Took NCLEX 3x; Don't Give Up!

Nursing Students NCLEX

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Hello

took my nclex yesterday and found out i actually passed today. I told myself i will post my study strategy if i would finally unlock this exam. To start off; i graduated on may 9,2015 and tested on may 15,2015.

First time; i only used content; had access to both full hurst review with questions and my school focused solely on ati; which honestly i dreaded throughout nursing school. Too make it short; Will try not rambling. Exam ended at 150; 1hr30min. Went home did pvt and credit card showed up and i knew i failed. Still paid for quick result to be sure and was disappointed. I decided i will persevere. Nursing school was tough enough and i can do this.

Second time; i purchased kaplan full live review; not cheap. Kaplan does have same layout as the nclex, but it didn't work out for me. Thought i'd nail it and was disappointed. You have a 3 days live class you have to attend on focus on qt trainer etc with option to a full Qbank which came with bundle. I took my second exam on July 15th; 45 day rule in Maryland. Sadly, exam ended at 80 questions; 1hr 30min again. Didn't do pvt this time; waited 48 hrs and paid result to find out i had failed again. Now i had to fully re-assess my self figuring out what was going on especially after having blown all this cash.Luckily; kaplan does refund you and i simply took my money back and decided to used it to re-register for round three on August 31st; latest i could register.

Third time; i had to go to my basics. i read the whole saunders 5th edition book page to page just for content in a week; 100+ pages a day with question. Week 2, I read saunders and kaplan test taking strateg in about 3 hours; quick read. Then i focused on PDA by la charity. PLEASE GET PDA by La Charity; IT WILL HELP YOU more than you think. This PDA book helped me look at question differently. Week 3; i purchased ncbn 3 week extension just for questions and bought this app called Uworld Nclex; website version is better, but i am always on the go. I wished i had known about Uworld earlier. It basically all you will need the last 2 weeks before the exam. They have a one week free trial. Will try to post a link. I did ncsbn for about a week and focused on uworld last 2 weeks before the exam. In Uworld; I went through every single questions, looked at all my rationales and came back and review what i had missed. Uwolrd nclex is basically like kaplan; the only difference is that; it is continuously updated and new questions are added every 3 days or so. i really wished i knew Uworld earlier or i wouldn't have blown all this cash on the exam as it really dumped down the exam for me plus it basically like the exact nclex; same layouts and 30% of their bank are SATA unlike Kaplan. I did roughly 300 questions+ daily last 14 days and about 2 practice test 1 hour before the exam to keep my brain active. There is also this website call nurse labs; links at bottom of page. It summarizes nclex content; fundemental-Psych, provides you with 3500+ free practice questions and gives you great notes. I only used it for the notes because Uworlds questions and rationales were awesome. Exam shut off at 75 (1hr 30min), went home did pvt and it said something about not being able to register. Felt relief because i didn't have to credit card page =). 24 hr after my exam; my license # popped and I'm now officially an RN ^^.

Hard work does pay off; you just need to put in the time and effort. NEVER QUIT; ALWAYS PERSEVERE. Nursing was hard enough; you cannot let this exam determine your future.

To summarize it all; the books that helped me round 3 are saunders, PDA, and Uworld.

Nothing against ati or hurst, but they focused too much on content and the nclex test you on critical thinking. Kaplan for me didn't provide extra content review like Uworld did while ncsbn rationales weren't the greatest. Overall; you will save yourself a lot of money just w/ saunders, PDA, and Uworld. Learned my lesson the hard way. I'm just a solo learned. I do better learning things on my own that having someone teach me. Everyone is different and i hope it gives home to upcoming graduates not to give up.

The Nclex requirements did go up, but we can all pass it!

https://www.uworld.com/nclex/registe...NR-997238-2015

http://nurseslabs.com/nursing-bullets-fundamentals-of-nursing-reviewer-part-ii/

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

Moved to NCLEX forum.

Congratulations!

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Congrats! Thanks for posting. Very inspiring story.

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hey congratulations on passing your boards. i was wondering how you did with uworld questions? i'm currently doing uworld, an average of 150q a day but only getting 51% in performance overall. i getting really worried as my exam day is coming up!!

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Hello,

I passed my nclex RN 8/28/15 using uworld along with hurst.. And sometimes i look and read saunders for more info. Im out of school for almost 6 years! Uworld and hurst really helped me alot specially u world! The rationales are the best! My average 62% when i finished all the questions.

Have faith. I prayed everyday and attend mass everyday for 9 days novena. St joseph of cupertino and st rita of cascia help me too. I sat on my exam feeling comfortable and passed at 75!! Thank God! The combination Of study and prayers works!

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Congrats!

I'm waiting to see if I get accepted into the nursing program or not at my school. I'm very nervous

I have a question though .. what does it mean when the exam shuts off at 75q or 80q, etc?

Why does it shut off at different amount of questions?

How does the scoring of NCLEX work?

I hear people talk about the exam shutting off but I don't understand any of it?

I'm farrrr from taking it. But I want to study for it now so that it'll be helpful later!

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