How to boost grade up for TEAS? & volunteer hours for application?

[nursetobeat33]

Hi everyone, I took the TEAS exam just once and I got very low score on science and English and Language usage section. I only used the yellow TEAS book but I think I need more resources to help me prepare for my second test. Is there any helpful resources that I can boost my points for both sections? or anything that helped you score higher on this exam would be very helpful! ? 

Also, does most applicants have volunteer hours? I have no volunteer hours because this is my second field that I am switching to and the first one that I did is not related to health care. I don't have any experience or volunteer hours in healthcare settings. I honestly don't have time to volunteer before I turn in my application (planning to work full time and taking 11 prerequisite credit hours during fall). I am scared that it will lower my chances significantly. Please share your experiences if you have lower volunteer hours or none like me! 

Thank you.

[mountaincowgrl]

Hi there, I just went through the application process and got accepted so here's what I learned. I volunteered and took classes simultaneously and I really thought that it would benefit my application. When the time to apply came, none of my applications asked for volunteer hours! I think 1 out of 10+ schools I applied to asked, so I was obviously disappointed. However, it wasn't all for waste. I was able to include the fact that I volunteered into my essays when applying and was capable of elaborating on that. I think that really helped my application, especially if you're grades/TEAS's aren't top notch, which I don't have a perfect GPA, etc. so I played on my other strengths like this! I was also able to make great connections within the hospital I was volunteering at. I later asked them for references when applying, because references are included on nearly every application! I believe that this was also a huge factor in my acceptance because references are able to elaborate on your character outside of GPA and grades. So, in the end I think volunteering is really worth it and I'm glad I was able to put some time aside to do so. As for the TEAS, don't beat yourself up over your first score. It's normal to get a lower score on your first test. Now you know how the test is administered, the type of questions, and your strengths and weaknesses so use that to your advantage when studying and try to isolate those weak points. I used the yellow TEAS test book too, I pretty much read the whole thing inside and out a few times while annotating, etc. But I also coupled this with lots of Youtube videos for specific sections/topics to really understand the material. That really helped me because reading through the book alone and doing well on the exam would be hard to do. I also found myself drawing a lot of diagrams, specifically for anatomy/science to understand things. For English/Language I thinks it's all about running through examples. But overall, I think looking up educational videos and taking notes on all of those is really beneficial if you haven't done so already because they have those examples as well as explanations.