HURST OR KAPLAN????

[NRJRN_]

I took the NCLEX and passed in 75 questions first time!! I always come here for advice and wanted to share my whole experience!!

Okay so to study my school had us to do that Kaplan review. Which was alright they don't go over content just only test strategies. At first I thought it was pointless but at the end of my test it was worth it! The decision tree is good just practice!! Also test taking strategies are very important!! I read the Kaplan content review guide. Front to back. I don't think it really helped but I guess it helped brush up on some stuff

I also did the HURST review on my own time like 2 weeks before my test. I felt like I needed to reinforce on my content. I watched the videos at home then studied the content. I would recommend reviewing content and doing questions like alternating. I studied about a month a few hours a day then 2 weeks before I went HAM and studied all day and would take breaks and go out occasionally.

I used kaplan for the questions. Don't worry about the scores!! Just focus on the content and make sure your learning. Also get used to the patterns of the questions cause thats whats going to help on NCLEX. My Qbank average was 50% (horrible I know) lol anyways I was learning new stuff and towards the end I was averaging in the 60s highest was 64 I mostly got in 50s-60s.

Qtrainer scores I got in the 60s on the first 2.

3 and 4 didn't do.

Q5 I got 64

Q6 52

Q7 58.9

Qbanks you're supposed to make 65

Qtrainer you're supposed 60. I was like close enough!!

Please don't kill yourself over the scores just know the content and strategies

Q trainer 6 & 7 are important because it is MOST like the NCLEX!! SO IT IS A MUST DO!! IM SURE YOU CAN FIND IT ON QUIZLET SOMEWHERE

During the test I was like Kaplan did not help!! But it actually did only cause you get used to the question types. But I do recommend if you're done with Kaplan or don't have it use UWORLD!! They have a free trial for 30 days which is really good!! questions are more tough than kaplan similar to NCLEX. Also lippincott passpoint is good too. The questions seem easy but with that its similar to to the test plan and you can see where you stand which is a good indicator to me. I would recommend doing 3 sets of questions of 75 to tame your brain

Okay now the day before the test I stayed home and reviewed notes. I didn't do any questions cause I didn't wanna fry my brain

Now test day I woke up early and went to my testing center at 9am my test was at 1130a. I went in around 11 and started about 1120. I reviewed some stuff and the study guide in my car. During the test I was like now this is easy but then it got super hard I was like what is that. I got a bunch of SATAS like I mean back to back in and like a multiple choice and then got slammed with SATAS, I had no math cal, no drag n drops, Ekgs, hot spots or anything. During the test I was like none of the content reviews really helped but then again they somewhat did. i honestly felt like there is no way to prepare for that test. It just felt like I was taking another practice test like taking a gamble. Some people call NCLEX Russian Roulette and thats really what it is. Make sure you pray before you go also control your anxiety. You cant go in freaking out cause it will mess you up! You have to go in confident or it will throw you off!!!

During the test I felt confident on some stuff other stuff I was like wth. It shut off at 75q. I felt confident after but then after I started second guessing myself and was like OMG what if I fail. That test is crucial!! I felt like I was being mind raped!! I could not imagine going through that again. But then I remembered and you must too No one feels confident after!! it was a hard test probably one of the hardest test ever taken. Especially after only having SATAs and no math or other alternate formats I was like did I do that bad? But remember everyones test is different and it russian roulette you're taking a gamble!

Anyways after the test I tried the PVT idk if they changed it but I never got "the good pop up" it just told me "the candidate has test results on hold can't register again" I did not know what this meant and I just kept going crazy. I was up all night tossing and turning. I did not pay for quick results because in Florida we have the exam score lookup which shows your results the next day at 8. After refreshing all night I found out that I passed!!

But I wanted to share my experience with you to help calm some peoples nerves. Please do breathing exercise and go in confident!! Make sure you have reviewed all that you can!! Good luck to everyone and I hope this helps!!

IF you didn't read the whole thing what I used to study heres a shortcut

Kaplan content review

Hurst review

Kaplan qbank/trainers

UWORLD** this is a must

Lippincott Passpoint

Lacharity- only safety control chapter (lots of this on NCLEX)

Saunders only to elaborate on certain stuff I needed clarification on

Those study guides on here. Not sure if any of it was on my test but more knowledge doesn't hurt

Remember pray, breathe, and feel confident!!! Good luck!!

ALSO DONT PANIC IF YOU DONT KNOW EVERYTHING!! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO.. IT TESTS MINIMUM COMPETENCY. FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS :)

TIPS: WHEN YOURE STUCK ALWAYS PICK THE SAFEST ANSWER OR THE ANSWER CHOICE THAT CAUSES THE LEAST HARM!!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!