Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Let me start by saying that overall quality of this book is quite adequate, and someone who uses it to prepare for tests other than the TEAS, might have a different opinion.

After using 3 different books to study for the exam, I found that no single book prepared me completely. I did like the one published by McGraw-Hill the best, even thought it, too, fell short from ideal. All three books had essentially he same problem: none of them was specific enought to the TEAS. The authors tried to kill many birds with one stone aiming to please every possible nursing exam. As a result, I over studied for some parts, and was underprepared for the others.

The test was not hard. I had enough time to complete each section. If you were a decent student in high school, you will probably be ok.

The main problem I encountered is not knowing exactly what to expect.

This book served me well for the Math part. However, I also wasted time studying what I did not need.

The Math part of the test consisted of the following: countless conversions of: decimals, fractions, percentages, Fahrenheit to Celsius, KGs to LBs, miles to kilometers and so on. Also, review graphs/charts and their usage: ex: bar graph, line graphs. Be able to solve relatively simple equations such as "x-3=10". Review multiplication tables-as I was shocked how much of them I've forgotten over the years and-you can't use the calculator. (A very mean lady-tester, walks around to make sure). Be able to do lots of addition, multiplication, and subtraction fairly quickly-if you do this, you'll bank lots of times for harder problems.

I was completely caught off-guard by a few Geology (something about rocks :- and Geography questions. Some Physics and Chemistry questions caught me with my pants down. I did not find any coverage of these particular topics in this book or any other I used! Moreover, the book coverage of Science is unnecessarily detailed. (True for all three books). Aim for basic understanding of concepts. For Chemistry: know bonding, sub-atomic particles, energy. Also study the Mendeleev's Table; know what columns and groups represent. It's useful to know some common element symbols (K, Ca, H and so on). Know basic genetics: recessive/dominant genes, alleles, phenotypes, be able to construct the diagram of offsprings. Some ecology, plant's photosynthesis questions, who eats who in the web and chain of life who is producer--(book did a good job). Definitely know passive/active transport and osmosis. Review basic anatomy-the book does a good job on that, however excessively deep. I found that Chemistry and Physics were a little tricky, so study the sections in depth and make sure you really understand what you read.

The good news, the reading comprehension section in this book is exceedingly harder than the TEAS's. I found the level closer to GED's. Also, many questions feature drawing conclusions from graphs and prescription labels presented. Passages were short, not long (where you needed to have a good memory of what you read) but a few had tricky multiple choice answers. Don't read into them too much, and you'll be fine.

English part of the test was the easiest for me, and English is not my native language. Since the vocabulary and reading comprehension sections in this book do not bear any resemblance to the actual test I'd suggest you get a regular GED preparation guide for these sections. In fact, you can probably use the same guides for the Math and Science.

You have to be able to correct various usage problems in the sentences given. Know subjects and verbs. Study relatively easy vocabulary ex. "ambivalent", "biannual" and nothing crazy that is covered in the book. I found very important to review most frequently misspelled words (about 5 questions are on spelling or misspelling). This book did not help me with this at all. Again, find a simple GED preparation book as a supplemental material.

BTW, Most students have problems with Reading and Math sections-I missed Reading by 1.8 point and passed all other's with higher marks.

Good luck!

Addendum- August 2010:

I was given a chance to retake the Reading at the same college. This time, I was ready. I spent several months testing myself daily with various reading comprehension books: Sat's, GED's and some difficult articles from various sources. It really made a huge difference by improving my focusing and paying attention to every possible detail. I was amazed at how much better I retained the information. I would like to add a little. Please forgive me if this review turns out as long as the Amazon River.

Be able to tell the main ideas of some short passages and their goal (to convince, to inform and so on). I was asked to remember the sequence of events. I am very grateful to this book for teaching me to preview the questions first before reading the passage.

Spend no more than 1 minute per question on average-some take more, some take less, so keep an eye on the clock at the top of the screen.

The Reading part was much more than just reading comprehension. 5 questions dealt with determining how well you follow directions: ex: I was asked to do various manipulations to a figure, rotate it and then tell what the figure looked at the end of all changes.

Hopefully, this will put your mind at ease. Good luck, you'll do fine! :-0

Finally, if you have some additional time, prepare yourself mentally for the nursing school. After speaking to my friends who are nurses and factoring in the opinion of other students, I find that majority of teachers, are jaded nurses who either don't have a teaching degree, have inadequate knowledge of nursing theory, have very little teaching experience or unqualified to teach altogether for various other reasons. See, being a nurse and teaching it, are two different things, and most nursing "teachers" don't have the educational background to even pass NCLEX. Many know this and act defensively. So, many overcompensate this inadequacies by instilling military structure, but they often break rules, yet expect perfection from others. Can you handle this? Does abuse of authority makes you angry? Students, too, act differently under tremendous pressure. They compete with each other and often trip each other up when you least expect it. This was my experience at Keiser University at Fort Lauderdale Campus. To be fair, there were some teachers who were effective and stimulating, but they were vastly outnumbered by the bad teachers. So, be ready for unimaginable and totally unnecessary stress. What worked for me was finding a small group of students who were my best buddies and my support system. They kept me sane and focused, and I am grateful to them to no end. I would not have made it without them. I am ready to take the NCLEX and leave the bad experience of Keiser Fort Lauderdale Nursing school behind forever.
Good luck to you all!

I bought this book to review for the NET but it is clearly designed to encorporate material for other entrance tests.

The NET includes a very remedial math section and a reading comprehension section. There are also sections on test taking skills, stress handling and group dynamics but those are basically presonality tests, not something you can study for.

This book includes math that is beyond the requirements of the NET which is nice because if you can do the majority of the math in this book you can do the math on the exam. It also includes a reading comprehension section that is also harder than the NET. The vocabulary section in the book if helpful if your verbal skills require some polishing. The science section is a waste of time for the NET (though perhaps useful for other entrance tests).

I didn't know what to expect on the NET test so I studied the entire book since I had heard so many conflicting stories about the test. It worked out well. I scored high, but I did a LOT more work than I needed to.

Good luck!

I used this book to prepare for my NET test. My composite score was 91. The math review in this book is excellent, though you won't have any need to study all of it. The test covers whole numbers (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), fractions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), percentages (converting fractions to percentrages, etc), and a small number of fairly simple algebra equations. There are 60 math questions on the test, divided fairly equally among whole numbers, fractions, percentages, and algebra. This book includes geometry, which you won't need to study for the NET.

I thought the math would be harder than the reading, but I was wrong. You'll want to use this book to help you brush up on your reading comprehension skills...even if you think you'll ace that part of the test, you may be surprised. You'll have to figure out the main idea or theme of each paragraph, make inferences based on what you've read, and predict outcomes. And you've only got 30 minutes in which to complete the questions. Many of the questions are somewhat tricky.....read carefully!

My school only has reading and math questions, I don't think anyone gets any science questions on the NET, but check with your school first. I didn't have to study any of that section of the book.

All in all, I feel that this book helped me to be confident and prepared for the NET test, and so I did well. I'm glad I found it!

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 transform
7. Be able to convert Liters to milliliters
8. 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!

Let me start by saying that this was the third and LAST time I've taken the NET exam.My biggest problem with the test was reading comprehension; its the only section that I could not pass. I've gotten A's all my life in writing and reading but the NET reading comp. is much different. the Problem is timing. You're given 30 mins to read several (long and short)passages and answer 35 questions. The kaplan book was the first book that really gave strategies to directly tackle timing on the reading section.The passages in the practices exams are also longer and a little more difficult in the Kaplan book which made the real exam a breeze. It gives you step by step methods and explains it in a very simple manner. I seriously thought it was impossible to finish the reading comprehension until I used kaplan. When I took the exam I felt so confident and finished so quickly. Many people think that the math section will be the hardest but ironically its extremely easy (basic 4th -10th grade level). The kaplan book over-prepares you for the math so you should do great on it. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's either taken the test and failed or hasn't taken it yet. It's by far better than the ERI Net Study guide.

This book helped me prepare for the TEAS entrance exam. I struggle with Math and I found this book really helpful. Also the science review is quite extensive

This book is very comprehensive, interesting and is one of the best on the market (I bought four nursing school entrance exam preparation books ). Reading about science was never boring. I would definitely recommend it.

I am taking the exam in a week or two and I've been using this book to study. It has a few practice exams etc. and in depth reviews on english, math and science. This is math I haven't looked at since high school and they broke it down nicely so that I was able to pick it back up. I definitely recommend this book.

Just finished taking NET,did not need Kaplans book, and neither will you if you prepare properly.Test is not that difficult,bone up on % and decimals and you will be ok with math.Kaplans book is loaded with two much useless information.