Santa Monica College Spring 2023 Application Status

[RoseMA3]

Hi there! 

Creating a thread for students who have applied to SMC ADN Spring 2023. How many points did you go in with? Have you heard back regarding PAX testing? 

[Bacondan, CNA]

Hello. I think I have around 54-55 points but I think I messed up and cheated myself out of a few pts. As far as the pax, yah I got an email a few days ago. Testing will be between oct 18-22.

[RoseMA3]

Hey! Same, I’m proficient in a second language but not in medical terms and I wasn’t sure if there would be a test involved or it was a honor system. I’m at 58 points but hoping to do well on the PAX to increase it to 78-83! 

[Bacondan, CNA]

I previously spoke with a nursing counselor and asked her to explain what they consider proficient, basically it seems like as long as you are conversational it's fine. its also on the honor system and you don't need any medical language proficiency. Essentially as long as you aren't totally lying and you know enough to navigate an interaction you are good, it's more of a personal discretion thing than them wanting a certain level of proficiency.

[Bacondan, CNA]

Also, I would never want to discourage you from doing your best on the pax but when I asked the nursing counselor about the competitiveness she told me it's not as rough as alot people think, most people applying aren't eligible to begin with due to lack of pre-reqs completed. I told her I got A's in my pre-reqs and she sorta just said, if you do well on the PAX you're solid. Looking at previous threads for prior cohorts, it seems like people at getting in at 70+ points, some are admitted with 68+. Obviously no guarantees, get as many points as possible, don't leave it to chance, but I wouldn't stress so much. She did mention that the students who do get into the program usually do the practice PAX before taking the real test, so I would recommend that. 

[RoseMA3]

I wish I knew that in advance! I spoke with a counselor but we didn't touch on it. I saw the "please note" under the criteria form and didn't want to risk my chances of admission if I wasn't fluent in the language. 

That makes me feel much better! I too received A's in most of the required pre reqs I was just worried about the PAX exam since I've been focused on studying for the TEAS for other potential schools as well. Santa Monica was the only school that uses the PAX, I wish it was streamline across all nursing programs. Good luck to you! When are you taking your exam? 

[mels]

Hey! Good luck on the pax if you haven't taken it already! I had issues with my school email so please let me know about any updates or emails that anyone gets about the program! (: 

[RoseMA3]

Hey! Thank you! Have not taken it yet as the period to take the exam is starting 10/18 - 10/22

SMC should be sending a vouchers by next week if you got the email. Be sure to register to receive the voucher, the email specifically says it should be sent by 10/14

Definitely be sure to reach out to IT to get your email fixed so you don’t miss out on important info ? wish you luck on the PAX! 

[mels]

Oh okay, I didn't get any info on the pax bc I already took it but yes my email is fixed now I'm hoping to receive all the updates!

I personally found the pax to be a better test than the TEAS so I'm sure you'll do great! Best of luck to you!! 

[Mmssmm22, CNA]

Hows everyone feeling abut the PAX this week?

Just took it today and man that science was hard.  Just waiting for results to come through.

For anyone that hasn't taken it and still wants to study, the practice exams provided by NLN are pretty similar to the actual test, even saw some of the same questions that were on the practice. 

Good luck everyone !! 

 

[RoseMA3]

@Mmssmm22 I ended up doing pretty well! How did you do? I agree the science portion was much more challenging than the TEAS. 40 minutes for 60 questions was not enough time. I also ran out of time for the verbal portion and missed 5 questions. 

I agree, I found the practice exams to be helpful however quite pricey $25 each section. Focus on science (there were some physics questions) and verbal. Math was pretty straight forward. 

[Mmssmm22, CNA]

I did better than I expected! I’m so relieved to be done! I scored 147 and I think I have somewhere around 85 points. I’m really hoping we here something soon!