Is the TEAS V really that hard???

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Feb 21, 2013

moved to TEAS exam help forum. Please note that the TEAS forum is moderated and all posts submitted must be reviewed by a moderator before appearing in public view.

usfgirl · Feb 21, 2013

I took the TEAS V about a month ago, and like you, had very little time to prepare since I registered about ten days before the actual exam. I didn't study very much at all because of existing deadlines in my classes. However, I picked up a review book (McGraw-Hill) and it only contained practice tests. In other words, it did not review the general topics. I began taking the tests the day before the exam and didn't want to stress too much. IMHO, deciding not to stress was a great idea. Instead of staying up late, I went to bed early and slept well. The next day, I just said a prayer and relied on my previous knowledge. Have confidence in what you learned!

I'm not telling you to "wing" it. The book I used did help me - it illustrated the type of questions I would see, and the style was similar to the actual exam. But with little preparation, I managed to score in the 85% overall and 95 percentile.

Sorry if I am rambling. But no, it's not that hard. Science portion was the worst for me. Just study what you can and be confident!

i♥words · Feb 22, 2013

I didn't think it was that hard. I started "studying" a month before my test. I used the ATI book which covers every topic in sufficient detail and the McGraw-Hill book of practice tests. Yes, completing those science prereqs beforehand does help. Most of it is basic knowledge of each area of science: chemistry, biology, anatomy and physiology, and physical science. I'm weakest in chemistry but otherwise didn't think the science section was too terribly hard, as long as you freshen up your memory.

In my opinion, the hardest sections were reading and math, and I generally think I'm good at both. The reading section was harder than the reading sections on the practice tests. Longer passages, more detailed questions. The math section also was harder than the math sections on the practice tests. I admit that I didn't really look at the math section in the ATI book because I'm pretty good at math, but some questions were just confusing to me on the test.

Good luck!

haylinfley · Feb 22, 2013

I took the test, 3 weeks ago and it wasn't hard just tricky with some questions. Reviewing is a must if you want to pass it, and been prepare will help you to feel confident and relax. The worst part for me was reading and my biggest mistake was to be too aware of time. Since there is a limit on time, I was too worried with it, and fail to review some of my answers.

jennydepphk · Feb 22, 2013

I don't think it's all that hard at all, I passed on my 1st shot last Saturday. I borrowed somebody's ATI study guide but never finish reviewing it and I didn't do any practice tests because I didn't have time. I didn't have a regular spot to take the test, so I waited on standby at 5am in the morning outside the campus building, couldn't sleep at all the night before worrying if I could take the test on standby. By the time I got to take the test, it was 8:30am, my mind and body was completely exhausted, but the time limit on the test kept my brain working. I mean, even under my situation, I can still pass the test. Science part mainly focuses on Bio190 and reasoning, I don't recall seeing any A&P or microbiology stuff (perhaps I was too tired to remember anything LOL). Keep an eye on time when doing Math section, Math weren't tricky or hard either, but you have to be quick. I would suggest answer everything first even you are not sure about the answer, because very likely you will run out of time to go back. If you don't understand one particular topic, say Balancing Chemical Equation, don't stress out, the actual test only has one, at most 2 questions on the same area, they are all multiple choices, you can make educated guess.

I was really worried like you because I read the posts here, but I realize the test is quite straight forward and nothing really in-depth. Keep an eye on time, work fast, read fast, you'll be just fine.

Destin293 · Feb 27, 2013

Thanks everyone for the replies, they definitely helped ease my nerves a little. I took it last night and didn't do as well as I would have liked (77, which put me in the 84th percentile), but considering I only had a day to actually prepare, I will deal with it. The math part was my worst at only the 66th percentile, and I was a little shocked at that. The math wasn't terribly hard, but when you're sitting next to someone who sounded like they were hacking up a lung for 3 hours straight and reading EVERY question out loud to themselves, it made it hard to focus when you're also looking at the time ticking down. I thought the science was a bit tricky if you haven't taken many science pre-reqs. I scored in the 94th percentile for science, but I really think that's only because it's so fresh in my mind and I finished so many of the courses. I'm amazed at the people who do well on that section who haven't studied science in a long time because I definitely pulled knowledge from topics covered in chem 1 & 2, A&P 1 & 2, and even a bit of microbiology. I'm glad it's done, now it's just a waiting game. This is the first year this program required an entrance exam and they only required a 58, so I hope my low score doesn't look to bad to admissions!

ajames22 · Feb 27, 2013

I took the Teas two weeks ago and failed I honestly didnt study much because I didnt have much time before my test. Im retaking it March 23....

MagicStatic · Mar 9, 2013

Yes it is.

The math and science parts are the hardest but at the same time the reading part will surprise you (I'm a writer/editor and did not get 100% in this section).

noel877 · Mar 20, 2013

I took the TEAS last week. I studied for about a week using the ATI and took some practice test from the mcgraw hill book. I got 82 overall and on the 93% program (ADN) percentile.

I dont think the TEAS is really that hard. I think they asks relatively easy questions. The problem I think with TEAS is it is very broad. Especially the science portion. It is broad and you dont really know what you're going to get. For example, I studied a little bit of geology because on my practice tests, those kind of questions (athmosphere, types of rocks, etc.) kept coming up. I didnt get one single geology question on the actual test. Some might get a lot so you never know.

Another example: I got about a dozen AP questions. Easy I thought but the problem here is, A&P is a broad enough subject in itself. You might get questions on systems that you're weak at, or you might get questions that you're strong at. You never know anything with TEAS.

One other thing.. on my practice test, reading and math was alway my highest. On the actual test, these two are my lowest. so Im not sure whats going on there.

my advice is to just study as much as you can. If I could do it all over again, I'd allocate a lot more than one week to studying.

wghtsrgltng · Aug 3, 2016

Don't take what people say in forums about test scores too literally. In all of college and all the exams I've taken... everyone always claims "they didn't study much", "it wasn't that hard", "they got a high score". It's almost always exaggerated and by quite a bit. USFgirl took the practice exam one day before the TEAS with almost no prep and scored that high? that's a bunch of crap. If she's that smart she would be doing something more challenging than nursing.