​I decided that once I passed the NCLEX RN I would post about my experience to help others as I received a ton of insight from this website myself. I graduated on December 21st and didn't begin studying until December 27th (the day I received my ATT and scheduled my test, which I scheduled for January 9th). My school had purchased Kaplan for us as part of our fees so I didn't have to pay the 500 (or however much it is) up front, which even if I did, it's worth every penny. I did all of the Q bank questions and question trainers 4 through 7. On top of that I read/browsed the Kaplan NCLEX study book that you get if you purchase their services (not the basics one, but the other one) and I did highlight things throughput to go back and reread later. I passed the NCLEX in 75 questions, with 30 total alternate format style questions. I took a total of 51 minutes on the test. I was a straight B student in the nursing classes throughout nursing school (although I came close to an A in nursing 1 and 2) and I was always a last minute studyer. Kaplan was the only thing I used and I did about 150 to 250 questions a day.

My scores

Q trainer 4: 65

Q trainer 5: 63

Q trainer 6: 60.7

Q trainer 7: 69.4

My average on the q banks was a 60% on the dot (I got some really good scores and bad ones, which ended up averaging to a 60%). So as you can see, you can do this and you don't need to devote your life to studying and stress.

While I completely agree that Kaplan is the single greatest way to succeed in NCLEX and following their schedule is fool-proof, I have to advise against promoting a lackadaisical approach to NCLEX. Every test taker is different and to suggest anything other than intensive study may breed laziness and failure. Besides, study and stress are decades-proven tenets of nursing practice

Congrats RN! I am using Kaplan to study, glad to hear that it works.

I am glad it was so easy for you. I agree with TU RN, however. Studying takes time, the general population (me included!) needed time to study. It was for my own piece of mind, really.

Congrats on passing!

Congrads on passing!!!!

I do agree, but honestly the NCLEX is so broad that spending hours and hours every day studying (which one of my classmates is currently doing) will do nothing but burn out and increase stress. There's a balance that each person must find for themselves, I only wanted to share my experience and encourage others that they can do it, and they don't need to abandon their family, work, children etc. just to be successful. I know that I took time for myself and my family (as I did in nursing school, it wasn't laziness, it was me time) and if I didn't do that, my stress levels would have increased to a point of unhealthiness. There's no way humanly possible to know what types of questions or even subject matter is going to be on your individual NCLEX test, that is why it's much more efficient to learn test taking strategies (which is Kaplan's main focus) and browse through the important nursing processes verses trying to cram 2 or 4 years of nursing school in a one month or so recap. It is my belief that if you have graduated from nursing school, then you can own this. I did read that NCLEX study book Kaplan provides. It gives a great run down of pharmacology, disease processes etc. and it helps bring back knowledge to the forefront.