Hello, my name is Bryan and I am a new RN. I passed my nclex on 7/9/14 and have used this site to find comfort in my quest to pass this enormous test we call nclex. I promised myself that if I passed that I would write this bio and share my story and Kaplan scores with a review so hopefully it helps and comforts others as so many unknowingly did for me.
First off if like to get my background out there. I was an excellent student before and in nursing school, but I was all around with grades, I made as many A's as I did B's and C's.. But I knew how to study and put in the time because that's all this test is, time and study.
I took my nclex in December of 2013 and failed it in 75 questions. I honestly went in there believing what everyone said and that was to just use Hurst and Saunders. I'm gonna tell you that's wrong, this is not a content test, yes you HAVE to know the content, but the questions when you get past the first 2-3 (if you get them right) become harder and more difficult. the next 7 months was working to pay for Kaplan. I then took my test again 7/9/14 and passed in 75 questions and 1/3 was SATA. I was terrified after I left, how could I get so many! I got the good Pearson pop up and I paid the 8$ to know for sure. And I PASSED. This is how I did it.
KAPLAN
LIPPENCOTTS
Kaplan set me up perfectly, I highly recommend taking this course, it saved my life. They give you 1300 practice questions 7 question trainers and and readiness test, which will give you a good idea on your predictability of passing nclex. Not to mention their content book was straight forward and to the point. I didn't have time to BS.
Lippencotts helped assert me with the content. If I got one wrong the explanation was all content, I only used the CD. But my bread and butter came from KAPLAN.
My Kaplan Q-T scores were:
Diagnostic: 58
QT 1: 48
QT 2: 61
QT 3: 52
QT 4: 53
QT 5: 53
QT 6: 62
QT 7: 64
Readiness test: 68
Why I liked Kaplan so much was that it trains you for one and only test and that is HOW TO TAKE THE NCLEX. It's priority and delegation were on point and exactly how I saw it on the test. I even saw an exact same question. And NO I'm not lying! It was amazing. It's all higher level and it really makes you think, and then when you've finished the course, it seems like all the dots just got put together and it all makes sense. But also read the book! The content is amazing and make notes if you have to, but don't read it 1.5 weeks before your test, it's too late if you need content, but if you absolutely have too then look over it. Make your own tables for Infection control, vaccination schedules and when they will receive what vaccine, lab and drug values and the cranial nerves. Those were my 4 papers full of writing.
My predictability of passing was 98 or 96% I believe. I found it on the kaplan course or you can google it the table for the readiness test. I studied from 3-4-5 hours per day and every week I took a day off. I studied for 4 weeks straight after being out of the nursing program nearly a year.
DO NOT take a break after nursing school, jump right on NCLEX because it will bite you in the butt if you wait too long. I waited 4 months after graduating to take my nclex because I was tired and satisfied. Never ever be satisfied. NCLEX is the biggest accomplishment there is. Statistics have shown that every year it's getting harder and harder and more of a % fail if they wait. So don't be me! Get Kaplan and get moving!!
My favorite quote that kept me believing and on my path to success was..
"It's not how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward, that's how winning is done!"
