Category · 100 posts
Get accepted. Get prepared. Get to your first NCLEX.
TEAS, HESI, and the long climb into nursing school.
Operating room nursing splits into two distinct jobs: the scrub nurse inside the sterile field managing instruments, and the circulating nurse running the room and documenting the case. What each role does, how to enter through a perioperative residency, and what CNOR requires.
The HESI A2 doesn't have one national price. Elsevier licenses the exam to individual nursing programs, so your school sets the fee — most applicants pay $45–$105 per attempt, or about $107 self-scheduled through Prometric. Here's the band-by-band breakdown and how to budget for a retake.
The HESI A2 is modular — nursing programs pick which of up to eight sections you sit, so building a study plan before confirming your required sections wastes real time. Here's how to confirm your sections, build a resource stack, weight your timeline to weak areas, and tell HESI from TEAS.
ADN and BSN both qualify you to take the NCLEX-RN and become a registered nurse. The ADN is faster and cheaper; the BSN opens more roles, Magnet hospitals, and graduate school. Here is how they compare on time, cost, scope, salary, and advancement — and how to decide.
There is no reliable national list of the "easiest" nursing schools — acceptance rates change yearly and most published lists are stale. Here is what actually makes a program higher-acceptance, how to evaluate one without getting burned, and how to maximize your odds.
Nursing school takes anywhere from a few weeks to 6+ years depending on the credential you choose. Here is the typical length of every path — CNA, LPN/LVN, ADN, BSN, ABSN, RN-to-BSN, MSN, and DNP — what each qualifies you for, and how to pick the fastest route to your goal.
Yes, nursing school is hard — but in a specific, survivable way. Here is what actually makes it tough, what a real week looks like, the habits that get students through, and how to know if it is worth it for you.
Nursing school is expensive, but there is funding set aside specifically for nursing students. Here is how the FAFSA, federal scholarships, association awards, and state and hospital programs work, who qualifies, and how to build a strategy that actually gets you funded.
Online nursing school is real and growing — but "fully online" RN programs are mostly a myth. Pre-licensure ADN and BSN programs still require in-person clinicals and labs. Here are the honest pros, the cons people gloss over, and how to vet a program before you enroll.
The fastest route to RN depends on where you start: an Accelerated BSN if you already hold a degree, an ADN if you do not. Here are the realistic timelines for every fast-track path, what each costs you, and the one step they all share — the NCLEX-RN.
Chicago has some of the best clinical training in the country, but not every nursing program uses it well. Here are six standout schools — UIC, Rush, Loyola, DePaul, Saint Xavier, and Chamberlain — what each is actually strong at, and how to pick the one that fits your starting point, budget, and goal.
A free TEAS practice test simulates the ATI TEAS 7 across all four sections — Reading, Math, Science, and English & Language Usage. Here is where to find quality free practice, how to focus by section, and how to read your composite score so you know exactly when you are ready for the real exam.
