Currently, a school of nursing in the Northeastern United States is using the Test for Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) examination to help determine which applicants to accept into their nursing programs. To date, there are no statistically significant data to correlate the use of this exam with the selection of applicants who successfully enter the nursing profession. Due to the nursing shortage, limited number of seats available in nursing programs, low nurse retention, and high nursing school attrition rates, it is necessary to use an admissions process designed to select the candidates who are most likely to enter into the nursing profession. The responses to a 33-item survey administered to nurses who graduated from this school of nursing between the years of 2012-2018 (N = 242) provided insight. The responses indicated the most prominent, self-reported, common traits of participants who had successfully entered the nursing profession were that they: have good judgment, are ethical in nature, are professional, complete what they start, admit to their mistakes, are intrinsically motivated, are self-directed, and have a sense of spiritual well-being. A confirmatory factor analysis and latent class analysis were conducted and did not provide additional insight. Additional in-depth research needs to be conducted to validate this quantitative survey for use as a screening tool by admissions officers.