Why TEAS and nursing?!

[sashamay]

So, my school (thankfully!!) didn't require TEAS testing prior to acceptance, they did however require us to take the test our first couple wks of the nursing program. They said they wanted to compare the data to other students regarding how long ago people took their pre-reqs, their gpa, sciences gpa, their test scores throughout the program and those of us who complete it or have to drop out. (basically,. for research).

A lil about me:

I'm 25, I took my pre-reqs when i was 16-20 yrs old (did running start in high school and knew i wanted to be a nurse). I couldn't get into the programs back home because all 5 local schools had too many people vyying for spots (1500+ applicants..and they choose 30), so it was entirely GPA dependent (for 140 credits, i was 3.3..B+ average - wasn't good enough, and too many credits to just retake a class or two to try and bring it up). All the schools didn't count experience and all the schools ONLY focused on gpa. So i got my CNA and ended up working in hospitals for 4 yrs while i applied over and over and over.

Credits were gunna expire, so i applied away from home finally (4 hrs away) and got accepted..

So, I'd been out of school 4 years.

--my sciences i had taken were to 6-7 years old

--My A&P scores were B, B- and C+ (2nd C+ on my transcript of 140 credits b/c my colleges A&P was insane.. for me, harder than the freakin program!)

--and my TEAS in Sept 08' was 71%.. bad!!

However..

Every quarter I've pulled either an A- or B+.. (our grade is strickly how we do on our tests...) and I'm facing my last quarter now, with a raving review from my prof (final eval today, it went very well *blush* =) Graduate in June... man i can't freakin wait!! anyway haha-

So, my question is...

WHY the HELL are so many schools relying sooo heavily on this STUPID test that has NOTHING to do with nursing at all?!?!?! what the hell geology crap has to do with nursing is beyond me!! My math score was awful, my sciences were too, only because it was all science i'd never even had before! I've never even had a normal biology class, yet alone geology! (in high-school i took Sr level Human A&P as a soph instead...again, cuz i knew i wanted to be a nurse so i didn't see the point in wasting my time learning about plants Lol). Someone please tell me what rock formations have to do with nursing?!

My school has since changed their requirements for acceptance and I wouldn't qualify for it anymore. My A&P gpa isn't high enough (at my old college, a lot of people would take it at a nearby community college cuz theyd easily pull an A while theyd dissect cats instead of cadavers like we had...). A few of my the colleges i tried to apply to before now require TEAS or that other one.. dont remember. but yea, i'd probably fail that one too if i tried it.

I don't get it....

But i am SOOO greatful I applied up here when I did, and moved 4 hours from everyone and everything I knew to do this the last 2 years. So close now I can taste it... but its scary to think that all my classes could have expired first and nothing would count at all.. when i know this is what i'm meant to do/be... its stupid. Besides...B+ average ain't bad dangit lol.

[Servingshots]

I had to take it and let me tell you that I had 2 anatomy questions! Seriously!! I could see why they want people to take the exam before they except them, they want to see that you have some intelligence. The test was not really hard at all and I studied last minuate. I agree some people dont test well but theres no reason for anyone to get a low score of the put the time and study.

[sashamay]

I am the first to admit I didn't study...cuz we showed up for lecture one day in the 2nd week of first quarter and they were all "Oh hey, btw...after lunch meet us in such and such computer room, ur having a test."

But i still thinks its ridiculous.

Because you can't get through all of the dang pre-reqs if you don't have "some intelligence!" And ya can't apply until you get through all the dang pre-reqs either. Had to be college level in reading/writing and math and then take the required college level stuff w/ a certain gpa, and then had to take advanced sciences (A&P, micro, chem etc..) and do decent enough overall. Yup, that required some degree of intelligence, (and a hell of a lot of work for some of it lol)- Not random BS crap that has nothing to do with anything pertaining to nursing...i don't think its an indicator of intelligence.. its a test of how well you know random crap you'll most likely never apply to nursing.

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

It's a standardized college entrance test, which looks at what you retained out of stuff you should already know from high school. If your HS coursework didn't sink in, what guarantee does your school of nursing have that your nursing coursework will?

Because you can't get through all of the dang pre-reqs if you don't have "some intelligence!" And ya can't apply until you get through all the dang pre-reqs either. Had to be college level in reading/writing and math and then take the required college level stuff w/ a certain gpa, and then had to take advanced sciences (A&P, micro, chem etc..) and do decent enough overall.

Courses at different institutions are taught and graded differently. Work that would rate you a B- by the skin of your teeth at a hardcore 4yr research institution will breeze you by with an A+ in some community colleges (and before you flame me, I knew a lot of people in undergrad who transferred from community colleges and had a rough time adjusting). A standardized entrance test provides an equal yardstick by which to measure all applicants, which is why almost every program will use some sort of entrance exam.