Failed NCLEX first attempt

[cmckee11]

I took my NCLEX RN on Wed June 4, 2014. I received the full 265 questions, 43 of them were sata. I had 3 drag and drop, 3 exhibits, and 2 pictures that had to be identified, and one math (I&0). I used Kaplan course. I went to all four days of the lecture and I completed all question trainers. I finished 800 of the qbank questions. My scores on the question trainers ranged anywhere from high 50's to mid 80's. I scored a 80 on qt 6 and a 63 on qt7. I would make up my own quizzes with the qbank questions. I always scored in the 60's to high 70's. I also used the CD from Exam Cram RN. I scored in the high 60's to low 90's on those practice tests. I am a LPN and have been one for 4 years. Needless to say I failed the NCLEX on my first try. I was at the testing center for about 4 hours. I was always told that the sata questions were a higher level question, and if you were getting a lot of them, you were doing well. I feel like that gave me a false sense of confidence while testing. I did the pvt an hour after the exam and it took me to the cc page. I still had hope bc a fellow student had passed and it took her to the cc page as well. I woke up the next morning and checked the licensing site and my name was gone. Yesterday I received my results and I was near the passing standard in every category. I think the Kaplan questions were a lot like the nclex questions, but they obviously did not help me. We were told if we scored in the 60's on Kaplan that we would def pass NCLEX. I scored a 64% on the readiness test day 3 of the review. I am lost and don't know how to prepare for the NCLEX again. Any tips or success stories will be appreciated. I have 42 more days before I can test again. I am taking a week off from studying and then I am willing to study my butt off!

[CruzanNurseRN, BSN, RN]

Maybe try Hurst? It worked for me, I had a Kaplan strategies book & it was way too confusing & boring. I loved how Hurst broke down stuff for me to understand. I also used exam cram just for questions, & i found it very helpful.

Another tip I had a notebook that I labeled "NCLEX" and every time I got a question wrong or encountered a subject that I knew nothing about I jot little notes in my notebook. Good Luck!!

[NAA MOMO]

I did hurst, listened one time on the major stuff like cardiac, renal...I also went in with the attitude of I am doing to read the questions like a first grader. One word at a time. I tend to skip informations when I just read over. I also bought the ncsbn 3 week review for $50. After listening to each system, I will do questions on there.

[blondie1887]

I could be completely wrong about this because I haven't taken NCLEX yet, but kaplan says they guarantee passing with money back if you do certain things, including 90% of the Qbank and you only did 800 questions which is really only 2/3 of questions. I've been studying content too along with kaplan. I have read a lot of the discussions on here because I wanted some guidance and a lot of people also recommend that lacharity book. I've also watched the kaplan lessons of demand videos. I know there are tutors as well offered. Good luck!

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I could be completely wrong about this because I haven't taken NCLEX yet, but kaplan says they guarantee passing with money back if you do certain things, including 90% of the Qbank and you only did 800 questions which is really only 2/3 of questions. .....

Maybe they've changed their guarantee, but it used to be that they guaranteed you'd pass....or you could take their course again. Until you did passed, or something like that. They didn't used to offer money-back....do they now?

[cmckee11]

I completed the majority of the qbank. I had like 500 left. I did every quiz and every qtrainer. I also used the exam cram cd. I was doing at least 200 questions a day. My results said I was near or above passing in every category. Kaplan was included in my tuition, so idk how that works. I just bought a book that focuses on sata and alternate style questions. I am taking a break from studying right now. I plan to start studying again Monday. I am going to use my new book and start all over with kaplan. I think the kaplan questions are the most similar to nclex questions.