How to know if you're ready to take the NCLEX

Perpetual Student · Jun 17, 2009

Yeah, you're ready if you've graduated from an approved nursing program. :)

Just take it (insert Nike slogan here). Waiting will only cause you to build up more stress and forget things, and delay you getting a job you want. Just keep studying until your date and you should be fine. There is a lot to know, but remember that the vast majority of the questions are multiple choice, so as long as you're familiar with the important concepts and understand some basic test strategies you should do OK. The vast majority of people pass on the first attempt. Those who don't often have difficulty with English, were borderline students in school, are extremely (and pathologically) anxious (with possible sleep deprivation), or just plain didn't study at all. Sure, there are exceptions, but it sounds like you've done a lot of appropriate preparation, and your writing indicates to me that you shouldn't have a hard time reading and understanding the questions.

I want to add that you will most likely feel crappy leaving the testing center due to the nature of CAT. You will miss about half of the questions regardless of how well you're doing. Just keep your head up high.

Good luck!

Lovely_RN, MSN · Jun 17, 2009

I'm taking my test tomorrow and I still don't know if I'm ready. I didn't study much at all for the NCLEX-PN and I took it 3 weeks after graduation. This time around I waited a while because I was pretty burnt out from working and going to school at the same time. It's been about 8 weeks since I graduated and while I have studied a lot more than I did for the NCLEX-PN, I even did the NCSBN review along with tons of Saunders questions, the Linda Lacharity book etc...I didn't spend 3-4 hours a day on it. I have kids and I'm pregnant so it just isn't feasible for me to shut myself away for hours everyday studying. Anyway, I will find out by Sunday if I did the right thing. Hey 85% of us pass it on the first try so the odds are on our side.

Good luck.

robby662 · Jun 17, 2009

I would have bet the house and farm that I had failed. It is a tricky test. We have been trained to believe that we need at least 78 - 80 % questions right in order to pass and as someone mentioned earlier the test keeps getting harder until you are missing about half of the questions. I passed on my first attempt, but I absolutely had no clue until I heard the results.

melisgood · Jun 17, 2009

Thanks for the quick replies. Any idea how accurate the Kaplan test scores are to predicting how well you will do on the NCLEX. I scored a 60% on the first 180 question exam you take on the first day of class. They say to aim for 65%. I did ATI in nursing school and it said I have a 96% chance of passing on the first try. Has anyone taken Kaplan and if so were your scores about 65% before taking the NCLEX or higher than that. It's just discouraging when you're getting almost half the questions wrong....but they say that's what happens on the NCLEX...?

shoegalRN, RN · Jun 18, 2009

I am currently doing Kaplan. When I first tested, I got a 55%. Then on the readiness test I got a 62% and I still had 15 questions to go. They want you to have atleast a 65% to be considered ready for the boards.

I am currently doing their Q-bank questions and I am getting between 55-67%. I still have 4 more Q trainer tests to do. To date, I've done about 800 Q bank questions and my overall percentage is 52%.

Once I am done with Kaplan, I will study strictly content from Saunders and use the Kaplan test methods. I know people who've gotten no higher than a 58% on Kaplan and passed NCLEX on the first try.

Thanks for the quick replies. Any idea how accurate the Kaplan test scores are to predicting how well you will do on the NCLEX. I scored a 60% on the first 180 question exam you take on the first day of class. They say to aim for 65%. I did ATI in nursing school and it said I have a 96% chance of passing on the first try. Has anyone taken Kaplan and if so were your scores about 65% before taking the NCLEX or higher than that. It's just discouraging when you're getting almost half the questions wrong....but they say that's what happens on the NCLEX...?

CoffeeGeekRN · Jun 18, 2009

I am scheduled to take NCLEX on July 15th. My school paid for us to take the Drexel NCLEX course. So far, I am scoring between 68% and 76% on the practice exams. I feel a little discouraged as I would like to score at least 80%. My school also us take the DRT as an exit exam and I did pretty well on that. It said I had a 98% chance of passing NCLEX on the first try. I hope that is true!