Freaking out after reading how many people have failed NCLEX!

DoeRN · Dec 31, 2012

I took it 3 months after graduating, did Hurst review 5 days before NCLEX and passed with 75 questions. Good luck to you.

Go in with confidence and read each question completely and prioritize.

oh.hello · Dec 31, 2012

I graduated in the middle of June and took the exam near the end of July. Give yourself an adequate amount of time to study, but do not freak out if you feel like you don't know everything. Nobody will ever feel fully prepared to take the NCLEX. If you take Kaplan, they have study guides that give you tips on how you should study depending on how much time you're willing to spend studying (8 weeks, 5 weeks, etc). I was really burnt out after graduation so I took a break for two weeks, then studied very intensely for 3 weeks and passed with 75 questions. It really depends on your studying style, but my instructors said it's best to take it before you hit your 3-month post-grad mark.

Good luck!

nurse2b121212 · Dec 31, 2012

Thanks guys! Maybe that's why I'm freaking out. Of course I'll never know everything. I'm taking the live Hurst review for the second time this Wed. thru Friday so hopefully that will be enough to pass. Just getting a little scared. Thanks for the replies!

jennafezz · Dec 31, 2012

86% of US-educated nurses pass the first time (according to the Pearson Vue pamphlet I got when I took the NCLEX) - I graduated 12/14/12 and just took it on 12/29 and got the good pop-up (75 questions). It wasn't so bad. If you feel ready, then go for it! Don't put it on a pedestal and freak yourself out over it. Just remember that the majority of people pass and people are probably more likely to post on here about it if they failed.

Racer15, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2012

I think your school's pass rate and when you take it have a lot to do with it. You can only study so much, before you either just know it or you don't. My school's pass rate for the past three classes has been 100% on the first try. I feel that they prepare us well enough that a lot of review is not needed, although I did the Hurst review just to give myself a fast refresher course. I take my NCLEX on January 3rd, and aside from doing Hurst, I haven't done a whole lot to prepare. I'm planning on doing my QReview questions over the next few days, and then skimming a few topics in my HESI review book and memorizing normal lab values the night before. I think some people's problem is that they freak out and try to study TOO much, a lot of the people I've seen on here that failed were utilizing three, four, and five review sources and frantically studying for weeks on end. You know this stuff or you wouldn't have made it through school! You have the tools to pass this thing, just go in there ready to own it and I'm sure you will be fine :)

Orange Tree · Dec 31, 2012

Focus on the big picture and don't get too caught up in memorizing every small detail about everything. I think it's actually possible to study too much. It might also help to remember that you can re-take it if you don't pass...not ideal, but still comforting!

crazy4disneyrn · Dec 31, 2012

I graduated 12/14/12 and will take the NCLEX in just a few days. I read a lot of the posts about people failing and started to freak out too, however I starting thinking why those people have came here to post......they needed study tips, etc. Those who are "lurkers" on this board and don't post probably won't take the time to post their success once they pass...they'll be too busy celebrating!

In all seriousness I think a lot has to do with the school and how soon you take the NCLEX after graduating. I am just dumbfounded when I read about people who have graduated a year or more and are just now taking the NCLEX. Unless they continue to keep their studying up I don't see how it can benefit anyone to wait as long. So far everyone in my cohort who has taken the NCLEX has passed on the first try!

Jaade · Dec 31, 2012

I took the NCLEX June 2011. It was hard, but I felt pretty confident by the time I finished my 75 questions - you know why? By the end, they were asking me questions that I could never have answered as a novice nurse. If the questions are getting harder as you go, you're doing it right!!

I took Loretta Manning's course and I could not recommend it more highly. She has so much knowledge, so many good ways to remember information AND she broke it down for us like this. 75 questions, 15 are "test" questions that don't count. That gives you 60 questions. You answer a little more than 30 right and YOU PASS! Doesn't that sound much less daunting?

You can do this. Nursing schools go above and beyond to prepare their students for this exam.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2012

85 percent of U.S.-educated nurses pass NCLEX on their very first attempt. That's more than four out of five people who pass the first time they take NCLEX. In other words, the vast majority of test takers pass on the first try.

It only seems like so many people are failing because the people who do not pass are more likely to post about it, request suggestions, and ask for tips and assistance.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Dec 31, 2012

I graduated in June did the Hurst review, took the test in July passed with 75. The Hurst was really the only review that I did, go in confident and relaxed.

nurse2b121212 · Jan 2, 2013

Thanks so much everyone!!! Really helped put my mind at ease! I am choosing not to freak out, but feel confident that I am well prepared and that I will pass. Only doing Hurst review and reviewing normal lab values. I can't believe this nightmare is almost over with lol. 2 years of hard work will soon pay off. Good luck to you all and thanks again!!!!