How I passed NCLEX in 75 questions

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I graduated in December and took -- and passed -- NCLEX last week in 75 questions. I know there are plenty of posts about studying for and passing NCLEX but I wanted to add what worked for me. Granted, most of what I'm about to post won't help those who have already graduated but for those of you just starting out, I hope it will help you!

1) I started thinking about passing NCLEX before I even started nursing school! When looking at nursing schools, I looked at first time NCLEX pass rates. The school I chose has a consistent 96-98% pass rate with every graduating class, which equals 2-3 students not passing each time....which means 60-65 DO pass each time. I LOVE those odds!

2) From my very first day in 101, I included NCLEX-style questions in my studying. I LOVE the Success books -- they make one for every class: Fundamentals, Med-Surg, Pediatric, Maternity, Behaviorial. By reading the rationales for ALL of the answers (right and wrong), it reinforced content and I learned how to taking nursing tests. I did ALL of the Success books throughout school.

3) I used free apps like NCLEX Mastery, Ultimate RN, and ATI Lite throughout school and included them in my studying.

99% of my NCLEX preparation was done BEFORE I graduated! So what did I do AFTER graduation to get ready for NCLEX? Not a whole lot.

1) My school offered a 3 day ATI review taught by one of our instructors. Since it was included in our tuition, I went all 3 days. She offered some great tips about how to figure out how to answer questions, especially when you have no idea. Very helpful.

2) I aimed for 100-150 questions/day but there were plenty of days when I didn't do any. I did them while watching TV, waiting in line, cooking dinner. I didn't block out time to "study for NCLEX" because I had been studying for NCLEX for 2 years already! If I came across something I didn't remember (stages of labor, peds vitals, etc) I did a quick review.

3) I used a variety of resources (all free - I didn't pay for anything) -- ATI, free Lippincott 2 week trial, a Kaplan book, e-books that were shared on FB groups, free apps, free resources online. I wanted exposure to a variety of questions.

4) I didn't do any Kaplan Q trainers -- I still don't even know what those are!

5) I didn't do Saunders or LaCharity. Yes, you can pass without doing them!

The morning of NCLEX I did the same things I did before exams in school -- same breakfast, etc. Although I was a bit nervous, I felt prepared. I had been preparing for it for 2 years! There were plenty of questions that had me thinking "I HAVE NO IDEA!" but I didn't freak out -- I methodically read the question and asked myself "what would a nurse do in this situation?" The screen turned blue after my 75th question and I was done.

When classmates ask me what they can do to prepare for it, I tell them they're already prepared. We graduated from a nursing program that prepared us extremely well for NCLEX and beyond. So far, everyone who has taken it from my class has passed.

And that's how I passed NCLEX in 75 questions. :)

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You did it, high five!

I'm a newbie, just barely starting school in future months. Do you think having a real nclex review book will be helpful for during school time ? Will there be enough time to go through questions from the book on top of assigned reading and hw?

I want to get at least one good review book but I'm just starting out in 2015 and won't be tentatively done till 2017. There's so many nclex books to choose from •.•

Did you find a lot of mistakes in the chosen answers / rationales in the ultimate rn , ati lite app ?

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Congratulations on starting school! I studied for every test using the Success books (THEY ARE AWESOME) and the powerpoints from my instructor. I rarely read my textbook; the only time was if I needed to clarify something my instructor said. I didn't have 'homework' other than clinical prep a couple of nights a week so I had plenty of time to do practice questions. I didn't use a specific NCLEX book so I can't make any recommendations.

Yes, sometimes there are issues with the apps. Usually it would be a question and answer not matching up. If the answer that was given didn't seem right to me, I would look it up. It didn't happen often.

Good luck in school!

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Congratulations on starting school! I studied for every test using the Success books (THEY ARE AWESOME) and the powerpoints from my instructor. I rarely read my textbook; the only time was if I needed to clarify something my instructor said. I didn't have 'homework' other than clinical prep a couple of nights a week so I had plenty of time to do practice questions. I didn't use a specific NCLEX book so I can't make any recommendations.

Yes, sometimes there are issues with the apps. Usually it would be a question and answer not matching up. If the answer that was given didn't seem right to me, I would look it up. It didn't happen often.

Good luck in school!

thank you miss nurse!

It seems like you have prepared yourself since the beginning =) how long did you study for the NCLEX after graduating?

i currently have the fundamentals success book, the course will begin sometime during summer. Is it too early to read it a bit?

did you so find any errors in the NCLEX mastery app? ive been going through the fundamentals section so far.

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thank you miss nurse!

It seems like you have prepared yourself since the beginning =) how long did you study for the NCLEX after graduating?

i currently have the fundamentals success book, the course will begin sometime during summer. Is it too early to read it a bit?

did you so find any errors in the NCLEX mastery app? ive been going through the fundamentals section so far.

Between graduation and NCLEX was 3.5 weeks. Within that time frame was Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's. I probably officially "prepared" for 2 weeks -- all I did was 100-150 practice questions a day which I did throughout the day.

You could start looking through the fundamentals book if you want to but I never cracked open a book before any class started . Enjoy the time before classes start!

There are always a few mistakes with any app but I didn't notice any apps that were excessively inaccurate.

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@RunnerRN2015 Thank you for the advice! I am starting nursing school in May and I will definitely keep it in mind :)

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Can I ask what school you attend for nursing?

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Can I ask what school you attend for nursing?

Carolinas College of Health Sciences in NC. It's been ranked the #1 two year school in the nation.

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Fantastic advice, thank you!! But when I do a search they all say NCLEX success...lol Saunders, Davis, etc. Is there a series called "Success". If so I can't seem to find it. Can you tell me the authors maybe? Or what the covers look like? Sorry. But I'd really appreciate it! Thanks.

An example: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1GTPM_enUS618US618&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=the+success+nclex+books&tbm=shop

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Fantastic advice, thank you!! But when I do a search they all say NCLEX success...lol Saunders, Davis, etc. Is there a series called "Success". If so I can't seem to find it. Can you tell me the authors maybe? Or what the covers look like? Sorry. But I'd really appreciate it! Thanks.

An example: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1GTPM_enUS618US618&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=the+success+nclex+books&tbm=shop

shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ02DnDLoB4lfcm44P1ygnOszfEfAStWZcSa_W4ekJelmLM4tZA&usqp=CAEshopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcQVZRqa51fDMplLpvCvELeRFEkyNSsjlLUMRJe2CfBVbo42zMJC&usqp=CAE

Here are the Fundamentals and Med-Surg covers. Hope that helps!

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Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.

Congrats! I have a question: how soon after you graduate can you take the NCLEX? Like, lets say there's a test the following week, I'm assuming you can take it? :dead: I'm hoping to follow your example and keep studying/doing NCLEX questions throughout the entire program so I don't have to spend months after preparing.

Great advice on the Success books. I used Fundamentals Success last semester and it really helped. People were always asking me how I was doing well when the average was kind of low, and I think Fundamentals Success really helped. I'm about to buy the Med/Surg Success book as well.

Congrats again!

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Congrats! I have a question: how soon after you graduate can you take the NCLEX? Like, lets say there's a test the following week, I'm assuming you can take it? :dead: I'm hoping to follow your example and keep studying/doing NCLEX questions throughout the entire program so I don't have to spend months after preparing.

Great advice on the Success books. I used Fundamentals Success last semester and it really helped. People were always asking me how I was doing well when the average was kind of low, and I think Fundamentals Success really helped. I'm about to buy the Med/Surg Success book as well.

Congrats again!

It really depends on your school and your state's BON. I'm my state (NV), the BON will accept an affidavit from a school stating that a certain student has met the requirement and has graduated. Other states require that the BON receives transcripts showing a degree which could take weeks to months to be sent. My state accepts the affidavits from the schools and some local schools have students who tested and were licensed within 2 weeks of graduation because they send the affidavit to the BON on the day of graduation. Other schools (such as mine) waited over 3 weeks before sending said affidavit to the BON so once I was authorized to test, I wasn't able to schedule until a month from then, which was 7.5 weeks after graduation because graduates from other schools had already taken up sooner spots. I was able to move my date up by 10 days since then so I will be testing 6 weeks out from graduation. Some people in my class were able to test this week but they stalked the scheduling website day and night to get those spots. So, the point of my rambling is that it really depends 😊

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