Kaplan Nursing School Entrance Exams: Your Complete Guide to Getting Into Nursing School

The Kaplan Nursing School Exams guide is a great tool for those who are attempting to excel the entrance exams in order to enroll in a nursing program. Yet this review is soley based on the TEAS exam. This guide covers BASIC guidelines and info regarding each subject; enough to help you succeed. I have read a lot of reviewers complain about certain books (whether Kaplan or the API study guide) and how the examples do not relate (nor are they exactly the same is a common complaint) to the exams. All I can say is that it is difficult to find a book that covers the exact material and exact questions to whatever exam you plan on taking.The Kaplan study guide is a great tool, in my opinion, because it not only gives you plenty of questions and material to work with, but it also gives you an idea on how to approach each question. Great study tips too. This book did very well for me. Great refresher...don't expect any book to give you ALL the answers either.

at first i was gonna return it cos it seemed like it didnt have the parts or topics that i wanted to work on. i thought it was a wrong buy. then i read the math part (cos thats where i do bad) and i saw that their review and explanation was way better then the ATI reviewer the school lent me. i would probably have failed if i didnt go through the kaplan book. i especially loved their tips. and for every subject they had tips for you to easily remember. tips, codes, strategies. this book was a good purchase!

I just received my grade from the TEAS which I took over the weekend. A 91, and I am ecstatic! Mainly because I will not be taking that test again! This review is not going to be so much about the books as it is going to be about the TEAS test, since that is what everyone wants to know anyway. I AM GOING TO LEAVE THE SAME REVIEW FOR BOTH THE MCGRAW-HILL AND KAPLAN BOOKS THAT I PURCHASED AT THE SAME TIME, SO THIS REVIEW WILL BE COVERING BOTH BOOKS IN CASE YOU ARE DEBATING ON WHICH ONE TO PURCHASE. IT IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THERE ARE SEVERAL VARIATIONS OF THE TEAS, SO ANY BROAD, GENERALIZED, EXAMPLE I GIVE IS SPECIFIC TO MY TEST ONLY AND MAY VARY WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR TEST. So if you just want to know if this book was good or not, skip to the final paragraph. Otherwise read on as I will be covering both book's weak and strong points with a little personal commentary about the test thrown in to the mix!The pros and cons are very similar for both books. They gave WAY too much detail on certain subjects (for example, I re-familiarized myself with all the hormones from the endocrine system for this test only to find they were not even mentioned in the science section of the TEAS at all...), and very little to no information on others (geology was not covered in either book, but for some odd reason there were more questions on the TEAS concerning geology than human anatomy - look online for help with the specific geology questions on the TEAS). Both books cover all four sections of the TEAS extremely thoroughly, but in my amateur option, one should not buy these books with the opinion that they are all you need to pass this test. You need to have taken college algebra, general chemistry, and finished your English sequences to do well on this test. If you haven't taken those courses and you do well, great job! However, those courses, based on the TEAS test I took (there are several variations of the TEAS), would prepare you for the TEAS very well. Also, keep in mind, if your applying to a decent nursing school, they are not only going to want to see great grades in your science prereqs, they are going to want to see a high TEAS score. If you don't score above a 90, I'm not saying you won't get in to your program. But your chances will definitely be better if you do score 90 or above.MATH: Out of the 4 sections on the TEAS: reading comprehension, math, science, grammar, I would say the only section I didn't feel fully comfortable with from the start was the math section. I've always scored really well in science and English courses. However, math has never been what you may call my forte. So after taking the practice tests in both books and confirming my weakness lay in the math portion, I devoted the majority of my time to that area of study. Both books prepared me very well for the math portion. Both books provided a crash course in formulas long forgotten and never since used to spark my memory and prepare me for the test. I will say this though... KNOW YOUR FRACTIONS!!! You need to know how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, convert and compare proper and improper fractions. I would say the math section of my TEAS test was comprised of about 20 fraction problems of varying difficulty.SCIENCE: Being a science major, and taking a test that is required to enter a program which would result in a Bachelor's of Science, you would think they would have more than 30 science questions on the TEAS. Regardless of their reasoning, you have to endure it. As I said before, there were more questions about geology than human anatomy on MY test. It was frustrating, yes, mainly because they are condensing 5 extremely encompassing areas of science into 30 extremely broad questions. But not nearly as frustrating as re-learning all the gas laws by name, formula, and relationship, learning the basics of physics (formulas and concepts for work, energy, power, voltage, current, speed, velocity, acceleration, Newtonian mechanics, wavelength, and light reflection, refraction, diffraction, and dispersion)having never had physics before... EVER..., learning about aromatics and hydrocarbons, and then taking the test to see how many of those questions I spent the last 25 days of my life studying? ZERO!!! I've had other students tell me their tests were loaded with Physics, which is one reason I studied this section so diligently. Unfortunately, there were no questions whatsoever concerning any topic related to physics or Organic Chemistry! The books also try and provide you with information about plants which was completely unnecessary (the Kaplan book provided several paragraphs spread over several pages concerning plant metabolism, structure, and cellular composition. The McGraw book provided the same information over a much more condensed, straight forward, illustration-infused approach) because the only plant question on the TEAS concerned active and passive transport, which you would know from anatomy or you will learn about in either book. So in summation, the science portion was definitely lacking in areas I thought they needed to place more emphasis. But if you paid attention in general chem, you know some basic gross anatomy, and you have some sick obsession with rocks, you should be prepared.READING COMPREHENSION: This section is what definitely separates the two books. After taking the practice tests in the Kaplan book, I wanted to gouge my eyes out with rusty nails just so I wouldn't have to ever read those passages again! The Kaplan book was ridiculous in the reading comp section. Their passages were pages long, covering extremely boring subjects for the most part, and the questions sometimes didn't even pertain to the passage! The McGraw book, while still painful, gave me less of that eye gouging sensation. Also, after I took the TEAS, I found the McGraw's article length to be much more on par with what you should expect from the TEAS. If you are worried about this section, don't be! Examples of what this section was like consist of a menu from a restaurant, where they might ask what is the cheapest item, and a new car brochure comparing two cars and they ask you features of one car versus the other. Pretty straight forward stuff in my opinion. The longest passage on the test was about 5 sentences in length. I brought highlighters to the test because that is how I had studied with the Kaplan and McGraw books, highlighting as I read for easy reference when answering question. COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY. If you read anything on even a semi-regular basis, your skills are fine for this section. The books provide practice, but headache as well. Reader be warned, but not stressed.GRAMMAR: I'll admit, going into this section I was a bit cocky. I've always performed well in grammar and was not concerned. However, you should be aware. The books covered this topic well, touching on basic spelling rules, punctuation usage, analogies, usage, and definitions. This section on the TEAS is 55 questions long, the longest on the test, and the questions are sometimes not clear. The books try to emphasize spelling and punctuation. Punctuation was a big part of my test (knowing where commas go, how to properly use semicolons and colons, etc.), but the most frustrating questions of all were the phrase misplacement questions. They would ask you to read a sentence, and pick out a phrase that is misplaced. I swear, I sat there until there was no one left in the room and time was almost up (it was the last section and we were free to go when we finished) reading this one sentence about a puppy dog, trying to find the misplaced phrase! I finally had to make an educated guess (you'll find yourself doing that a lot on this test) and hope for the best. There were some spelling question. There were NO analogies, a few antonym/synonym question, but all in all, if you speak on a college level, know how to properly use commas, and don't incorporate text abbreviations into your speech or regular emails, you'll be fine.MY OPINION: I would buy the McGraw-Hill book over the Kaplan book. The information is laid out in a more organized, clear method, the illustrations are helpful (especially in the science section if you can't remember organelles and mitosis/meiosis. Not to mention there are very, very few illustrations in the Kaplan book), and the print is a larger font than the Kaplan book which is definitely helpful when your eyes start to glaze after a week or so of using these books. If you feel like you're going to to miss out by only purchasing the McGraw book and not both (like I felt), rest assured you will not miss anything. Both books cover the same material, but in my opinion, the McGraw Hill book was a better tool in helping me prepare for the TEAS. Good luck, study hard, bring a granola bar because they don't give you time off between sections, and I hope my review helped.

Today I took the TEAS test and let me tell you that this book is way too intense for the TEAS test. If you study this book...you will over study. I found this book was not very easy to understand and it covered too much for what I needed to know for the TEAS. To prepare myself for the TEAS I purchased this book, McGraw Hills Nursing School Entrance Exams, and the Study Guide from ATI testing. I used this Kaplan book the least out of the three. If you are preparing for the TEAS test, I would recommend buying the book by McGraw Hill and the one from ATI. The McGraw Hill book gives alot of good advice about what to memorize (especially in math)...and what not to worry about seeing on nursing entrance exams. The McGraw Hill was much easier to understand than the Kaplan book. The study guide from ATI is a must have too. It gives you information on tectonic plate movment, hydrologic system, and the rock cycle. All of those topics are on the TEAS test! I will summarize for you some of the types of questions that were on the TEAS test:1. Know how to convert milligram to grams.2. There was an anatomy question similar to this: Mouth is to bolus as? Answer: Stomach, chyme.3. Know that the mucous in a trachea propels dust particles, and etc.4. Be familar with the three different types of rocks: Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary.5. Know how to spell words like: foreseeable, committed, recommendation, and etc.6. Study tectonic plate movements. There will be a picture on there and you have to answer which plate movment it is: convergent, divergent, or transform7. Be able to convert Liters to milliliters8. Be aware of what "acquired immunity" is when it comes to viruses and diseases.9. There are chemistry questions on there. Know what a lithium atom looks like, which atoms form a single covalent bond, ionic bonds, what happens when a neutron is added to carbon-12.10. There will be prescription labels and you will have to know how to read them. For example: dosage, when to call the doctor, where to store the pills, etc.11. There are also scientific reasoning. Know what a "control group" and "independent variable" is.12. In the life science part, know what "active transport" is.13. There will be instructions on there for you to draw a circle, then draw a line vertically down the center of the circle. Draw a line perpendicular to that one. Turn the diagram 45 degrees counter clockwise, and your drawing should look like one of the 4 multiple choice answers.14. In the math section there were alot of ratios, proportions, fractions, decimals, and percentage problems. I can't stress enough to you how much you need to study these! There were not that many word problems though. (maybe 2 or 3 at the most). There was some basic algebra..and I mean very basic! There was a question that about kilograms and pounds. Make sure you know that 1 pound equals 2.2 kilograms. Make sure you know how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and Fahrenheit to Celsius. Be able to add entries in a checkbook (debits & credits).15. The english grammar part was full of questions about punctuation, antonyms & synonyms, contextual words, spelling, misplaced modifiers (two questions on that).16. The reading part of the test was not too difficult. There were passages on there and you had to answer questions about what you had read like: What was the main idea, conclusion. Was the author trying to persuade, entertain, inform, and etc. There was a map on there of the USA and you had to decide which time zone was the east or west of a certain city. For example: if it is 1pm in San Jose, what time is it in Charlotte?Like I said...I do not recommend the Kaplan book if you are taking the TEAS test. I don't know about other nursing entrance exams, so I can't give advice on them. I studied for 3 weeks to prepare for the exam. I will advise you to study a little everyday instead of cramming the week before. Also, it helped me to make notes on index cards and carry them in my purse. I would study them every free chance that I had available...like in the waiting room at the doctor's office, on my lunch hour at work. Carrying flashcards is alot easier than lugging a book around with you. Also, I would study one card at a time and not move on to the next until I had that one memorized.Good luck!