Questions about CRNE

Hi there, I just finished my third year of nursing school in April, and will be commencing fourth year in September. I just have a few questions about the CRNE.

1. If I will be done nursing school at the end of April, should I apply for the June exam, or wait until October? I had planned on doing some traveling in May, before I start work so that I won't have to take time off, but am afraid that would (obviously) hinder my studying.

2. If I were to wait until October, or even write in June should I decide not to travel, is it necessary to take time off work to study? I've heard of people saying they've studied 8 hours per day for 8 weeks. I really can't afford to be taking much time off work. Just wondering if that's a necessity.

4. Which brings me to my next question: How much should I study? As in hours per day, or week, or whatever is necessary.

3. When should I start studying? (For both June and October exam dates)

4. Where do I start when studying content? We learned so much in nursing school that I wouldn't know where to begin. I have a pretty poor memory for med-surg, and am currently working in a maternity setting so I'm pretty nervous for that.

I will probably have more questions but for now I will leave it at that!

Thanks for the replies