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I'm devastated. I'm really depressed. But I don't want to show my family how sad I really am right now. I got the BAD pop up. So I have already accepted the fact that I failed.
But I don't know where I went wrong. I'm a good student. I get good grades in school. I have never failed an exam in my life. So, I really don't know what I did wrong.
I studied the following books: 8 hours/5 days a week at the library for 2-3months.
Saunders Comprehensive Review
Kaplan Course Book
Kaplan Strategies
La Charity Priority and Delegation
NCLEX Exam cram
I answered over 3000 questions. I actually get 70-85% in my scores.
But on my exam today, I failed. I got 200+ questions. I don't know because I closed the question countdown when it reached 199.
I want to start reviewing again next week and retake in 45 days. But I don't know where to start, it seemed like what I did before was not good enough. I was wondering of enrolling in a review center but I don't know which one. I had a hard time answering priority questions.
I recently passed after on the 3rd time. Of which, I actually used almost ALL of the same study materials.
But I also focused on the knowledge/content, compared to my nclex 1st two attempts.
The 1st two NClex attempts was just doing ALL Q&As and Q&As.
I did not have a good grasp of the "content."
Also I read the Exam Cram book and took notes and did the questions portion X3s,
and the LaCharity book(only chaps 1-16) X3s too.
And did the kaplan strategies book once, but read the 1st 100 pages twice.
Also when I sat down to take the nclex for the 3rd time, I purposely took my time and let the time run out. For every question, I just took my time/better than rushing through it.
And took 2 breaks. Last, be confident (yes, it sounds corny & you've heard it before) But if you TRULY have been studying w/o the distractions(TV/texting on the phone every 3mins), you will retain more info and notice the study patterns, and you should be fine.
Forgot to mention:
I also bought the 3wk plan: nscbn site, 2wks before my testdate.
The questions seemed different and a little harder than Exam Cram & LaCharity.
I was a "good wake-up call," I became a little relax before ordering the nscbn.
I would suggest getting your $$ worth. And using it for the full time available, which plan you may choose.
i am new on allnurses... like you guys, i took my boards day before yesterday and went all the way to 265 questions, went back home and got the bad pop-up. i took kaplan classes but i think it didnt work for me... any suggestions? does nclex send you the report on how you did in exam? any area of weakness and stuff like that?
Sorry I didn't respond to this email. My life has been a mess with family issues. I hope you passed your exam. I learned early on that reading the ATI books didn't help me that much. I would take all the ATI exams available online because sometimes they put a similar question on the exit exams and I read all the rationals so it was like studying 4 questions in one. I used Saunders NCLEX CD in study mode so I could see my answers right away and read all rationals. I passed my all my ATI and my HESSI exam with high scores by doing as many questions as possible on this CD. For me, it's a combination of reviewing material and getting good at test taking all in one. When I book study I feel I lose my testing edge. I used the same method to study for the NCLEX. I divided the number of questions on the CD (in each category each day) by available days to study and finished ALL of the Saunders questions 5 days before the exam and then reviewed areas where I felt I was weak, watched YOUTUBE videos to review different things like cardiac rhythms, and I repeated important values everyday so they were branded in my head (numbers are tough for me to remember). I was a wreck and was sure I failed when the computer stopped at 75 questions but I tried to remind myself that all my questions were not ordinary and required a lot of thought. I took a minute a question, reading both the question and the answers twice and felt I had only 3 questions that were easy and was absolutely sure of. It was difficult but I decided that I didn't want to know if I passed or failed right away (by paying the fee online) because I had to be happy and positive for my daughter's wedding. I logged on to the State Dept of Health once a day to see if it was posted figuring it wouldn't post until after the wedding. It posted 3 days after my test and I passed with only 75 questions!!! I feel the the Saunders NCLEX is the most realistic study and testing book available. I own 2 other NCLEX books and I didn't feel they offered as much so I stuck to Saunders. If you haven't finished school.....this is my advice. If you haven't taken the NCLEX.....this is a way to review and be a sharp test taker. Remember to read all rationals even if you get the answer correct. Good Luck!!
angelavenice
231 Posts
Very inspiring it motivates me so much!!!!!