Been studying for 4 months, Kaplan scores going down? Need help :(

[USRN2Be]

Hi,

I don't know whats wrong. Let me tell you the whole story. This is my 3rd time taking the exam. I tried using Saunders, NCSBN and Kaplan live before. Hurst was the only one where I almost passed the exam. Right now I'm sticking to Hurst for my compre and Kaplan for my Q&A. My qbank score was 55%, QT1 56%, QT2 62%, QT3 51% QT4 51%. I'm supposed to take my exam 2.5 months after studying but when I tried the Kaplan readiness test, my scores were really low (48%) so I rescheduled again for another two weeks. I know its hard since I am a mom and I work full time (40 hrs a week). I studied again and 2 days before my exam I'm having a panic attack. My qbank score was 51%, QT1 56%, QT2 62%, QT3 51% QT4 51%. I tried to suppress it but I don't know how. I tried eating and eating 'cause i thought it might help but it got worst. I also took the readiness test and this time it was lower than my previous test (42%). I don't know whats wrong but I don't want to take the exam just because I want to get over with it and I'm on a limited budget right now. So this time I rescheduled it again for another 2months. I then tried reading Saunders and when I did the Qbank my scores were really low. Lower than ever. My qbank score was 48%, whenever I took the qbank q&a's my scores before when I first started 4 months ago were on the upper 50% to 65% but now my scores were like on the 30%. I don't know whats wrong. Will someone help me? I will appreciate any suggestions.

[audacia]

I found the NCLEX-RN to be very much similar to Kaplan as opposed to Hurst. I think the Hurst exams were a lot easier than Kaplan but NCLEX felt more clear than Kaplan. What helps is knowing your core content, going over things you're still unsure about and taking those question trainers. You need to build your test taking and strategy skills. How often do you take question trainers? If you're doing them quite often, I would say take a break at times you feel you need a break because you don't want to tire yourself out. You want to be able to function while answering the trainers, just like you would on the NCLEX. I felt horrible about taking breaks at times but I knew I needed them. :-)

Stick with a few materials because you might feel the need to read through different books and etc but it can alter your study method because you're constantly bouncing back and forth from one book/material to another. Set a plan with a particular one. You know more than you think you know, constantly delaying your exam can tire you out more or even raise your anxiety level!

[USRN2Be]

Thanks Audacia. I only have Hurst as my compre and Kaplan for my Q&A. I dont know where I did wrong but I think I need a break. Maybe Im just too tried of doing all these. I do my qtrainers everyday before now I do it once every 2 days. am I doing it the wrong way. I went back to reading again.

[audacia]

How do you set up your day? I usually started off my day doing a trainer or questions then rest and read. You might recognize things from nursing school. To help lessen the load to study, go over topics you're unsure about. It definitely lightened the load. Once I had certain topics down, I was able to go back to things I thought I knew and just made sure I had it right. I think people can have a tendency to do too much because you never feel like you study enough if you're slacking off but seriously, give yourself a break. It makes a BIG difference...not only physically but mentally! There were times where I had to take several days off because I was becoming too overwhelmed! Go outside, hang out with friends for a bit, talk to people for support or take a nap!