As previously mentioned in a different blog post, I felt as though there was really no way to study specific content for nursing school entrance exams. After getting into nursing school, I realized that a nursing school entrance exam prep test could have made my life a whole lot easier, thus minimizing the stress of getting accepted, which hung in the balance of a single entrance exam. After taking the entrance exams, getting accepted, and taking a few exams as an actual nursing student, I realized that the practice entrance exams were all I needed to score well to get accepted into a nursing program. For me, practice textbooks for nursing entrance exams were not helpful. To pass a broad-based nurse entrance exam, you need to take a few practice exams that are designed by the exam makers or like the actual entrance exam itself. Here are a few great options: the TEAS Secret Study Guide, the TEAS Combined practice test by ExamEdge, and Peterson’s TEAS practice exams. For Peterson’s, I recommend the one-time payment option over the subscription option that is offered because you would not need more than 3 months to prepare for the TEAS. Anything beyond 3 months is overkill, and your brain starts to become fried at that point.
The goal is to take the practice exams at the same time you are scheduled to take the actual TEAS exam and practice for half the time, take a break and complete your testing practice for the remaining time. For instance, if your actual TEAS exam is scheduled for 8 A.M. and you have 3.5 hours to test, you should already be up, had your breakfast, and ready to log into your desktop computer at 7:45 A.M. and have your timer set for 1 hour 45 minutes with scrap paper and pencil available. At the half point, take a 15 min break and then complete your practice test. This will give your brain muscle memory in preparation for the actual TEAS exam. I used this practice testing method in preparation for the NCLEX. It was like riding a bike as my brain became accustomed to test-taking. My confidence in test-taking increased dramatically, as my stress level was reduced tremendously!
I hope this blog about nursing school entrance exams was beneficial. Thank you for visiting nurseresource.org and do not forget to subscribe to receive more informational tips.
Nurse Resource Team
