Passed NCLEX 2/11, Kaplan and Uworld

Hey all,

I passed my NCLEX on the first try with 75 questions!

I rarely post on AN but I've been a big time lurker all through since before nursing school. AN has helped me so much and is a big source of entertainment for me.

Most recently, I have read tons and tons of posts on here about peoples' experiences with their NCLEX and their practice test scores. It was really comforting and helpful for me to "size up" other people's scores, so I told myself when I passed I'd come on here and make a post to help others.

I had Kaplan through my school, so I did their live review along with having had access to their Q bank and question trainers. The live review was helpful-ish. The strategies are nice when you really don't know an answer or are stuck between two, but for the most part I had picked up on a lot of the strategies through nursing school and most of it wasn't something new. The instructor was also NOT willing to discuss any content, which I feel a brief discussion of the content is relevant to being able to successfully use their strategies-- nonetheless, I feel that issue was likely only r/t the instructor not the Kaplan program. I only completed about 450 Q bank questions-- I didn't find their rationales helpful at all and all through nursing school the brunt of my studying was through learning rationales, so the Q bank wasn't working for me. However, I did continue to use their trainers and sample tests in my studies. Kaplan has had a great reputation for a while so they're doing something right and I didn't want to completely write them off. Here are my scores:

Q bank average: 64%

Readiness exam: 66.7%

Trainers:

#1: 53.3%

#2: 61.3%

#3: 52%

#4: 61.3%

#5: 65.3%

#6: 61.3%

#7: Didn't do, ran out of time as I was also working full-time as a graduate nurse

Q bank Sample Tests:

#1: 64%

#2: 64%

#3: 83.3% (all priority)

#4: 34.7% (all SATA/alternate format)

After getting a little frustrated with Kaplan's rationales, I decided to look in to Uworld because I had read on here that the rationales are great. I did the 25 sample questions on their website one evening and was sold-- I signed up for a month's subscription the very next morning. Their rationales are AMAZING and exactly what I needed to study. I felt that these rationales were so extensive that reading the rationales was content review in itself. Also, they have an app with their full question bank that syncs with your progress online, that was huge, especially because I was working full-time and on the go a lot. I highly recommend Uworld to those of you looking for something to purchase. I didn't have time to finish the whole Q bank, I got through ~1200 questions with an average of 64%.

That is about the extent of my studying. I studied for a month, tried to do questions every day but it wasn't always possible. Hope this is helpful to some. Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Good luck to all of you studying for the NCLEX!!