What Is KNAT Certification?

What Is the KNAT?

The Kaplan Nursing School Admission Test, commonly abbreviated KNAT, is an admissions exam that nursing programs use to evaluate whether an applicant has the academic foundation to succeed in a rigorous nursing curriculum. Unlike a professional licensing exam, the KNAT is not something you earn once and carry with you for a career - it's a gatekeeping test tied to a specific application cycle at a specific school. If you're wondering how this fits into the bigger picture of nursing admissions, our overview at What Is KNAT? covers the broader context, and KNAT Meaning breaks down the acronym itself.

Because so many acronyms overlap in healthcare education, it's worth being precise: this article is about the exam built and delivered by Kaplan for nursing school admissions, not any other credential that happens to share the same letters. If you landed here after searching a related term, What Does KNAT Stand For? and What Does KNAT Mean? can help confirm you're looking at the right test.

Who Develops and Administers the KNAT

Kaplan develops the KNAT, but the company does not run the testing sessions itself. Instead, individual nursing programs administer the exam directly - typically at the school's own assessment and testing center rather than through a commercial, third-party test center network. That means the exact testing environment, scheduling process, and even some policies (fees, attempt limits, score validity) are controlled by the school, not by Kaplan centrally.

For a deeper look at how eligibility and prerequisites vary by institution, see KNAT Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Exam Format: Sections, Timing, and Question Counts

The KNAT consists of 91 online multiple-choice questions split across four separately timed sections, for a total testing time of 165 minutes. Each section has its own clock, so time you don't use on Reading can't roll over into Math.

The test includes a built-in on-screen calculator, and proctors typically supply scratch paper and pencils. Candidates are generally not permitted to bring their own calculator, so it's worth practicing with an on-screen tool before test day rather than relying on a handheld model you're used to. For a full breakdown of how difficult each section tends to feel in practice, read How Hard Is the KNAT Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

The Four KNAT Domains Explained

The KNAT measures general academic readiness rather than nursing-specific knowledge, with one notable exception: the Science section. Here's how the four domains break down by weight and content focus.

For a section-by-section strategy guide with more detail on each domain's question style, see KNAT Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.

Registration, Fees, and Attempt Policies

Because each nursing program administers its own KNAT, registration and fees are set locally rather than by Kaplan. Documented fee amounts include $25 at Clayton State University, $50 at the University of Southern Mississippi and Jackson College, and $70 at Delgado Community College. Before you register, confirm the exact fee and payment process with your program - don't assume it matches another school.

Attempt limits, waiting periods, and score validity are also determined by the individual program. Common published policies include one or two attempts per application period, a minimum 30-day wait between retests, and score validity windows ranging from six months to three years. Some programs also restrict testing to applicants in their final semester of prerequisite coursework, so check your program's specific eligibility rules early. A full pricing breakdown across programs is available in KNAT Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and testing windows are covered in KNAT Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

How KNAT Scoring Works

Results are returned immediately after testing, showing a percentage score for each of the four sections plus a cumulative score. There is no universal KNAT "passing score" - each nursing program sets its own admission cutoff. Published examples include a 62% cutoff for the AAS-N program at Jackson College and 65% at MSU Billings City College.

This program-by-program variation means the most important number to know isn't a generic passing score - it's the specific cutoff published by the school you're applying to. For a detailed look at how these cutoffs are typically structured, see KNAT Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. If you want to understand how test-takers generally perform relative to these cutoffs, KNAT Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows is a useful companion read.

Who Takes the KNAT and Why

The KNAT is taken by applicants to nursing programs that use it as part of their admissions screening process. Because it measures reading, math, writing, and physiology-based science readiness rather than clinical skills, it functions as a predictor of whether a candidate can handle the academic demands of a nursing curriculum - not as a credential employers check when hiring nurses.

There are no formal prerequisites beyond the nursing program's own application requirements, though as noted above, some programs limit testing to students in their final semester of prerequisite coursework. If you're trying to understand how this test connects to actual employment outcomes down the road, KNAT Jobs and KNAT Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis address that distinction directly, and Is the KNAT Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the bigger-picture value question.

How to Prepare Without Wasting Time

Because the KNAT tests four distinct skill areas with different question styles, generic "study harder" advice doesn't translate well. A more useful approach is to allocate prep time roughly in proportion to each section's weight and your own baseline weaknesses - since Math carries the most questions (28 of 91) and Science is the one domain requiring content memorization rather than general skills, those two sections often deserve the most structured review time.

Spaced review across these weeks tends to work better than cramming, simply because Science content and Math procedures both benefit from repeated exposure over several days rather than a single marathon session. For a more complete week-by-week plan, see KNAT Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for a condensed reference during your final review days, check the KNAT Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts. You can also build test-day comfort with timed practice questions on our practice test platform before sitting for the real exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding exactly what the KNAT measures - and how much control your target nursing program has over fees, cutoffs, and retest rules - is the first step toward preparing efficiently. For the fuller picture of how this credential is discussed across different searches, see KNAT Certification, What Is A KNAT?, and KNAT Training.