Has anyone taken and passed the NCLEX without a review?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Dec 27, 2014

I did. I used the resources from my text and notes from school. I passed in minimum questions about a month post graduation (the earliest date possible)

ak2190 · Dec 27, 2014

I did. I took it almost a year after I graduated and didn't study for it.. I was going through some issues in my personal life at the time. I passed after ~90 questions. I've always been very good at testing, so do not recommend it to anyone else.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Dec 27, 2014

Not every one needs an in class or online review. Many are successful using bona fide NCLEX prep books such as Kaplan, Saunders, etc. only you can determine what will work for you.

scaredsilly, BSN, RN · Dec 27, 2014

There is no way I could have passed without a review, but I know of many who have. It all depends on you, how good you are at testing, how well you know your content and if your school prepared you well enough with NCLEX like questions.

Try taking the one week free trial of Hurst and see how you do on the practice tests to help you decide, or reflect on how well you did on whatever your school used. Mine did ATI and they have a predictor test, most of them do. If you an exit exam or any predictors in school, how well did you do?

Everyone is different, and I don't think doing it without a review is really recommended, but some people manage very well without one.

messymissy · Dec 27, 2014

I did, took both my lpn and RN within 7 days of graduation. Passed both with the minimum 75 questions. I did the practice NCLEX questions from my school books, throughout the course of my schooling. I highly recommend doing that. It helped me for tests and the NCLEX.

MissyRN

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Dec 27, 2014

Kaplan offers free diagnostic exams for registering with your email just like hurst offers a free trial. Check you tube for NCLEX review videos but be certain the source is reliable (Kaplan, Hurst, Yale School of Nursing vs Bobs Discount nursing review). NCSBN offers a free pharmacology review app. Several other free "lite" NCLEX review apps including quite a few from Saunders one app per subject (med/surg, pharm, maternal/child, etc)

Check your local library for NCLEX review books also.

Loo17 · Dec 27, 2014

I did, took both my lpn and RN within 7 days of graduation. Passed both with the minimum 75 questions. I did the practice NCLEX questions from my school books, throughout the course of my schooling. I highly recommend doing that. It helped me for tests and the NCLEX.
MissyRN

I agree. I also took the NCLEX soon after graduation without any special prep and passed with 75 questions.

CLUVRN, MSN, RN · Dec 27, 2014

Adding myself to the list. Studied just NCLEX Q and A books/CD-Roms for both LPN and RN, tested about a month after both graduations, and passed on the first try with the minimum amount of questions for each exam. I don't let myself get anxious before and during tests and am generally pretty confident in my test taking skills. I think that mindset creates a positive outcome on NCLEX.

Luckyyou, BSN, RN · Dec 27, 2014

I took the Saunders book on vacation and sort of read it on the beach. Took NCLEX three weeks or so after graduation, passed in 75 questions, wondered what the fuss was about. I got a very high score on our exit HESI so I wasn't very worried.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Feb 2, 2015

I never got suckered into taking Kaplan or Hurst or any other prep course. I did Saunders and NCLEX 3500. Passed with 75 questions. The key is just doing many questions and reading those rationales. That's how you learn.

Nursynursenurse, ADN, RN · Feb 2, 2015

I'm so glad I didnt waste my money on a review course! I did well on NCLEX like tests and had a decent exit HESI score. If you have a good understanding of what the questions are asking and are generally a good test taker, there is no reason why you would need a review course to pass.