Educate a dinosaur :D

[xtxrn]

OK...... I started nursing school in 1983; many of you may not have been born then When I applied to nursing school, there was no HESI, or other entrance exams, aside from the ACT or SAT, and high school diploma. Done. When I graduated in May 1985, I took the NCLEX, and Done.

They've found more ways to drain money out of students - and I'm totally cluless about what the tests are, and who has to take them.

I don't know which ones everyone has to take, which ones foreign students have to take, etc...

Anybody wanna take a crack at drilling some info into my fossilized brain?

A total pre-nursing student might need this as well

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

They are private, but not "for profit". Johns Hopkins and George Washington. The state school, University of Maryland, asks for the TEAS.

Also, I think things have changed because of the high volume of applicants. Many nursing programs report having hundreds of applicants for less than a hundred spots. In order to curtail some of the applications, they up their requirements, require entrance tests, etc just to see how many hoops someone will jump through. I was recently looking at California schools because I'm looking to move back to be with my family. Their schools require a lot more prereqs and it is because so many people apply. Johns Hopkins recently changed their BSN program to a second degree program only because they were getting so many applicants with BS/BA degrees.

It is a shame though because many students will jump through all the hoops and still get denied. It'd be nice if you could apply, know you are in before you spend money and effort on a program. I don't think nursing schools could handle the volume of applications if that were the case though.

Yeah - especially in this economy. It seems cruel to demand so much, for a hope and a prayer.

[Just a Dose]

I took the HESI lots. There was a VERY long entrance exam hesi which tested the usual basics like Math, English, grammer and comprehesion, and then lots of Science. A&P, Micro, Biology and Chemistry. Then our school had a HESI for each clinical class and an exit exam HESI.

[Irishgal82]

We have ATI testing at the end of each semester which is considered as our final exam. I had to take the TEAS while trying to get into nursing school. It was a joke. The math, english and grammar were so easy and insulting and the science was all geology. I bomed the science as I could not remember different forms of rocks and stuff that I learned in 5th grade. I assumed the science would be anatomy, chemistry ... topics related to nursing, not rocks!

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

I'm with a community college, and lots of our students are going back to school years after high school; so their ACT/SAT if they even took them are far out of date. The feds require you to demonstrate that grant and scholarship monies are being used appropriately, ie students who are able to pass. So this one has some use to it.

I graduated high school in 1987 and my community college had no problem whatsoever accepting my ancient ACT scores.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

TEAS stands for Test of Essential Academic Skills. It should be a joke for most students preparing for college-level courses, but it's not for some.

The only thing out of that test that puzzled me was the focus on geology for the science portion. In high school more than a generation ago, I had chemistry, physics, and two progressive biology courses. Geology wasn't a part of my high school education, so I didn't do as well on the science portion as I did on the other parts.

[AZ_LPN_8_26_13]

I graduated high school in 1987 and my community college had no problem whatsoever accepting my ancient ACT scores.

There is a time limit on them however. I took the ACT back in 1971 and scored in the 90th percentile, but they were too old to be considered with entry to either a university or a nursing program now.

[LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN]

Most students take the prerequisites (biology, chem, english, psychology, sociology, A&P, micro) before they apply to nursing school. Part of the application process is the TEAS exam, which allegedly is a test of your knowledge (math, science, english, etc.) Some student pass the prerequisites and fail the TEAS exam. Many of those did not buy the inexpensive ATI TEAS practice book and they had no idea their weak areas.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Most students take the prerequisites (biology, chem, english, psychology, sociology, A&P, micro) before they apply to nursing school. Part of the application process is the TEAS exam, which allegedly is a test of your knowledge (math, science, english, etc.) Some student pass the prerequisites and fail the TEAS exam. Many of those did not buy the inexpensive ATI TEAS practice book and they had no idea their weak areas.

Yeah- I took A&P, nutrition, English, sociology, and Chemistry before the "real" classes started. I did micro in the summer between years. I had Psychology from a 4-year school (I'm an ADN). Didn't need math because of high school classes I took (geometry and trig- and ACT scores).

It just seems nuts to take a test when you have the grades I CAN see testing if there is a problem with the prerequisites (C or D).

I realize I'm "old school" ()....but making things more complicated doesn't help anybody....either raise the entrance requirements and kill the testing, or take the grades for an entire class vs a 1/2 day test..... IDK. Just makes sense to me :)

I feel for you guys having to keep up with all of this dung. It's like some scavenger hunt, and at the end, you've got a 50/50 shot of getting the 'prize'.

[annlewis]

When I took the HESI exam in 2009 I did not do well. It made me feel unprepared for the NCLEX exam. I used the 2 months I had to wait for my NCLEX to review the PN NCLEX study guide cd and book and I passed the NCLEX exam. It stopped at 85 questions. I feel the HESI helped to get me to focus...but I don't agree that it should be the basis for failure.