Western Governors University (WGU) Readiness Assessment

The Western Governors University (WGU) Readiness Assessment is a pre-entrance exam that assesses a prospective student's preparedness for university-level coursework. This piece is intended to serve as a guide on what an individual can reasonably expect to encounter while taking this assessment.

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Western Governors University (WGU) Readiness Assessment

Western Governors University (WGU) is an increasingly popular online school because it offers various features that appeal to adult learners. Some of these appealing features include very affordable tuition, nonprofit status, multiple choices of majors and concentrations, legitimate accreditation, and an innovative competency-based model that facilitates swift degree completion.

Since WGU is designed for the adult learner who already possesses some experience with coursework at the college level, prospective students are not required to take the traditional collegiate entrance exams such as the SAT or ACT. Instead, the school requires all applicants to take and pass the WGU Readiness Assessment, which is an unproctored online exam that assesses a potential student's academic preparedness for university-level coursework. This assessment should not be taken lightly because applicants who do not pass it will not be admitted. The WGU Readiness Assessment is broken up into four separate sections. Prospective students may start with any section they choose.

Language Test

The language portion is a multiple choice exam that determines the applicant's skill level in essential topics such as reading comprehension, grammatical usage and writing. The test taker will need to answer questions after reading paragraph-long passages, select the one grammatically correct sentence out of four or five selections, and know the difference between passive and active voice. This portion contained about 30 questions and had a two hour time limit.

Math Test

The math portion is a multiple choice exam that assesses the applicant's skill level in basic topics such as arithmetic, estimation, and graphs. The test contains several word problems and perhaps one or two elementary algebraic questions. The test taker will need to be familiar with topics such as fractions, decimals, percentages, probability, absolute value, integers, plotting lines on graphs, answering word problems, symbols, the order of operations, and prealgebra. This portion contained about 20 questions and had a two hour time limit.

Admissions Inventory

This portion has an assortment of questions to help assess whether online learning is a suitable option for the prospective student. Some people learn independently with ease while others desperately need the structure of a brick-and-mortar classroom with a professor directly in front of them for guidance. This section of the WGU Readiness Assessment assists in determining if the prospective student has the self-motivation, tools and prior experiences to perform satisfactorily in online learning.

Essay Exam

Prospective students must write an essay on a randomly selected topic. Since WGU's academic programs involve numerous essay submissions, this portion of the readiness assessment examines the applicant's writing skills. Essays with less than 200 words or more than 800 words are disallowed, so the test taker must carefully monitor this aspect while writing. It is permissible to type the paper elsewhere before pasting it onto the exam. The benefit of copying/pasting is that it allows the test taker to run a spell check and word count before submitting. WGU's website advises applicants to set aside up to one hour to type and submit their essays.

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Guide to the WGU Readiness Assessment

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TheCommuter

About TheCommuter, BSN, RN

TheCommuter, BSN, RN, CRRN is a longtime physical rehabilitation nurse who has varied experiences upon which to draw for her articles. She was an LPN/LVN for more than four years prior to becoming a Registered Nurse.

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Specializes in Outpatient/Clinic, ClinDoc.

Are you starting WGU, Commuter? If so, congrats! I loved WGU. =)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Are you starting WGU, Commuter? If so, congrats! I loved WGU. =)
I just finished taking the final portion of the readiness assessment a few hours ago. I am pretty sure I passed, but I will still need to chat with my admissions adviser next week to be sure.

WGU is one of the few nonprofit RN-to-BSN programs that will enroll someone in my position (read: graduate of an ASN program that lacked regional accreditation). I'm worried about the biochemistry, statistics and college algebra requirements since math is my weakest point, but I will use the Khan Academy website to relearn topics that I never properly learned in the past.

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Specializes in Outpatient/Clinic, ClinDoc.

Stats isn't horrible. I didn't mind biochem either, but some might disagree with me - seems a lot of peeps having problems lately. Thankfully, I had a get out of jail free card on Algebra, having been a math major in another life. Join us over on facebook on the RN to BSN discussion page if you are not there already! :)

WGU was reasonably generous on my credits - my program was RA (excelsior), but I had to retake several sciences as they had no labs. It was tedious, but doable.

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This is great info for prospective students.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Assuming they haven't changed the biochem class significantly, I really enjoyed it (I took it 2+ years ago and I know they've changed a lot of their BSN program since I completed it). It was probably the most challenging class for me in the BSN program, but I really feel like I learned a lot.

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.

I failed the math the first go around for WGU:sorry:...BUT retook it last week and PASSED!!!! I am about to start the MSN in Education! So excited and can't wait!

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Specializes in Outpatient/Clinic, ClinDoc.
Assuming they haven't changed the biochem class significantly, I really enjoyed it (I took it 2+ years ago and I know they've changed a lot of their BSN program since I completed it). It was probably the most challenging class for me in the BSN program, but I really feel like I learned a lot.

I think it's the same or similar - I thought it was fun and I was able to get it done in less than a week - just seems like lately it's getting a bad rap if you go by Facebook. Was it a pile of powerpoints for you back then as well? I felt like I was in kindergarten, but it was fun. :)

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I think it's the same or similar - I thought it was fun and I was able to get it done in less than a week - just seems like lately it's getting a bad rap if you go by Facebook. Was it a pile of powerpoints for you back then as well? I felt like I was in kindergarten, but it was fun. :)

Yes. When I did the class, I used dowels and foam craft balls. When my husband did the class, he used toothpicks and gummy bears. Our young son enjoyed the class immensely. :)

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Specializes in Psych, LTC, Acute Care.

I took general chemistry in 06. Do I still have to take biochem?

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

probably

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Specializes in ICU.

My friend is doing it right now and loves it. She is getting her masters in math education and is really enjoying it. I plan on doing it to get my BSN in a few years after I get my ADN.

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