What your TEAS score actually needs to be
Programme requirements vary far more than applicants expect. How to find the number that matters for you.
Academy Admin · 18 October 2026 · 6 min read
There is no national passing score for the TEAS. ATI does not set one. Every programme sets its own, and the spread is wider than most applicants realise.
The rough landscape
Many associate degree programmes sit somewhere around 58–65% for the total score. Competitive BSN programmes frequently want 75–80% or higher, and some weight the science section separately on top of the overall figure.
That last detail catches people out. A strong overall score can still be rejected if the programme has a science floor you did not know about.
Find your actual number
Go to the admissions page of every programme you are applying to and write down three things: the minimum total score, any section minimums, and whether they accept your best sitting or average multiple attempts. That third one changes your whole strategy.
If a programme averages attempts, a speculative early sitting is expensive. If it takes your best, an early diagnostic sitting costs you nothing but the fee.
If you miss it
Most programmes allow retakes, usually with a waiting period of around 30 days. The applicants who improve most on a retake are the ones who change what they practise rather than simply doing more of it. Pull your section breakdown, find the weakest one, and spend the wait on that alone.
A retake that repeats the same preparation tends to produce the same score.
