Failed with 75q, passed second attempt with 75q

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So I promised myself that whenever I ended up passing the NCLEX, I would make a post here because a lot of these threads have helped me get through studying for and passing the NCLEX.

So I failed the NCLEX at 75 questions. It was absolutely awful. I graduated from a school with a very high pass rate on first try and my grades were good. So here's a break down of what I did, what went wrong, and what worked.

• On my first attempt, I didn't prepare well at all. I did not do enough questions and I did not recreate the testing experience by taking almost full length tests to test my readiness. Resources: part of Kaplan and some NCLEX Mastery and focused too much on review and not enough on questions. Time studied: 3 weeks.
  
• On my second attempt, I passed with 75 questions. I was sure I failed again coming out of it. I even started gathering materials to start studying again. Resources: This time I completed Kaplan, used the NCLEX Mastery app and Uworld, and used a lot of different study guides I found as well as made my own (came out to be 70pgs long). I did about 700 Uworld questions with about 62%. Time studied: 2 months while working full time.
  

Some Advice

• Finish Uworld completely! Kaplan was helpful but I suggest using other resources to complement it, such as Uworld, NCLEX Mastery, and other miscellaneous guides on the internet.
  
• Plan out your studying and hit those goals. Pinpoint your weaknesses, focus on those.
  
• I suggest at least 75q a day, but preferably 100q. If you don't have work to worry about, I would aim for more questions. Whenever you get a question wrong, take the time to understand the concept and why you got it wrong. At night before you go to bed, just focus on reviewing content. Helps you fall asleep!
  
• Understand key aspects of nursing: diagnosing (based on sx/sx, labs, etc), plan of care, treatments, contraindications/adverse effects, and proper procedure/equipment use. So whenever you're reviewing a certain topic, make sure to understand all those dimensions, not just what it is and how it works.
  
• Mental breaks: you need it and it will help you refocus and avoid study burnout.
  

If I can pass this exam, you most definitely can! I'm the worst test taker and I get very anxious before exams. My mother was a wonderful support system and she helped me get through it. If you didn't get it on your first try, reorganize your study plans, stick to it, and you will pass it next time, I know it! If not, don't ever give up. You are definitely capable of passing this exam.

If you have any questions, I'll try my best to help!

[nlitened]

Thanks for the tips and Congrats!