Failed Nclex, should I take Kaplan?

[NurseAce03]

Hi everyone, I recently failed my boards....AGAIN. I'm extremely frustrated. The first time I failed around 110 without studying very much because I did so well in nursing school. That itself was a reality check. I got myself together and purchased Hurst Review for the next time around and thought it was really useful for content, but I failed again at 265. I feel that my content is very strong now and I'm wondering if I should take the Kaplan on demand course. My question is have you any of you failed the Nclex without Kaplan and then been successful after taking Kaplan once you failed? Thanks!

[vanessaem, BSN, RN]

I know people who didn't take Kaplan and passed. I also saw most of the people in my class who received top academic honors, including our valedictorian, sitting right there with me and everyone else in the Kaplan classes. Even though, we all did well in school, no one was going to take any chances when it came to this exam. Nclex as you saw was a totally different ball game than the standard material and the ways of test taking in nursing school. It's not all about content when it comes to the boards. That's only half of it. The other half is pure strategy. Perhaps you may need to learn those to better prepare you for the next time around. I don't want to be a spokesperson for Kaplan but it helped me out a lot and it was instrumental in me passing the first time.

[Graduatenurse14]

I would try it if you have the money. I haven't taken the NCLEX yet but took ATI through my school and Kaplan on my own and feel like a got a really good understanding of what they want us to know. In fact, I do much better on the higher level questions even though my heart is about to beat out of my chest every time I do question and now even when I sit down to study! My nerves are going to get me if anything and might I ask, do you think that could be the root of it for you as well? One of my instructors took the NCLEX 3x and on the third took something for anxiety and passed! I'm not giving medical advice, just sharing a similar story! She went on to work in pediatric liver transplant so obviously, she's no slouch!