Excelsior study methods

Relatively successful Excelsior student here. (I graduated anyway and am now in the RN-to-BSN program.) I bought one or two med-surg nursing books and checked out most of the recommended textbooks from a medical library. I also found the practice tests helpful in knowing what to expect. There were some areas (like psych, my major in my previous academic life) where I felt strong enough to just study the books I already had.

I mostly used the books from my LPN program, plus a couple of NCLEX-RN books. I would use their content guide, which is a broad outline. To study I would make it into a giant, expanded outline, adding extra information to the parts I didn't know much about and adding less to the parts that I was pretty familiar with.

Got me through.