How long did you wait to take NCLEX

sk123, ADN · Jan 4, 2016

Take it as soon as you can, and study as hard as you can. Don't wait to take it, you'll be surprised how much harder it will be to start up again. I decided to take a little break after I graduated. DON'T DO THAT. All of my counselors told me just take it as soon as you can and STUDY HARD. You can relax after you pass the NCLEX. I messed up and failed twice because I took so long, passed on my third attempt. Save yourself money and stress by taking it as soon as you can so you still have that nursing student work ethic! It will be a lot easier.

BecomingNursey · Jan 4, 2016

I graduated May 7th, received the ATT letter on May 13th, the closest date I could test was May 31st. I tested May 31st and passed the first time. Everyone I spoke to told me to take the test ASAP so I did and I didn't regret it at all. I was the first person of our nursing class to take NCLEX and I passed thank heavens. Good luck.

elkpark · Jan 4, 2016

Take it as soon as possible. Statistics over time show that, in general, the longer the gap between graduating and sitting the exam, the poorer you are likely to do.

devhrt12 · Jan 4, 2016

I graduated on December 16 and waiting for my att. The school was going to send the paperwork by the last week of January. So for now study like it's the HESI exit exam.

Beffers81 · Jan 5, 2016

I graduated beginning of December and took the nclex yesterday. Passed with 75 questions. Sooner is better than later

Katie990 · Jan 6, 2016

I disagree somewhat. You need to take enough time to prepare accordingly, how ever long that is (though under a year, preferably).

Only you can determine and know if you've allocated enough time, and gained enough knowledge to cover what is necessary in order to successfully pass. Being able to log in a steady number of hours or questions, on a daily basis (with time for breaks & enjoyment, in order to avoid burn out), gradually building your concentration and knowledge, and completing at LEAST 5000 practice study questions before the exam, is important in my opinion. Not only that, but you have to be studying smart, in that you ensure you're actually covering areas that are relevant and where there is a gap in your knowledge. Being able to study without excessively worrying and cramming near the end, because you're running out out time, is definitely a benefit.

My prof mentioned that when Canadian nursing graduates wrote the old CRNE licensing exam, they only had the opportunity to write it a few times a year, so they had 4+ months where they could do nothing but study. Now the pass rates are down since the NCLEX was implemented, she stipulates because a lot of students are jumping the gun with scheduling it and not taking a large enough allotment of time to thoroughly learn the exam material.

Myself, I need to write the NCLEX for a third time coming up this year. The first time, I too felt pressure (from myself and my mom) to finish it before graduation, I noticed a few fellow classmates boasting about passing it on social media around the time of their graduation, and felt it was possible, but unfortunately I was not successful when writing it the day before my convocation. I felt I studied intensely, but not necessarily the right things. The second time I wrote it, I was concerned that if I took more than 2 months to study before taking again,--my grad nurse license would expire and I'd loose my job. Now I'm determined to refocus and give a concentrated, solid studying effort for at least another 5 or 6 months, I'm not going to let anything rush me into taking it before I'm ready because this time I have to pass. I wonder, if I had taken this amount of time for the first attempt--would I be in the same predicament?

In any case I feel that you shouldn't let others rush or pressure you into taking it prematurely, because although it's nice to get it over with and pass it quickly, you don't want to shortchange yourself when you really need extra time to study and cover more material, let nothing prevent you from becoming fully prepared.

FurBabyMom, MSN, RN · Jan 11, 2016

You may or may not be limited by the time it takes the BON in your state to process the paperwork your school sends and release your ATT. That was the hold up for me and many of my classmates when we graduated. I graduated in June, got my ATT in mid-August, tested August 20-something. I passed with somewhere around 80-something questions.

Yes, it is a good idea to take it ASAP. But give yourself time to prepare.

The other thing I'd say is don't sweat pass/fail the first time. In reality, it really won't matter at all once you start working or 5 or 10 years later. I'm not even licensed in my original state of licensure anymore (I moved). There are some states that post the number of application cycles you went through (my original state of licensure was one), but you basically have to know how the system works to know what it really means. And even so, doesn't take away from the fact that if you have a license number you passed! (People get very worked up about NCLEX, and rightly so, it seems like a huge deal at that time, but it won't matter 5 minutes later).