Background of the Study: Nursing is one of the most delightful arts, which needs blending of knowledge, skills and values. A mere desire for nursing does not make a good nurse but it must be built upon knowledge, which is our power. Nursing is a noble profession, which requires loving heart and desire for compassionate care. Today there are numerous vocations and occupations available to an individual to choose. But vocational interest and choice of a career do not appear all of a sudden. They emerge as a result of a developmental process. The profession of nursing is very noble indeed and predominantly a female profession. The increasing number of graduates seeking admission to the nursing programme at the University reveals that the changing image of the profession now makes nursing an appealing career Objectives of the Study: 1. To determine the level of career awareness of nursing among Pre-University students of selected colleges of urban and rural areas in Trivandrum. 2. To determine the career preference regarding nursing among Pre-University students of selected colleges of urban and rural areas in Trivandrum. 3. To compare the career awareness and career preference regarding nursing between Pre-University students colleges of urban and rural areas in Trivandrum. 4. To find out association between career awareness, career preference and selected demographic variables of Pre-University students towards nursing. Setting: The study was conducted in selected preuniversity colleges of urban and rural areas in Trivandrum. Sample and Sampling Technique: The sample for the study comprised of 120 Pre-University college students i.e, 60 female students each from urban and rural colleges. Cluster sampling technique was used to select samples for the study. Tool: The tool consisted of an open-ended knowledge, image and opinion rating scale, career preference/non preference checklist and a career choice ranking scale. Validity and reliability of the tool was established. Reliability for knowledge questionnaire was established by Test-retest method and the reliability co-efficient rho for knowledge questionnaire and was found to be 0.824. Split half method using Karl Pearson’s coefficient correlation was used to calculate the reliability of image and opinion rating scale and it was found to be 0.823 which has statistically significant. Major Findings of the Study: All the students (100%) in the selected pre-university colleges of rural areas and urban areas preferred for the further study. Maximum of the students in the selected pre-university colleges of rural areas (58.3%) and urban areas (61.6%) gave the reason for further study as for securing a good job. Majority of the students in the selected preuniversity colleges of rural areas (95%) and urban areas (86.6%) expressed ‘Parents’ as their influencing persons for selecting a career. There was significant association between career awareness and religion (2 (2) =10.36), education of father (2 (2)=39.67) occupation of father and family income (2 (1)=11.6) of PUC students in colleges of rural areas at 0.05 level of significant except for mothers education and occupation. There was significance association between career preference and occupation of father (2 (2)=6.96) and family income (2 (1)=7.73) of PUC students in colleges in rural at 0.05 level except religion, fathers education and mothers education and occupation. There was significant association between career preference and family income (2 (1) = 5.45) and mothers’ education (2 (1)=3.93) of PUC students in colleges in urban areas at 0.05 levels except for religion, mothers occupation and fathers education and occupation. Interpretation and Conclusion: The present study shows that the knowledge of PUC students about nursing was very poor. But they had a positive image and opinion about nurse and nursing. Only a minimum percentage of PUC students preferred nursing as their career choice. This study explores the need for a career guidance programme among the potential candidates thus increasing their knowledge about nursing.