Passed the NCLEX-RN with 265 Questions, used PVT as well!!

Greetings,

First, I would like to start by letting anyone who comes across this thread know that YOU CAN DO IT, YOU WILL PASS, DON'T GIVE UP! Allnurses.com truly helped me out throughout the process of studying for my NCLEX and it even helped alleviate my anxiety during the 48-hour waiting period where I was unsure whether or not I passed the exam.

To give you a general background of how I was as a nursing student, I graduated with my BSN on May 2014 with a 3.5 GPA. I had to take Medical Surgical twice because I failed the first time. In general, I was a great student and excelled during my clinicals but I believe I had difficulty testing. By my senior year, I still felt very uncomfortable answer the "NCLEX style" of questions even though the university I attended provided us with alot of practice.

On our last week of school, we were required to take the Kaplan Review course. The course was very helpful but since we had it during our Senior Week, I was not as focused as I wanted to be. Overall, the review was GREAT in providing me with Tips & Tricks and Strategies for taking the exam. On Kaplan's Readiness Exam, I recieved a score of 50% which was below Kaplan's recommend score of 65% or above. As a result, I was required by the university to do some remediation before I recieved my Authorization to Test (ATT).

To remediate, I registered for Elsevier's PrepU Nursing program (online). I believe this cost me around $120. The course is great in terms of teaching you content. The questions were also difficult since they were in NCLEX format. It was a great tool in gadging were I was at in terms of my knowledge of the material. The program starts you at a Level 1 and it can go up to Level 8. In order to "level up" you must answer a certain amount of questions correctly. In the end, I answered over 2,000 questions without even noticing.

Once I recieved my Authorization to Test and registered for my NCLEX exam, I gave my self atleast 4 weeks to review. I used the Kaplan Online Review provided with the review course I took at the university. I answered the RN Question Trainer Test 1-8 with the following scores (48%, 45.3%, 47.0%, 57.3%, 55.3%, 55.0%, 60.%). So as you can see, I scored in the low end for the Trainer Tests. I highly recommend answering all of the Trainer Test as it provides you with great practice of what the NCLEX exam will be like. It progresses from 50 questions, all the way to 265 questions. I also answered Kaplan's RN NCLEX Sample Test, Priorities (70%) and RN NCLEX Sample Test, Alternative Format Questions (34%). I also did a few of the QBank questions. I would recommended to do MOST if not ALL of the QBank questions.

The week before I took my NCLEX, I was very anxious, very nervous and felt very unprepared. But after speaking to the people who knew I as taking the exam and hearing their belief in me, I knew I could do it! I realized that you will never "feel" prepared. But with enough practice and having a good mental state, YOU WILL PASS THE EXAM! YOU WILL BE AN RN!

The night before the exam, I prayed and I "tried" to get a good nights sleep. Since I was not scheduled to take the exam till 2 PM, Friday, August 15th, I knew that if I needed to review anything last minute, I would have time in the morning. That morning, I looked over lab values and a few of the tips and tricks I learned from the Kaplan Review. I had my sister drive me to Pearson Vue Center.

As soon as I got to my seat to take the exam, I saw the #9 which I was told by my mom was a lucky family number. And honestly, that number helped me remain calm throughout the WHOLE exam. I was very relaxed throughout the entire exam. Even though my exam did not stop at 75, I just kept going. I kept telling myself, the more questions I get, the more this computer is giving me a chance to PASS. All I have to do is PROVE to this computer that I am an NURSE! Once in a while, I would notice myself drift off and loose focus in which I would stop and take a few seconds. I would close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, open my eyes and feel refreshed and ready to continue. The exam gave me two breaks which I did NOT take. I DO NOT ADVICE ANYONE ELSE TO DO THIS. NO MATTER IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ON A ROLL OR NOT, STOP, GET UP, AND TAKE THAT BREAK! I honestly do not even know why I did not stop and take those breaks.

Anyways, after 3 and 1/2 hours, the exam ended at 265 questions. I felt confident that the questions that I answered were above the line of difficulty. I was recieving several SATA questions and alternative format questions. Generally, since I recieved all 265 questions I recieved a wide variety of content. I knew when I was getting answers wrong and right based on what questions I would recieve next. I was actually glad to recieve SATA questions at one point.

When I left the exam room, I did not feel as if I failed. I felt as if I did the BEST that I could at the time. I felt that if I failed, I would be confident enough to know how to study the second time around since I know what it is like to answer all 265 questions. I felt that if I passed, it would be because I remained calm throughout the exam and answered each question using critical thinking.

10 minutes after I left the exam - I immediately called my sister to pick me up. At the same time, I tried the PVT once I saw the status change to "delivery successful." I recieved the "good pop up" - I was very relieved by a simple pop up but I still felt nervous.

After 48 hours, I paid to see my results. At around 3:30 PM on Sunday August 17th - I found out I passed! I am an RN!

A few days later, on a Wednesday, I saw my name under the Board of Nursing as a Registered Nurse.

Yesterday, Thursday, August 28th, I recieved the card in the mail stating that I am a Registered Nurse.

It feels amazing knowing that I am now a Nurse. If I can do it, I know that you can all do it too! I wrote this long novel because I know that the stories I read hear on Allnurses.com gave me the confidence that I would pass when I was review for the exam.

So don't forget to ...

1) Answer around 6,000 NCLEX questions. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEDIATE AFTER EVERY QUESTION. READ THE RATIONALS! THEY REALLY HELP. Do atleast 150 per day! You'll get to 6,000 questions in no time.

2) Believe in yourself and Never Give Up

3) SMILE, YOU'RE ALMOST A NURSE!

4) Study hard and remain calm during the exam! Not only is answering 6,000 questions important, but preparing yourself Mentally is too!

5) SHARE YOUR STORY ON ALLNURSES.COM

Thank you!

Good Luck!

I believe in You! :)

~pmrcrnbsn