The Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam is one of several standardized tests used by nursing schools to evaluate applicants' readiness for the academic demands of a nursing program. Unlike the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) or HESI A2, which are widely standardized across programs, the Kaplan exam is often customized by individual institutions, meaning the specific version you take and the minimum score required depend entirely on the nursing school you are applying to.

Before beginning your preparation, confirm with your target program exactly which version of the Kaplan nursing exam they use and what score they require for admission consideration.

The test covers four academic content areas that are directly relevant to nursing school coursework. Reading comprehension questions measure your ability to understand and interpret passages, identify main ideas, draw inferences, and understand the meaning of terms in context — skills that are essential for reading complex healthcare literature throughout a nursing program. Mathematics questions cover arithmetic, algebra, fractions, percentages, ratios, and basic data interpretation — the foundational math skills needed for medication dosage calculations, which are a core competency in clinical nursing practice.

The science section covers biology and chemistry at a pre-nursing level. Biology content typically includes cell biology, human anatomy and physiology, genetics, and microbiology. Chemistry content covers atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical reactions, solutions, and pH — the chemistry concepts relevant to pharmacology and body chemistry. The depth of science tested varies by program version: some schools use a comprehensive science section while others have a more limited assessment. Reviewing the test description provided by your specific nursing program is the best way to calibrate your science preparation effort.

The writing section, where included, typically involves a short essay prompt and is scored to assess communication skills rather than as a primary admission criterion. Some programs use the writing section diagnostically rather than as a scored component of the admissions decision. Understanding how your target program weights each section allows you to focus your preparation time where it will have the greatest impact on your total score and admission prospects.

This guide covers the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam in detail — what each section tests, how to prepare effectively, what scores programs are looking for, and free practice resources to build your test-taking readiness.

The Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam is typically administered at the nursing school or testing center designated by the program, rather than at a national testing chain. This means you will usually take the exam in a proctored setting at the school itself — in a computer lab, a classroom, or a testing room — rather than at a Pearson VUE or Prometric center.

Some programs have shifted to online proctored delivery, particularly since 2020, but many retain in-person administration for security reasons. Contact your target program's admissions office for specific testing logistics, including whether you can reschedule, how scores are delivered, and how quickly results are processed after testing.

One important distinction between the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam and nursing licensure exams like the NCLEX is that the Kaplan nursing entrance test is an admissions tool, not a licensing requirement. It does not certify you as a nurse and is not required by any state licensing board. Its purpose is entirely to help nursing programs identify applicants who are academically prepared for the rigor of nursing curriculum.

This means your performance on the exam is evaluated in the context of other admission factors — GPA, prerequisite course grades, letters of recommendation, and personal statement — and a strong score alone does not guarantee admission, nor does a score slightly below the program's preferred range necessarily eliminate you from consideration.

Some nursing programs use the Kaplan exam as a placement tool as well as an admissions tool. Candidates who score very high may be placed into advanced sections of prerequisite courses, while candidates who score below certain thresholds in specific sections may be required to complete remedial coursework before beginning the nursing core curriculum. Understanding how your target program uses the exam results — and not just the minimum score for admission — helps you interpret your score in the full context of what it means for your path through the program.

Comparing yourself to other applicants' scores can be misleading, because score requirements and competitive ranges differ substantially between programs. A score that is highly competitive at a community college nursing program with 40 seats may be below the threshold for a university program with 20 seats and a larger applicant pool. Research the specific competitiveness of your target programs rather than aiming for a generic benchmark. Your admission counselor or nursing program coordinator can often provide insight into the score range of successfully admitted students in recent cycles, which is more useful information than any general benchmark figure.

The relationship between Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam scores and nursing school GPA has been studied by Kaplan and by individual institutions, and the evidence generally supports the test's validity as a predictor of nursing school academic performance. Students who score higher on the entrance exam tend to perform better in nursing courses and on the NCLEX.

This relationship is the primary justification for using the exam as an admissions filter, and it also suggests that candidates who struggle with the entrance exam content should take their preparation seriously — the same material that is difficult now will appear again, in greater depth, throughout the nursing curriculum.

Students who invest in thorough Kaplan nursing entrance exam preparation often find that the process builds the academic foundation they rely on throughout nursing school — reviewing A&P, sharpening math skills, and practicing reading comprehension directly benefits first-semester nursing coursework.

Preparing for the Reading Comprehension section of the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam requires active reading practice rather than passive content memorization. The passages on the test are drawn from academic and healthcare-adjacent topics, and the questions test your ability to work with the text rather than your prior knowledge of the subject. The most effective preparation strategy is to practice reading dense, informational passages and answering questions without rereading — the time constraints on the actual exam reward candidates who can read efficiently and retain the key structure of what they read on a first pass.

For the Mathematics section, focus on the specific skill areas that are most commonly tested: fractions and ratios, percentage calculations, unit conversions, and solving for variables in simple algebraic expressions. Medication dosage calculations — which often require setting up proportions and converting between units — are a particularly important subset of the math skills tested, and they are also skills you will use continuously throughout nursing school and clinical practice. Candidates who struggle with fractions and proportional reasoning should address this gap directly with targeted practice rather than hoping to test around it.

The Science section rewards systematic review of foundational biology and chemistry concepts. For biology, prioritize cell structure and function, the organization of the human body (organ systems and their interrelationships), basic genetics (dominant and recessive inheritance, DNA structure), and microbiology concepts (bacteria, viruses, the immune response). For chemistry, focus on atomic structure, chemical bonds, reaction types, pH scale and acid-base chemistry, and the properties of solutions — including molarity, concentration, and osmosis.

These chemistry concepts appear directly in pharmacology, IV therapy, and fluid and electrolyte management in nursing practice, so the overlap between exam prep and nursing school content is high.

Time management is a meaningful factor on the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam, particularly in the math section. Some candidates find that working through math questions sequentially is not efficient — if you encounter a problem that requires more than 90 seconds, marking it and moving on ensures that you capture easy points before spending time on difficult items. Return to marked questions with remaining time after completing the rest of the section. Practicing this skip-and-return strategy on timed practice tests before exam day prevents time management problems from becoming the deciding factor between a passing and failing score.

Many nursing programs offer the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam more than once per admissions cycle, which means candidates who do not achieve their target score on the first attempt may have the opportunity to retake it. Policies on retakes — including wait periods and how multiple scores are evaluated — vary by program.

Some programs accept only the most recent score; others accept the highest. Understanding your specific program's retake policy before your first attempt helps you approach preparation with the right level of urgency and also informs how much risk you can tolerate in your first sitting if you have limited preparation time.

Combining multiple preparation resources tends to produce stronger results than relying on any single study tool. Official Kaplan nursing preparation materials (available through Kaplan Test Prep) provide the closest alignment with the test's question style and difficulty level. Third-party nursing entrance exam books — particularly those that cover multiple exam formats — supplement official materials with additional practice opportunities.

Online practice platforms that offer timed section-by-section practice tests build the pacing skill that is difficult to develop from reading alone. Most candidates who achieve competitive scores on the Kaplan nursing entrance exam spend 4–8 weeks in systematic preparation across all four test sections.

The writing section, though sometimes used diagnostically rather than for scoring, deserves at least minimal preparation. Writing prompts on nursing entrance exams typically ask candidates to respond to a scenario or defend a position on a practical topic — not to write a formal literary essay.

Organizing your response with a clear introduction, body paragraphs that each support a single point with a concrete example, and a brief conclusion demonstrates the structured thinking that nursing program evaluators look for. Practicing two or three timed essay responses in the week before the exam builds familiarity with the format and reduces anxiety about seeing the prompt for the first time on test day.

Anatomy and physiology content is often the most challenging part of the science section for candidates who have not taken a college-level A&P course. The Kaplan nursing science section assumes you have some background in biology, and the questions may reference specific organ systems, physiological processes, or anatomical terminology that feels unfamiliar if your science coursework was primarily at the high school level.

Candidates who have recently completed a college biology or A&P course are at a natural advantage in this section. Those who have not should invest more preparation time here than in any other section, using a nursing-focused A&P review resource to cover the highest-yield concepts efficiently.

Practice tests are the single most important preparation resource for any standardized exam, and the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam is no exception. When you complete a practice test, review every question — not just the ones you missed. For questions you got right, confirm that you arrived at the correct answer through correct reasoning rather than a lucky guess.

For questions you got wrong, understand specifically where your reasoning went wrong: Was it a content gap (you didn't know the relevant biology)? A math error? A misreading of the question stem? Categorizing your errors helps you direct your remaining preparation time to the types of mistakes most likely to affect your score.

In the final week before your Kaplan nursing entrance exam, shift from learning new content to reinforcing what you have already studied and practicing under exam conditions. Avoid introducing new topics during this period — the cognitive load of processing unfamiliar material is counterproductive when you should be consolidating and sharpening existing knowledge.

Focus on timed practice questions across all sections, review your notes on the anatomy and chemistry concepts that consistently gave you trouble in practice, and ensure that you are rested and calm going into the exam. Nursing school admissions is a process that extends over months — the entrance exam is one component, and approaching it with adequate preparation and calm focus gives you the best chance of a strong first-attempt result.

After receiving your Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam scores, review them in the context of your overall application. If your scores meet or exceed the program's requirements, you can move forward with confidence. If one section score falls below the threshold, evaluate whether you need to retake the exam or whether other application strengths compensate — and ask the admissions office directly about how they evaluate mixed results. Many programs will counsel you honestly about your competitiveness, and that direct feedback is far more useful than speculating about admission odds based on general benchmarks.

Regardless of how you perform on your first attempt, your preparation effort for the Kaplan nursing entrance exam represents real academic skill development. The reading, math, and science foundations you strengthen during exam preparation are the same foundations you will draw on in pharmacology, pathophysiology, and clinical decision-making courses. Every hour spent preparing is an investment in your nursing career, not just your admissions outcome.

The Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam is a milestone, not a final judgment. Candidates who prepare systematically, understand the test's purpose within the admissions process, and approach their preparation as the beginning of their nursing education rather than just a hurdle to clear tend to perform better and use the experience more productively regardless of outcome.