This qualitative research study used a phenomenological design to explore the lived experience of being a registered nurse (RN) student enrolled in the Regents College Nursing Program (RCNP). Fifteen RN baccalaureate graduates of RCNP participated in this descriptive phenomenological investigation, in which participant interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed phenomenologically using Colaizzi's methodology. An exploration of the language of human experience and human expression yielded 101 themes within 20 theme clusters, yet the meaning of the experience was characterized by eight major clusters that included: recounting reasons for choosing RCNP, describing the challenges of testing conditions, arousing feelings of uneasiness, developing learning approaches for testing, describing responses to failure, finding ways of mastering Regents, providing support, and experiencing stress and describing its effects. The interpreted description of the lived experience of these RN/BSN graduates: uncovered reasons for RN/BSN program selections by nurses that supported previous research assumptions, isolated specific stressors affecting performance testing, and clarified specific needs of nurses, especially with regard to support networks and learning resources.