Did not always hit mark on Kaplan, Passed NCLEX the first time

3 Posts

Take it from somebody who had to spend 5 years in nursing school and received low scores in Kaplan, YOU CAN STILL PASS NCLEX. By the grace of God, I passed NCLEX the first time in 75 questions.

Kaplan provided me EXACTLY what I always needed even in nursing school and that was a testing taking strategy. It was not necessarily content that I was struggling with, but it was that I would always pick the wrong answer when it came down to my 2 last options. These were my scores on Kaplan:

Diagnostic: 66%, QT 1: 59% QT 2: 55% QT 3: 53% QT 4: 55% QT 5: 61% QT 6: 61% QT 7: 59% Readiness: 63%

What did I do to prepare?

I took the Kaplan in-person class. Took notes while in class and paid close attention to test taking strategies. After I finished the class, I sat down and made a study schedule all the way up to the day before I was going to take the test (I did not study the day before to rest my brain). I spent the next 3 weeks doing Qbank questions and the rest of my Qtrainers. I did 83% of the Qbank questions, averaging out in a 55% as my score. I did not hit the 60% mark but I did not let that discourage me. I did 75-150 questions a day, 6 days a week. It was an awful lot but I have always been a terrible test taker and the ONLY thing that could help me was to just keep practicing questions.

Tips:

1) Do not concentrate on your score but more so the rationales because they help you understand why the question is right/wrong.

2.) Use those test taking strategies! I realized 4 days before I took my exam why I was doing so terrible in the Qbank. It was because I was going back to my old ways by reading the question and LOOKING for the right answer. That's exactly how you end up with 40s in your Qbank like me. Once I analyzed the question and used those test taking strategies again, my scores started going back up.

3.) Read the rationale even if you got the question right. Sometimes we get the questions right for the wrong reasons. It is convenient at the time until you have another question on the same topic but you know nothing about it because you did not read the rationale to see if you got it right for the right reasons.

4.) Remediate before you move on to the next Q trainer because you will not learn anything if you don't. You may be tested on the same information 2 times and both times you get it wrong because you didn't go back and look up the information. Be sure to take notes while you are remediating.

5.) Watch the video libraries on topics that you are weak in. They are short, sweet, and to the point (just how I like it lol). Take notes while you are watching them so you don't forget what you just learned and then have to go back and watch it again.

6.) I cannot stress this enough, do NOT concentrate on your scores. I hit the mark on my Diagnostic and QT 6. That's it but I still passed NCLEX.

7.) Pray before the NCLEX test, pray during the NCLEX test, and pray after the NCLEX test. Lol. Seriously though.

I know this is lengthy but if you're like me, you were always looking for stories like these on this website. Those who were not the smartest people in nursing school. Those who actually STRUGGLE and do not hit the mark every time. You can do this. Just put in the work and trust that what you learned in nursing school is enough and find your test taking strategy. Practice, practice, practice questions. Do not be discouraged by scores. Pray and believe in yourself. God bless.