Just scored a 97.3% on the TEAS VI!!!

Nursing Students TEAS

Published

Just wanted to share the good news (: Spent 1.5 months studying my ass off! Thank you to everyone in this group that helped with all of their suggestions and advice!

3 Votes

congratulations!

Any tips/advice?

Specializes in nursing student.

seriously add tips under this declaration!! help others out!

Sorry guys! Allnurses was down for so long, and I hadn't checked it in a while.

Here is the breakdown of my scores:

Reading: 97.9%

Math: 96.9%

Science: 97.9%

English and Language Usage: 100%

I went all out and purchased the most expensive and comprehensive package that the ATI website offered. It included 2 practice tests, an online modules program, and the basic study manual. Like I said before, I studied for about a month and half; I sat down every single day and studied for anywhere between 3-6 hours. I completed all the online modules in about 3 weeks, and the physical study manual in about 2 weeks. The online modules provide notes/summaries on each organ system, so I jotted down notes while studying. While I looked at the study manual, I also supplemented every organ system/science topic covered in the manual with Khan Academy YouTube videos. This was super important; I don't think I would have done as well if I hadn't watched all the Khan Academy videos. The study manual provides a very broad and basic understanding of each of the organ systems, and doesn't go in depth with it. While most of the anatomy-related questions on the TEAS were pretty broad, some of them were very specific, and I wouldn't have been able to answer them without having watched the Khan Academy videos.

The last week before the TEAS was a little stressful. I took only one practice test (I didn't have time to take the other one), and scored an 87% on it. For about 4 days of the last week before the TEAS, I reviewed topics I had struggled with, and also downloaded the Pocket Prep app on my iPhone. During my free time, I would quickly run through practice questions on the app (it provides explanations for each and every answer, wrong or right). Two days before the TEAS, I wrote a short list of the topics/important points I had struggled with, and reviewed them.

On the day before the test, I skimmed my cheat sheet of hard topics, then just relaxed. I am a firm believer in relaxing the day before the test; if you don't know it at that point, you won't know it for the exam. Cramming is pointless and only stresses you out more.

The actual test was much easier than I had anticipated. In my opinion, the practice tests were harder than the actual exam. There were a few very difficult questions, but I don't think they counted towards the score; they were just questions they were testing out for the next TEAS.

A few important tips:

English: DO NOT skip over the English portion of the study manual. I was born in the US and am a native speaker, and still had a hard time with the English portion. I know I got 100% on it, but this was the section I was most nervous about. Most of us haven't had grammar lessons since middle school, and I didn't remember anything about predicates or whatever. Whatever I wasn't sure about, I looked up on the internet. Also, definitely know the differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources; they'll 100% ask you about this.

Science: I have a strong background in Biology and Human A&P, and still had to study/review. Do NOT skimp on Khan Academy videos! They're amazing, and they covered everything that the study manual didn't. Basically, the study manual pointed me in the right direction, and Khan Academy filled in the rest of the blanks. The majority of the questions on the TEAS are Human A&P related, but make sure you know some basic cellular biology (what is the mitochondria, what does the Golgi apparatus do, etc.), and basic chemistry (what is an ionic compound, how do you balance a chemical equation, etc.).

Math: Honestly, I found this part super easy. Most of it is very basic algebra (solve for x, PEMDAS, FOIL, fractions and proportions), but it helped to go through practice questions to get used to the wording of the questions. Definitely know how to maneuver around proportions, and know your basic formulas (Pythagorean theorem, area of a circle, know how to find the circumference of a circle), etc. The TEAS 6 provides a calculator, but does NOT provide formulas! Know your basics!

Reading: Practice. That's all I can recommend. Again, I'm a native English-speaker, and I struggled with this section. Know how to find the topic sentence, what the main idea of a paragraph is, what mode of passage the author is using, etc. I found that this part of the test was mostly about how the question is worded; it's important to really ask yourself: "What is the question REALLY asking?". It's easy to get lost in the details of the passage, so practice understanding the wording of the question, and being able to pick apart a passage. In my case, I often over-analyzed the question and picked a completely wrong answer. Don't overthink!!! And read the questions veryyy carefully; some of them are tricky.

On the morning of the test, I woke up early, had coffee and ate banana, did some yoga and relaxed, skimmed over the little "cheat sheet" of difficult concepts, then just hung out and waited for the test.

Sorry for the essay, but I really wanted to go in-depth with what I did to prepare for the TEAS! I tried to find some resources about how to best prepare for the TEAS, but everything seemed very generalized. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions, and good luck!!

17 Votes
On 1/31/2019 at 11:11 PM, uhnjeenunah said:

Sorry guys! Allnurses was down for so long, and I hadn't checked it in a while.

Here is the breakdown of my scores:

Reading: 97.9%

Math: 96.9%

Science: 97.9%

English and Language Usage: 100%

I went all out and purchased the most expensive and comprehensive package that the ATI website offered. It included 2 practice tests, an online modules program, and the basic study manual. Like I said before, I studied for about a month and half; I sat down every single day and studied for anywhere between 3-6 hours. I completed all the online modules in about 3 weeks, and the physical study manual in about 2 weeks. The online modules provide notes/summaries on each organ system, so I jotted down notes while studying. While I looked at the study manual, I also supplemented every organ system/science topic covered in the manual with Khan Academy YouTube videos. This was super important; I don't think I would have done as well if I hadn't watched all the Khan Academy videos. The study manual provides a very broad and basic understanding of each of the organ systems, and doesn't go in depth with it. While most of the anatomy-related questions on the TEAS were pretty broad, some of them were very specific, and I wouldn't have been able to answer them without having watched the Khan Academy videos.

The last week before the TEAS was a little stressful. I took only one practice test (I didn't have time to take the other one), and scored an 87% on it. For about 4 days of the last week before the TEAS, I reviewed topics I had struggled with, and also downloaded the Pocket Prep app on my iPhone. During my free time, I would quickly run through practice questions on the app (it provides explanations for each and every answer, wrong or right). Two days before the TEAS, I wrote a short list of the topics/important points I had struggled with, and reviewed them.

On the day before the test, I skimmed my cheat sheet of hard topics, then just relaxed. I am a firm believer in relaxing the day before the test; if you don't know it at that point, you won't know it for the exam. Cramming is pointless and only stresses you out more.

The actual test was much easier than I had anticipated. In my opinion, the practice tests were harder than the actual exam. There were a few very difficult questions, but I don't think they counted towards the score; they were just questions they were testing out for the next TEAS.

A few important tips:

English: DO NOT skip over the English portion of the study manual. I was born in the US and am a native speaker, and still had a hard time with the English portion. I know I got 100% on it, but this was the section I was most nervous about. Most of us haven't had grammar lessons since middle school, and I didn't remember anything about predicates or whatever. Whatever I wasn't sure about, I looked up on the internet. Also, definitely know the differences between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources; they'll 100% ask you about this.

Science: I have a strong background in Biology and Human A&P, and still had to study/review. Do NOT skimp on Khan Academy videos! They're amazing, and they covered everything that the study manual didn't. Basically, the study manual pointed me in the right direction, and Khan Academy filled in the rest of the blanks. The majority of the questions on the TEAS are Human A&P related, but make sure you know some basic cellular biology (what is the mitochondria, what does the Golgi apparatus do, etc.), and basic chemistry (what is an ionic compound, how do you balance a chemical equation, etc.).

Math: Honestly, I found this part super easy. Most of it is very basic algebra (solve for x, PEMDAS, FOIL, fractions and proportions), but it helped to go through practice questions to get used to the wording of the questions. Definitely know how to maneuver around proportions, and know your basic formulas (Pythagorean theorem, area of a circle, know how to find the circumference of a circle), etc. The TEAS 6 provides a calculator, but does NOT provide formulas! Know your basics!

Reading: Practice. That's all I can recommend. Again, I'm a native English-speaker, and I struggled with this section. Know how to find the topic sentence, what the main idea of a paragraph is, what mode of passage the author is using, etc. I found that this part of the test was mostly about how the question is worded; it's important to really ask yourself: "What is the question REALLY asking?". It's easy to get lost in the details of the passage, so practice understanding the wording of the question, and being able to pick apart a passage. In my case, I often over-analyzed the question and picked a completely wrong answer. Don't overthink!!! And read the questions veryyy carefully; some of them are tricky.

On the morning of the test, I woke up early, had coffee and ate banana, did some yoga and relaxed, skimmed over the little "cheat sheet" of difficult concepts, then just hung out and waited for the test.

Sorry for the essay, but I really wanted to go in-depth with what I did to prepare for the TEAS! I tried to find some resources about how to best prepare for the TEAS, but everything seemed very generalized. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions, and good luck!!

Thank you for sharing your experience. I got the ATI package and went over it. I noticed that it is not in dept and very brief. Do you think it was helpful to you? They provide some tips; are any of these tips in the test?

About the English section, do you know any sources? I really struggle in English.

Which ATI package did you purchase? The one that I used included ATI TEAS SmartPrep, which is the online modules program.

The actual, physical study manual (which I think is what you're talking about) is good because it has practice questions and gives you an idea of what to study, but it's not in depth. That's why I also used Khan Academy on YouTube. They offer free videos and explanations of all the major organ systems, basic cellular biology, basic chemistry, etc.

As for English, go over the modules and study guide. The modules do a good job going over everything and providing you with enough practice questions. Besides that, just look online on Google; I used a couple random University websites on grammar that offered explanations on things I wasn't sure about. I know that a few people taking the TEAS also looked up basic grammar worksheets online for middle schoolers and practiced with those.

50 minutes ago, uhnjeenunah said:

Which ATI package did you purchase? The one that I used included ATI TEAS SmartPrep, which is the online modules program.

The actual, physical study manual (which I think is what you're talking about) is good because it has practice questions and gives you an idea of what to study, but it's not in depth. That's why I also used Khan Academy on YouTube. They offer free videos and explanations of all the major organ systems, basic cellular biology, basic chemistry, etc.

As for English, go over the modules and study guide. The modules do a good job going over everything and providing you with enough practice questions. Besides that, just look online on Google; I used a couple random University websites on grammar that offered explanations on things I wasn't sure about. I know that a few people taking the TEAS also looked up basic grammar worksheets online for middle schoolers and practiced with those.

I got the Smartprep package (209$), but I feel like it's not in dept.
I took the teas last year and got 72 :( in English section I had 3 questions on finding the meaning based on context clues and couldn't figure out the meaning of the words.

I just have a week to study, so I want to prioritize my sources and go over the most helpful ones.

Congrats girl!!!! Dang Im hoping to match that taking it the second time next week!! Will let you know! I loved your post and how you prepped. thanks!!

2 Votes

That's awesome!!!!!

I just took my TEAS and dindnt get the score I wanted. I have the smartprep but only used it for Math and Science based on how much time I had available. Im taking the exam again August 29th. For Reading and English is the smartprep worth the time or should I pay the 24 dollars for the pocketprep app and do online worksheets? Thanks

Congrats on the score!

Just for my personal experience, I got a 92% with my lowest section being science.

I signed up for the TEAS pretty last minute as I had just finished my pre-requisites, so I only had a couple days to study. I only used practice questions posted on a large TEAS study Facebook group and the pocket prep app (I bought the $15 version the night before my test just for some extra science questions.)

These were great ways for me to review and I think they helped me a lot even for the short time that I had to study. I think the most important thing is to have taken and done well in your pre-reqs for the science portion and to refresh yourself on the rest.

Math- if you can do the pocket prep (free or paid) practice questions, you will do just fine.

english- If you are a native English speaker and do well on the pocket prep practice questions, you will do just fine.

reading- The same as the above. You may need to review these questions and topics longer if you have been out of school for a decade or decades, but your English pre-reqs should help you some as well.

science- you definitely need a strong foundation of A&P, Bio, and Chem knowledge but AGAIN if you payed attention in your pre-reqs you should definitely have a solid basis.

2 Votes

Great insight! Thanks!

+ Add a Comment