Online FNP Programs With No GRE Requirement in 2026

Reviewed May 16, 2026 by the ScrubScope editorial team.

If a GRE score is the only thing standing between you and an online family nurse practitioner application, here is the part nobody selling you a prep course will say: most large online FNP programs already stopped requiring it. Walden and Capella both admit without a GRE, GMAT, SAT, or ACT score. So "no GRE" is not a tiebreaker anymore. It is the baseline. What actually separates these programs is who places your clinical hours and which accreditor signs the diploma.

Quick verdict

For a working RN who wants the GRE off the table, the shortlist is short because the GRE barely exists at the volume online FNP programs anymore. Capella's MSN-FNP states plainly that "GRE and GMAT are not required for admission" ^[1]. Walden's MSN-FNP requires no SAT, ACT, GRE, or GMAT scores ^[2]. Both are CCNE-accredited, the nursing-specific accreditation most hospital tuition-reimbursement offices and bridge-to-DNP admissions committees check for. Frontier Nursing University also runs a no-GRE FNP track, but it is accredited by ACEN, not CCNE, and that difference can matter more to your next employer than the test you skipped. Pick on accreditation and clinical-placement support, not on which school waived a test most of them already waived.

Schools with no GRE requirement

Here is the verified picture for the three online FNP programs a no-GRE candidate is most likely to compare. Per-credit and total figures are the schools' own published numbers; clinical hours are the program minimums.

A few things the table does not shout but you should read off it. Capella publishes a flat $595 per quarter credit and an estimated $40,460 total with no transferred credits ^[1]. Walden's BSN-entry FNP track is 58 quarter credits and 640 practicum hours, with a published program estimate near $41,185 ^[2]. The two CCNE programs land within about a thousand dollars of each other on sticker. The deciding factor between them is not the GRE you both skipped and not the price. It is whether the program hands you a preceptor or hands you a contact list and a deadline.

Capella requires "verification of your current, unrestricted RN license to practice in the United States" ^[1], which is the real gate at every no-GRE program: an active RN license and, in practice, the clinical background to make 640 to 750 supervised hours work around your shifts. A "no GRE" headline does not change that 750-hour number. Nurses in these programs report that the practicum, not the coursework, is what stalls a cohort. The pattern is consistent: a school advertises clinical-placement support, then in practice gives students a list of contacts and a term deadline, and the candidates who cannot secure a preceptor in time push their practicum a full term, roughly six months and another tuition block. Ask each program, in writing, whether it places your clinical site or leaves that to you. That answer moves the decision far more than the test waiver.

Frontier belongs on the list because it is a well-known no-GRE FNP route, but read its accreditation line before you put it first. The Master of Science in Nursing program at Frontier is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), not CCNE ^[4]. ACEN and CCNE both satisfy most employers and most state boards. But some hospital tuition-reimbursement policies and some post-master's or DNP admissions offices specifically want CCNE. Confirm what your employer and your intended next degree require before you enroll on a no-GRE program's name recognition, not after you have credits on an ACEN transcript.

Who should look elsewhere

The no-GRE filter is the wrong filter for several readers, and pretending otherwise wastes a year.

If your goal is a CCNE-accredited FNP and you are weighing Frontier mainly because it skips the GRE, look elsewhere within this list. Both Capella and Walden are CCNE-accredited and equally GRE-free, so the GRE gives you no reason to take an ACEN program if CCNE is what your employer's reimbursement office or your future DNP application wants.

If you do not yet hold an active, unrestricted US RN license, no FNP program on this page will admit you. Capella's stated requirement is explicit, and the others gate on the same thing ^[1]. The license, not the GRE, is the admission barrier that actually stops people.

If your real obstacle is the 640-to-750 clinical-hour commitment rather than a standardized test, a no-GRE list does not solve your problem. The hours are roughly the same across these programs because national certification, not the school, sets the floor. The thing to compare is placement support, which is covered in the full ranking, not the GRE policy.

And if you are choosing FNP because the broad salary outlook looks strong, that is a reason to enter the field, not a reason to pick a program. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median annual wage of $132,050 for the nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, and nurse practitioner occupation group ^[7]. That figure is the same whether you took the GRE or not, so let it pull you toward FNP, then choose the program on accreditation and placement.

Bottom line

The honest answer to "which online FNP programs do not require the GRE" is: most of the large ones, including Capella and Walden, both CCNE-accredited and both GRE-free. The GRE has stopped being a useful way to narrow your shortlist. Once it is off the table, decide on the accreditor your employer and next degree want and on whether the program places your clinicals or leaves that 750-hour hunt to you.

For the full sourced ranking with placement detail and program-by-program cost, see the best online FNP programs comparison. For how the FNP pathway works end to end, including prerequisites and clinical hours, see the FNP programs pathway page.

To narrow these against your state and current credential, work through each school's published prerequisites and cost on its review page. ScrubScope ranks by fit, never by which school pays more; the schools, not us, make every admissions and financial-aid decision.

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