Oakton Community College NLN test

I haven't been accepted to Oakton yet, but my composite was a 147 I think. My English percentile was a 99 and my Overall percentile was a 98. Oakton told me that some years they accept as low as 80ish and other years they don't need to go below the 90s, it just all depends on who applies and how many spots are available.

It's a bit easier to be accepted for Fall than Spring because in the Fall they admit 80 and in the Spring only 20.

WOW... you got a pretty good score luvs, I know you will definitly be admitted into the program. Did you just apply to the program? I still need to take the nln but i am somewhat nervous. Do you have to be really smart to get such score on test? I mean i'm just freaking out...lol. N-e way i'm pretty nervous on the verbal part just because by reviewing the nln pre entrance study guide I've come to realize that half of those words I have never seen before. If you have any advice... would you give me some? Thanks:p

I did not attend Oakton, but I wanted to let you know about the NLN exam. It is a service that many schools use for testing, to weed out candidates. What you need to get into the school depends on how many people apply. In Illinois, and probably other states too, the school must have no more than 10 students per clinical instructor. If your school has 6 instructors per semester, it can only handle 60 new students at a time. If 250 students apply for admission into the program, they must weed out 190 students.

Scores and composite scores are meaningless for the most part. What they do is compare your scores electronically with 20,000 other scores for that period, around the entire US. Then you get ranked into a percentile. You have a percentile for the science, math and verbal sections. Schools look at the overall percentile ranking. If it comes down to a tie for the last slot available, they will look at the individual percentiles (probably focusing on the science portion of the score). They will also look at completed coursework and grades in a tie situation. Percentiles are tabulated and should be on the sheet you receive back from the NLN testing people.

Someone that is prepared for nursing school will probably score over an 80th percentile. Most nursing schools take something around, (just under or over), the 90th percentile these days. They also do not take people from out-of-district. Most of the people that went to my school when I started scored between 90th percentile and 95th percentile, however some scored higher. I managed a 99th percentile, which by the way is the highest possible ranking. I still missed 3 or 4 in science, 6 to 8 in math I think and about 11 in the verbal sections. But overall, it was ranked a 99th percentile.

Good luck.

I might be kinda late @ answering your post, I had commented previously before I took the nln. However I took the nln and obtained an 119 composite score or in the 81%! I applied for the nursing program for fall 2010 along with a friend of mine who got a 114 composite score and we both didn't get in. I would suggest retaking the test and try to get a higher score. This year the lowest score they took was an 89% per a nursing advisor. And for spring the lowest score is usually 92% or higher. I am going to retake the nln in order to get a higher score..... I will also suggest to look into other schools and apply there too, don't put all your eggs in one basket, distribuite. Good Luck!

Just like the other schools that use the NLN test, in Illinois, there is a maximum ratio of teachers to students. This is required at clinical sites. That ratio is 10 students maximum to one instructor. A particular school will need to weed out a number of students that exceeds their limit each semester. They do this fairly by using the nationally recognized NLN exam. they do not know the score required until they compare the percentile rankings, but they use those rankings to sort out the students. Percentile ranking requirement could actually go down if there is a drop in enrollment.

Someone else pointed out in/out of district. They are right. It has gotten so tough to get into a local school that community colleges have restrectided admission to county residents. I know of one guy that worked in Lake County, and he chose CLC because it was near his work, but he was denied enrollment in the program because he lived in another district.

If a student is in district, however there is a tie for the last slot, lets say at 91 percentile, they look at academics. That is, they compare grades and other course completion for the tie breaker.

In these programs, they also expect the student to be doing all the leg work. If you get accepted, be sure to check your requirements continuously with the nursing department. If you get through part of the program and are missing something like part of your health check or currency in CPR certification in the right program, you will be dropped from the program.

If you get into the program and you do not qualify for financial aid, you may be able to get scholorships. They are not too hard to get. Nurisng is expensive. Plan to spend $800 + on books. You will be buying a decent stethoscope and/or other items as time goes along. Flash cards can be helpful and I like the Mosby's nursing drug reference book. The 2010 one is quite good. I like the one for Iphone (on skyscape), but the paper one will do just fine. And be prepared for expenses for graduation, pinning, NCLEX registration, photos and other school requirements to finish. Its not cheap!

The programs are tough to get into, because if you aren't willing to put in extra effort, someone else will. Good Luck.

Did you ever take the test again? I just took it and got a 91 percentile and hope that is good enough to get in for the fall. Do you know what the lowest composite percentile they take into the fall program is?

I am holding my breath for that acceptance letter.

For those that don't know - the scores are really meaningless. What they do is compare your scores to those of others taking the test around the country and create a percentile ranking. The overall percentile ranking is how you did compared to all the others (like 20,000 others).

The school then has a limited number of seats for students based on a ratio of 10 students to one clinical instructor. CLC was like 60 students per semester admitted and I think Oakton is like 80 students per semester.

The school takes the NLN percentile ranking to figure out who to admit based on the number of applicants. For example, if at Oakton, 200 people apply and 80 are admitted, they must weed out 120 students that semester. They start with the 99 percentile (the highest possible ranking), and go down until they get all 80 students. They will not know until after the selection what the lowest percentile accepted was. The lowest will likely fall between 89 percentile and 92 percentile somewhere. Another student theorized it would likely be 90 percentile or 91 percentile for the upcomming semester.

When I attended CLC, there were 250 applicants for 60 slots. The minimum score when I got in was 89 percentile or 90 percentile, I cannot remember. I heard the following semester it was 91 percentile. But this was back in 2007.

Good Luck

@ omonhpy I am in the same place that you are. I am waiting for the letters for fall 2011 at Oakton. I heard that they are most likely coming out before May 1st, which is exciting! I can't stand the wait any longer. When did you take the test?

I took the test on Feb. 26th and got my results last Saturday. I was happy to get in the 91 percentile since I noticed near the end of math that I had skipped a question and had to erase and fill in the answers and I ran out of time. I thought for sure that my score would have been way lower. The adviser told me that since they take 60, I should not worry being in the top 10%. They said the letters will go out by the end of March. My test was the last one that they were waiting for the results so now we just have to wait. When did you take the NLN and how did you do?

I was right there with you taking it on the 26th, I just received my scores yesterday. I couldn't wait to get them. I scored a 98% for the composite, but I heard that if you are in the 90's for the composite your chances are good. They have even had 89% for the fall in previous years. I can't wait to get those letters!!! :) I thought that 80 students were accepted for the fall semester, is it really only 60?

Yes, it is 80 but 20 are conditional. They usually are people whose second language is English and they have to score well on the composite but there English might be below the 60 perentile but has to be between 39-50. I thought that I would have scored in the high 90s and I think I would have if not for the math screw up. Well you are definitely in and now it is a matter of time for the acceptance letter. Look for a large brown envelope. The rejection letters are in a regular size envelope and the acceptance comes with a bunch of forms. Let me know when you get yours.