Did I fail the NCLEX?

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Ok so I know that everyone has their own ideas about the NCLEX exam and how it's graded. I just finished mine, took an hr to complete 75 questions and they were a mix of difficulty levels, lots of SATA. Well my last question was a re-arrange question asking about basic care (don't wanna give away too much since I don't wanna get in trouble for giving away test info!) and I just had to put the steps in order. I'm pretty sure I got it right but as I was driving home I realized a question like that is probably below the pass line because it's just comprehension and memorization not analysis. So of course now I'm freaking out that I didn't pass....but if I was above the pass line for the majority of the test and then suddenly dropped below could I still have passed? I guess just looking for encouragement! I know I know, just take a breath and wait.....

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You've already answered your own questions.....breathe, relax, and wait :)

If this is your first time taking the NCLEX, you can take some relief in knowing that approximately 85% do pass. The fact that you only had 75 questions also means you either did very well.....or very poorly. Which, based on your academic and clinical hx, as well as study hx, is more likely?

Hang in there :)

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER, Pediatrics, Corrections.

Just wait, sounds like you did great if you had alot of SATA. Hang in there and keep us posted !

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Just wait, sounds like you did great if you had alot of SATA. Hang in there and keep us posted !

Just a quick fyi: the format of the question has zero to do with the level of the question...IOW, you can have a lot of SATA format questions and fail, and a lot of SATA format questions and pass. If your SATA questions are below the passing standard, doesn't matter if you got them right....you'd still fail because they'd be below standard.

There seems to be a myth out there that "if you get a lot of SATA you're doing well". You might in fact BE doing well....but it has nothing to do with the format of the question.

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Thanks for the encouragement guys! I graduated with a 3.96 from nursing school so my academics would lead me to believe I did very well, definitely didn't feel like I failed until that last question just threw me off since it seemed to be below the pass rate. gah, the waiting is KILLING me. Patience is clearly not my virtue!

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Thanks for the encouragement guys! I graduated with a 3.96 from nursing school so my academics would lead me to believe I did very well, definitely didn't feel like I failed until that last question just threw me off since it seemed to be below the pass rate. gah, the waiting is KILLING me. Patience is clearly not my virtue!

It can be tough to know what is above passing standard, and what is below......you might think "duh!" to a question that is above passing standard, so think it's 'easy'. And someone else might be quite sure it's ridiculously hard.....but it's below passing standard.

Patience is hard now, I know, but.....it'll all be over soon :)

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I took my NCLEX about a month ago. I ended up with 265 and cried the whole drive home because I was sure I had failed. When I talked to my four best friends from nursing school they all told me they cried on the way home too. We all passed with the number of questions ranging from 75-265 and none of us had a GPA close to yours! The time between talking my nclex and getting the results was two days of pure anxiety and dread. Try to relax I have a feeling you passed!

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I passed with 75. Majority of my test was SATA. My last question, too, was a softball and I walked out convinced I failed. Happily, that was not the case. Hope the same for you :)

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Thanks to all of you!! I'm just waiting it out but your words are encouraging, thank you for taking a moment to make me breathe a little easier ;)

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Just found out this morning, I PASSED!!!! Thanks to each of you for the encouragement, now to find me a job ;)

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congrats new RN!!! any suggestions on how to deal with the drag and drop? i almost ALWAYS get those wrong on practice questions. How were they on your test? anything complex or common nursing procedures??

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Congrats! Now you can not only breathe, but get yourself a LARGE congratulatory cocktail :D

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