How did you know when you were ready to set your date?

[itsdebraanne, ASN, RN]

How did you know you're ready to set your date? Or did you set your date and then studied your butt off from the day you got your ATT til your test date?

Apparently for my Florida boards, I need to set my test date a month in advance to make sure i have a seat for that day. I know I shouldn't rush when I'm not ready, but I don't wanna wait and procrastinate and think "oh..hmm i can go out with friends. i have time." you know... I just... i just feel overwhelmed.

[CYoungLPN, LPN]

from the min i paid the BON i studied and when i got my ATT i just set it like a week after that i didnt wanna put it off longer than that i was all studied out

[Racer15, BSN, RN]

I am incredibly lazy as far as studying goes. I know myself and I know that the longer I wait, the longer I procrastinate. I graduated December 7th, got my ATT December 17th, and my NCLEX is scheduled for January 3rd. I'll never be ready for this exam. No one is. But I AM ready to get it over with! You can't pass if you never take it is my motto. And my aunt who is an RN only had this advice for me: take the NCLEX as SOON AS POSSIBLE. That was it. You are smart, you've made it this far, and you have a large knowledge base or you would NOT have made it this far. Take it now, while the knowledge is fresh.

[Rockclimbingnurse]

Do it ASAP if you can! I think a month of studying is plenty enough. I was one of the last to send in my application and to be honest, I probably only needed to study for two weeks. Many test centers fill up, and your preferred date may be later than you like. Also, you don't want to get burnt out from studying for months on end.

[elkpark]

No one ever feels completely ready for the exam -- if you set that as your standard for when to schedule, you'll end up never taking the exam (and being one of those people who post here about, "I graduated from nursing school 8 years ago and have never taken the NCLEX, what do I do ..."). And,supposedly, the more time passes after graduation, the worse you're likely to do on the exam, statistically (so I've heard repeatedly, although I haven't seen hard data about that any time recently). Take the exam as soon as possible, don't procrastinate.

Just one more thing I don't like about the new system is this business of individually deciding when you feel like taking the exam. "Back in the day," when the exam was offered twice a year and you either took it or waited another six months, everyone automatically registered when they graduated and new grads didn't have the option of procrastinating, which was to their benefit.