lewandowski, DNP, MS, RN, CNE, HNB-BC, NC-BC, track coordinator for the Pre-Nursing pathway as well as the school’s RN to BSN option. “We also want to encourage high school students like these to take dual-credit courses that will enable them to qualify for our accelerated BSN program by the time they graduate.”

As awareness grows, more potential students are planning their studies in hopes of making a smooth transition into the Pre-Nursing pathway, potentially fast-tracking their nursing career.

“I will be excited to see how many people are in next year’s incoming class,” Painter said.

The application period for the Fall 2026 semester opens in January. Learn more about the Pre-Nursing pathway.