NCLEX success!

i told myself if i passed my NCLEX, i would share my story. let me preface this by saying this might be a long entry, but hopefully it'll be helpful to some! i attribute most of my success to and most of this will be focused on the Kaplan review course.

throughout school i had mandatory tests from ATI but i had never done well on them. receiving a level 2 was a rarity on those exams which is probably why i was biased during ATI's review class. i just didnt like it. although i must say it was a nice refresher course. their focus was mainly review of what you learned in school, whereas Kaplan offered review of content and learning how to take the NCLEX. i found that test taking skills specifically designed for NCLEX is half of the battle.

here are some numbers to consider before i continue: ATI's comprehensive predicted that my chance of passing the NCLEX on my first try was 57%. Kaplan predicted i had about a 90% chance of passing the NCLEX on my first try. i passed on my first try at 75 questions at the 2 hour mark.

with Kaplan, they have a format as to how to study depending on how many weeks you want to prep before your test. i chose the 5 week plan which really got drawn out to 6 weeks. everyday i tried to do 50 questions in order to finish the entire q bank about a week and a half before my exam. some days i did more in order to pick up the slack on days i didn't get anything done. i didn't watch any videos as i had no time (the weeks before my NCLEX were hectic) but i did make some notes. id go through questions and anything i didn't know, i wrote down. i know this is not an encouraged study tactic but i did like to study something when i was able to.

i also used the Kaplan review book that could be purchased in Barnes and Noble on days that i could not bear to sit at the computer. i found this to be helpful but wouldn't recommend this only be your only form of studying.

when i sat for the test, i found it less nerve wracking to hide the question number i was on and to take a break when i felt it was right. before the schedule break, i knew i had to walk around and take a breather.

i hope this helped someone and good luck to all! confidence is key