I wanted to start a discussion on Hunters 2018 application frenzy.
I'm currently completing my application & studying for the NLN that I have scheduled in February.
Would love if we could open up a discussion on current test scores and experiences:
How did you prepare for the NLN exam?
Was the actual test material what you expected- was it harder/ was there any material you were not prepared for?
Did you take the exam at hunter? If so, I found out they let you use calculators- was it a very basic calculator - or did it have functions such as exponents and negative integer capabilities?
What is your NLN score and percentile?
What is your gpa?
Do you feel your career goal statement (for nursingcas application) was strong? (I struggled a bit with this section as the instructions were very vague)
I can't imagine you have anything to worry about! From what I understand, folks with GPAs above 3.8 need only a 130-ish on the exam. Of course, it is all relative to the applicant pool, but I wouldn't stress out too much! Congrats!
I had the exact same problem at my previous college. Sigh.. to be young and reckless. Took me a few semesters to raise my GPA.
I'm so worried about taking the NLN exam knowing you guys did so well! -- Stakes are high this semester! Every time I take a practice test it seems another vocab word I've never heard of pops up. And don't get me started on the science section. lol
I found the Pocket Prep NLN PAX app super helpful! I highly suggest it. It's free for the basic version, which gives you little mini quizzes, and, I believe, $9.99 to upgrade and unlock the ability to build practice exams and such. Definitely worth it!
did anyone's nursingcas application get verified yet? i just got the email that mine did - my cumulative GPA for both colleges i attended ended up being a 3.86. not as bad as i thought id get, but i still wish i never took those college credit classes in HS. they didn't even transfer over to hunter and yet they were still calculated into my gpa
I sent mine in at around the same time. I think it depends on whenever they received your transcripts - you'll get an email for that too. They received my transcripts a few days before the deadline
I applied to the generic program and used the red nln pax review book. I think the book is most useful if you complete all of the questions.
I actually had questions from the reading section of the book on my test!
I'd say the testing material is what you would expect from the book. They gave us 40 minutes for each section, 60 questions for reading and science and 40 for math.
There is a scientific calculator located on the bottom tab of your screen for your use throughout the entirety of the exam. (If i knew this while I was studying I wouldve spent less time studying for the math section .. ugh)
I took my test last week and was aiming for a 140/160 but to my disappointment I scored a 136 (92 percentile).
My cumulative GPA is 3.98 so i hope that it evens out!
The advisors say that the career goal statement isnt a deciding factor to your acceptance but I spent time on it anyhow. When I called for more information about it the nursing office informed me that it should be about 750 words. I wouldnt think its a huge deal if you wrote a little less though.
Good luck everyone! Hope to be your fellow classmate in the fall :)
Myr21, thanks for sharing your scores. You have an awesome GPA so I'm sure it'll pick up your NLN score when the avg is calculated.
I finally took my NLN today, scored 148 in 99th percentile.
Unfortunately I will prob not be admitted. My GPA from my previous college was a 3.7 and a 4.0 at Hunter. However, when Nursingcas calculated my GPA they included an F I received over a decade ago (I re-took the class and got an A so my previous college didn't count it towards my GPA) which lowered my GPA to a 3.53.
When I called Nursingcas and they told me that it doesn't matter if your college replaced the F with an A, they count BOTH grades even if your colleges don't. Just wanted to put this out there in case someone has the same issue so that they are prepared. Had I known this earlier I may not have wasted time applying to hunter and going through all the motions to get in.
Anyhow, if anyone is interested in knowing how to study for the NLN exam I suggest buying the recommended book AND also purchasing the practice exams from the testing site itself. I actually found many of the questions repeated on the actual exam from the NLN practice exams I purchased online (more so than from the book). Money well spent.
I unfortunately had a majority of physics questions which was honestly my worst nightmare- so definitely brush up on your physics! Know how to decipher between different circuit diagrams and which devices measure voltage, electricity, circuits etc. Know your laws: Ohms, Newton and Coulomb's law etc.
As far as the math goes, if you're taking your exam at hunter calculators are allowed-- functions such as exponents and integer features are available which saved me so much time.
Verbal section is a bit tough. IMO 40 minutes is not enough time to read 6 passages (5 questions each) and answer 30 vocab questions. I felt really rushed and I know I made a few mistakes because of that. My advice it to practice speeding up your pace while reading. As far as the vocab studying goes I studied from the NLN vocab list on quizlet but more importantly I took the time to look up and memorize every vocab I encountered on all the practice exams.
I will still update you guys when I receive my inevitable rejection.
Also, they don't average out your GPA from all the colleges you attended. Nursingcas adds up ALL your grades together into one sum.
So if you had a 3.5 from one college and a 4.0 from hunter your cumulative GPA will NOT be 3.5 + 4.0 / 2 = 3.75 (the avg). Instead it will just be the addition of all of your grades as a whole.
Hope this helps anyone who wants to know what their cumulative GPA is before Nursingcas calculates it.
kw1754
4 Posts
I can't imagine you have anything to worry about! From what I understand, folks with GPAs above 3.8 need only a 130-ish on the exam. Of course, it is all relative to the applicant pool, but I wouldn't stress out too much! Congrats!