This retrospective correlational study was conducted to examine the relationship between admissions criteria and performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for undergraduate nursing students at one institution. The study also investigated factors from the existing data set that could be used to predict student attrition and failure. Data for all graduates over two years of the program were included in the study. Altogether, the retrospective data was collected from 500 graduates of a baccalaureate program who completed either the traditional four-year baccalaureate nursing program or an accelerated second-degree track. The selected variables included admission criteria such as high school grade point averages (GPA), standardized test scores, post-secondary GPAs, and prerequisite course grades. Other selected variables included Elsevier's Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) standardized examination scores that were administered throughout the student's progression in the nursing program, nursing GPAs, overall university GPAs, and HESI exit examination scores. The relationships between NCLEX-RN performance and these variables, including student demographics, were examined. The data showed that the vast majority of students successfully passed the certification exam and that attrition rates at the university where the research was conducted were also low. The research did not result in discriminatory indicators from the data set that would identify an unsuccessful student prior to dismissal or attrition from the program. The HESI examinations administered throughout the nursing program were indicative of student success; however, they also did not adequately discriminate between students who passed and failed the NCLEX-RN. For the current data set, the admissions criteria were high and appropriate in terms of resulting in successful certification of nurses; but neither these criteria nor other academic variables discriminated adequately between the students who passed and failed the NCLEX-RN. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]