First time TEAS score

RunBabyRN · Dec 18, 2013

Make sure your program allows repeated attempts. Each school is different. Make sure they'll also look at your HIGHEST score- sometimes they don't. It's really important to look at this stuff, and to do as well as you can the first time you take the TEAS.

My program requires a 75% minimum to even apply, but you generally need a higher score to be accepted. I got a 96%.

virgo7598 · Dec 18, 2013

Oh yeah my program allows the highest score of 2 attempts.

twinbaby27 · Dec 19, 2013

@virgo7598, I did the exact same thing this past Monday. Just before the test began at 5 pm, the proctor told me that the nursing school I want to attend only allows 3 attempts PERIOD! Also, there has to be a 30 day period between the last attempt and the next. And as the last poster stated, there is no guarantee that the school will take the higher score if I were to attempt more than once. Wow... I thought this is what I get for not doing my research and using this test as a diagnostic and not as the actual test to accompany my nursing application.

Luckily I scored 88.7%, which put me in 98 percentile nationally and 96 percentile for the program. I did my poorest in the science questions, specifically the scientific reasoning. But my adjusted score for science ended up being 79.2%. (53.6% national and 62.0% program).

Good luck to you. At least you are familiar with the latest edition of the TEAS and know what you need to work on. I have heard from others that anything in the 70's is considered competitive from most nursing programs.

FutureIDNP · Dec 20, 2013

My score was a little lower, but I have a good GPA! Hopefully we will be accepted in NHCC! Are you applying anywhere else? I am applying to IHCC and Century.

Peak Curiosity · Dec 22, 2013

That's not a bad score if you didn't study at all. Just imagine if you did study the manual and took the practice tests. You seem really smart.

virgo7598 · Dec 22, 2013

I've been thinking about applying to IHCC. Is the application/accepting process similar to NHCC??

virgo7598 · Dec 22, 2013

Wow you did great! The proctor at the test said anything between 60-70% is enough to make you a competitive candidate. Hopefully with some preparation I can blow that out of the water!

FutureIDNP · Dec 28, 2013

So...I emailed counselors at 2 schools and one counselor pretty much told me most applicants scored about the same as I did, and another counselor told me I should be aiming for 80-90%. I freaked out a little and have registered to take the test again. I think I will score better as I will be more prepared by knowing how much time I actual have for each section. I whizzed through the reading portion and slowed down on math, which got me into problems!!!! I would just go with my score I got the first time but I actually just paid for the second test and there are NO REFUNDS so I am gonna take another shot at it!

virgo7598 · Jan 1, 2014

Thanks for the info! Here's to hoping you and I both do awesome on our next attempts!

NuGuyNurse2b · Jan 1, 2014

I don't think anyone really knows how nursing schools evaluate TEAS and decide from there. I've read people with scored in the 80's and not getting into their school, so who knows. I will tell you my experience, though. I got a 74 and the national average was 66 when I took it, so while it wasn't a great score, it was higher than the average. I was told that the TEAS got exponentially harder in the past few years (I took mine in 2012) so you can't compare the recent batch of scores with those from previous students. So while my school advertised a 75 minimum, I somehow still got accepted, so they seem to relax it if the average is way lower than the standard that's been set for years (remember, policy changes do not happen overnight). I also had very strong science & math scores - I faltered in the reading/writing section. So I think they weigh the science section over the reading/writing. Hope that puts into perspective what can happen and relieve some of your anxiety.

tcRN2015 · Jan 1, 2014

They are speaking about schools in MN that are following the MANE curriculum. From what I've heard, 60-70% is considered competitive. They are expecting many students to have a 4.0 GPA in the pre-reqs (which I'm not sure why they're setting the bar this high). I don't believe that a 3.0 combined with a 72% would make you a "competitive" candidate (by the school's standards), but you aren't necessarily in a bad spot.

Also, I've seen a few people who drastically improve between attempts, but this is not common. You typically don't do much better on your second attempts in comparison to you your first. But that's not saying it's impossible to bring your score up.