Please help, need to prepare for TEAS

augurey · May 1, 2015

You may want to check out the TEAS section of this website. There's TONS of helpful information as well as people going though it (for moral support).

I highly recommend you review this post: https://allnurses.com/teas-exam-help/how-i-passed-804222.html

This will probably be one of the most helpful posts you can find in there.

I also used McGraw as a supplement to the TEAS, which I did find helpful. I didn't have a lot of time to go through it, so I was only able to use it when certain things really tripped me up.

A&P should prepare you for some of the science section. I will say that the study guide doesn't cover everything you need to know for science. Some of it's a lot of general information and areas that you'll want to know more about, but it's going to be hard to study indepth for it. Granted, you have time on your side, I would just find your weaknesses in the science category and do what you can to look up the information online.

When studying for sciences, I used Khan Academy, Crash Course on Youtube (and some other youtube videos), and Bio4kids and Chem4kids. There were some other sites too, but I'd say those were my main resources.

The last time I took a science course (which was biology) was in the 10th grade. I took the TEAS last summer with only 2 weeks to study. At the time I had never taken chemistry and obviously biology was a long time ago. I never took A&P (though I had a medical assisting class over 10 years ago that covered a lot of A&P topics, but not as indepth). I took the practice TEAS on their website 3 or 4 days before my scheduled test and scored an embarrassing 39% (I had to get at least a 45% in science for acceptance). That weekend I really focused on science and used those resources. When I took the actual test a few days later, I ended up with a 75%. Not great, but considering it'd been over a decade since I had a science course and had 2 weeks to study, it wasn't bad.

You still have a lot of time to learn/study. Also in A&P you're likely to go over some biology/chemistry. Not a ton. Assuming all A&P classes go over similar topics, you'll likely go over cells/parts of cells/mitosis/meiosis some and some stuff with pH.

Most of all, you're going to have to learn to be calm during the test. I was never a good test taker myself. I always find myself sweating, panicking, blanking out, second guessing, etc. during tests. You have to find a way to keep calm. This alone can make a HUGE difference. I think that's one of the things that helped me out so much during my proctored test. If you don't know it, you might be able to narrow it down. Take deep breaths, don't panic.

Having the test being timed can be very nerve wracking. Perhaps you can start timing yourself while doing practice problems/tests to kind of get you used to the time. You have to pay attention to the time to make sure you don't run out, but at the same time you have to ignore it. I didn't run out on any of my sections. I usually had about 10 minutes left of each section, and I was the last one in the group to finish. You have to know how to take your time, but at the same time, not take too much time.

The ATI website has practice tests you can pay for. They are a bit expensive. Some say they were very helpful. Some said they were a waste of time and money. I found them useful for several reasons.

First, at the end of the test they will tell you what areas you need to focus on. They won't tell you what you got wrong, but they will give you what areas you are weak it. That'll give you an idea of where to start focusing your attention.

Second, it's timed. It's not timed in the same fashion as the actual test where it counts down. It just counts up towards your total time on your test, but it can give you an idea of how long you're taking as well as just getting used to seeing a clock.

Third, it gives you a feel for the format and what to expect. This might be helpful for some people. I think this was of most help for me. I struggle with the unknown. The more I know of what to expect, the more comfortable I feel. I even talked to admissions and asked questions such as "Do I need a pen or pencil? Will we be given scrap paper? Is a bottle of water allowed?" They may seem like silly questions, but knowing that much and knowing what to expect on the test made it easier to get through. The only thing I had to do what go in, keep calm, and take the test.

Also, I strongly recommend a good night of sleep the night before. No studying the day/night before. Relax. No studying the day of or right before. Leave your study materials at home. Don't take them with you. I saw tons of people flipping through their TEAS book before the test. I've read about how it can be more harmful than helpful. If you don't know it by then, you don't know it. It's more likely to confuse you or make you second guess yourself than to provide you with anything beneficial right before.

Lastly, do NOT change your answers unless you are absolutely 100% positive, without a doubt, know you selected the wrong answer. It's hard to do, but unless you read a question wrong and selected the wrong answer, don't change it.

Sorry for the novel, but I hope some of this helps. Definitely check out the TEAS section as there will be tons of other resources posted and discussed that may help you. Good luck!

ilikecorgis · May 1, 2015

Thanks so much! Your story is very inspiring. A 75% is really good considering you hadn't taken any science classes in over 10 years. Also a huge improvement from the 39%. Congrats!

I am very determined to get an A in a&p this summer. My chances of getting in solely depend on my teas now. I have some friends that got an early acceptance into the university here because they knew they wanted to major in nursing freshmen year. Most of them made decent grades and I had quite a few friends that didn't study for the teas at all but got a decent enough grade to get in. My GPA is not good enough to apply for any BSN programs, so the best route for me is going to ADN-BSN route. And now I feel like I am paying back for slacking off freshman year!

Editorial Team / Admin · May 1, 2015

Welcome to allnurses.com

We moved your thread to the TEAS forum for the best response.

Good luck and we hope you enjoy the site.