Failing the NCLEX to passing in 75 questions - my story

Nursing Students NCLEX

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In early June, I believed I was ready for the NCLEX. I was scheduled to take it June 13th at 2 pm. That day, I woke up, ate breakfast, took my dog for a walk, went to target, and went to lunch. My boyfriend said "Are you ready to be a RN?". I said "Um, I don't know... I hope?". I spent 400 dollars on Kaplan.. I thought maybe spending 400 dollars and spending a million hours doing questions meant I was ready? No. I spent 5 hours at pearson vue. Yup... I got the full 265 questions. I spent so much time on each question doing the decision tree and failed. Luckily, I got my money back. I reregistered to take the NCLEX August 1st, this time at 8 am (because I know I'm a morning person). I spent a few days pitying myself, until I realized being a RN was my absolute dream and I needed to work hard to get it. I don't want to rely on a decision tree to answer questions.. I want to know the content and I want to know the answers without spending 1-2 minutes on each question.

I purchased Uworld for 70 dollars and the NCSBN 5 week program for 70 dollars (I believe). I started out doing two-three weeks doing only NCSBN. NCSBN is all about content. There is a lecture then a quiz on what you just learned. I loved it and I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you're worried about content. Trust me, it's freaking boring, but it's worth it. I finished the NCSBN q-bank and all content in 3 weeks.

I was 3 weeks out from the NCLEX now. I started Uworld 100-150 questions a day. Boy, are these questions hard! I copied and pasted each question I got wrong into a powerpoint. I redid the questions the next morning and explained the rationale before looking at the correct answer. I started getting low 50 but worked my way up to 60s-70s. I took the first assessment 2 weeks out and the second assessment 1 week out. I received highly likely to pass on the first and likely to pass on the second. Just a fair warning... the second one is a LOT harder. I finished the q-bank 4 days out and then the last 3 days of my studying I re-did all the questions I got wrong getting about 80-90 percents. I took the day before off (as you should), went to the pool and relaxed.

I showed up to the NCLEX at 7:40. They were taking FOREVER to get everyone checked in (which made me even more nervous), but luckily I was one of the first ones to get set up. I started and covered the question number with the headset they give you so I wouldn't get anxious on question 75. I hit the next button and it said "The test is over you are now doing a 30 question research study" And the question said "76" so I knew I received 75 questions. I was done in about 25 minutes and was out before everyone was even signed in! I was relieved after I got 8 select all that apply in a row. I went home and did the pearson view trick and it said ""The candidate currently has an open registration for this exam. A new registration cannot be made". I was RELIEVED and the next day my name showed up on the Board of Nursing as a registered nurse... WOOOO.

Overall, Uworld prepares you so well with SATA questions. Atleast half of their q-bank is SATA, which is great when half your NCLEX is SATA. I would recommend not wasting your money on kaplan. Their rationales aren't good and the questions aren't a lot like the NCLEX. I want to feel confident on every question rather than relying on a "decision tree". If you have a few extra dollars, then I'd recommend NCSBN, but Uworld should be an essential. Doing a million questions is great but you

MUST READ YOUR RATIONALES AND RE-DO THE QUESTIONS YOU GET WRONG AND EXPLAIN WHY THOSE QUESTIONS ARE CORRECT. Be confident. Trust that you're ready. Don't overthink. You'll be a RN in no time.

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Congrats on passing the NCLEX, that's awesome! Sometimes you just have to keep trying and not give up. I passed mine 2 years ago on the first try but I have a friend who took it more than once, he was very anxious about having to retake it, sometimes you know the content but nerves can really get the best of you. I studied the NCSBN 5 week program as well, I barely studied the Kaplan and the tree was confusing to me. I also used the Saunders book and a website called Nurselabs for practice questions, my main focus was on answering as many practice questions as possible and studying the rationales. Very encouraging post, enjoy your nursing career :-)

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Specializes in CVICU, CCRN.

That's great that Uworld worked for you! Personally, I felt Uworld had one of the worst rationales I've ever seen. It's very...content based in my opinion, and doesn't look like the test at all? I was able to pass NCLEX first try, under 1 hr, 75 questions all because of Kaplan. Because of it I came out thinking that the NCLEX was the easiest test in the world. That was my only source, but it was because I really read the rationales. Did you properly study the Kaplan? Was it possible you didn't really read and understand the rationales? I know a lot of people get the jitters their first time! But I say it's no fault to Kaplan! They are simiply perfect.

Either way, congrats on getting that licensure!

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Do y by chance still have saved questions from uworld? I paid for it and it expired today and was really wanting to get the critical care and adult/ child health sections finished. Email if you'd like [email protected]. Thanks in advance if you do, and CONGRATS!!!

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