I passed with 75 questions using only Kaplan prep

[mikolover]

Hello future RN,

I wanted to share my experience with those anticipating or awaiting their fate after the NCLEX-RN examination. I visited the Allnurses website after my boards to seek relief in those 48 hours awaiting my own fate aka the results.

I only used Kaplan to prepare; the prep classes were four consecutive days from 8am-4pm. I had only three weeks to prepare for the examination because my school rushed us to pass the boards in order for us to proceed with our last semester (I attend an accelerated nursing program). Below are my scores with Kaplan:

Diagnostic Test (180) -I did not take this test. I heard from my peers this was primarily geared towards content. You will also be unable to suspend/pause the test and have to take it in one sitting.

RN Question Trainer 1 (75) 61%

RN Question Trainer 2 (75) 52%

RN Question Trainer 3 (100) 61%

RN Question Trainer 4 (150) 58%

RN Question Trainer 5 (150) 58%

RN Question Trainer 6 (200) 51%

RN Question Trainer 7 (265) I did not take this test

RN NCLEX Sample Test 1 (50) 58%

RN NCLEX Sample Test 2 (50) 46%

RN NCLEX Sample Test 3, Priorities (30) 70%

RN NCLEX Sample Test 4, Alternate Format (50) 30%

Readiness Test (180) 65% -Kaplan recommends taking this a week prior to your exam date

NCLEX-RN Practice Test (60) 53%

Qbank completed 730/1294 = average 63% (lowest 57, highest 74)

I took the NCLEX-RN on Sept 1st and it turned off at 75 questions. I was in shock. I had expected to be in the 100s. A little about me: I have never been the A” student. In the majority of my nursing core courses, I earned Bs. I did terribly on HESI tests. I also knew a peer who did not pass at 75 questions. I was certain I did not pass. I felt I was not deserving of just 75 questions, that I was not as intelligent as some of my peers who had 75 questions and passed. I was lifeless in those 48 hours; I could not eat, do anything, and I had nightmares about the exam. And yes, I even cried about it. On Sept 3rd at 3am, I miraculously passed!

The purpose of me posting this is to help relieve the angst in those who are thinking they did not do amazing in nursing school and think they have failed the NCLEX-RN. You must study, do practice questions, understand what NCLEX wants as the answer and why (I reviewed all my rationales, incorrect and correct items), score between 40-60% (Kaplan recommends), and be confident that you did what you can in order to pass. I also prayed hard. So do that too! Just know that all the nurses before you have been through this, the anxiety before and after taking the NCLEX-RN. Prepare, breathe, and do your best on the exam. When taking the NCLEX-RN, I imagined myself at home taking one of the Kaplan practice tests to relieve my anxiety. I have not met anyone who came out of the examination feeling like a million dollars. I hope you all pass and find some peace with this thread! Good luck!!

[Mykidsmylife]

congratulations

[fustudent610, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Thank you for posting this, it helps. And congrats! I also was in an accelerated program. I finished the Kaplan live review and I feel it really helped me. Our instructor wanted us to read the Kaplan book cover to cover and watch every single video before doing the qbanks. I tried it, but after a few days I realized I couldn't do it. But every Kaplan question I do I make sure to write down the rationale and anything extra (like if I was overthinking and got it wrong). And that leads to where I am now, I just finished my second QB (made a schedule to do them M-F) and am waiting for my ATT.

I keep second guessing myself and wondering if this is enough. I mean I'm also doing PDA questions (not writing those down though). But the Kaplan SATA questions are tricky for me. I've been getting a ton so far (which I know is definitely good prep).

Anyway I was wondering how the Kaplan questions compared to NCLEX, like if they are similar and follow the same "rules", and if their tree works on the exam?

[mikolover]

@fustudent610: I personally felt NCLEX was tougher than what Kaplan said. Imagine all the difficult questions in Kaplan put into a test, that would be NCLEX. I also felt that the Kaplan qbank questions were easier and more content based. The NCLEX questions would be comparable to the Kaplan's Readiness test. So I say if you score around 60% on the Readiness, you will be confident.

As for the decision tree, I didn't really use it, it confused me and I didn't know when to assess or intervene. So I would just read and reread the question, look at the answers, and to my best of abilities eliminate and choose between the two answers by referring back to the question and ask myself, "what is NCLEX asking?" Of course I would use: physical vs. psychological, ABCs, potential vs. actual, unstable vs. stable, etc. and ask myself if I had enough info to intervene or shall I assess more. Elimination is key. If you know what answers are wrong, it will bring you to the correct answer even though you did not know what is in that answer (hope that makes sense.) Just keep doing prac questions and really look at why you got them right and wrong. The more questions you do, the more exposure to the different types of topic, strategies, and critical thinking. I also think the Kaplan rationales suck, they are often so short.

@mykidsmylife: Thank you!

[fustudent610, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Thanks for the tips and not sugarcoating it. Last thing I want is a false sense of confidence. I think my biggest concern is SATA, I'm getting most of them wrong and the frustrating part is usually it's by just one checkmark that I second guess myself over. I've never really done amazing with SATA but the Kaplan ones have me legitimately worried. A friend who passed last year said to just keep practicing at them but I'm worried I'll run out before improving. From your experience, did the QB have a good amount to prepare you? Or was I just frontloaded?

[mikolover]

The SATAs are every NCLEX-taker's worst nightmare. To me, it is either you know it or you don't (heavily content based). I recommend doing RN NCLEX Sample Test 4, Alternate Format. There's 50 questions including SATA, dragging format, and med calculations but majority SATA. My classmates and I scored ~30%. It is frustrating when you are one answer more or less away from getting the SATA correct but do not focus too much on it. The qbank is a good amount to prepare you, just always read the rationales and learn from your mistake. Dissect the questions/answers and UNDERSTAND why it is the correct answer and the different scenarios.

[Aggie1]

I am in a similar boat. A/B student, graduated with my BSN in December with a 3.5 GPA. I would say I had to work harder than others because of my test anxiety and just the fact that I'm not a good test taker. I failed my exit HESI exam twice and then passed third time. I was extremely nervous for my NCLEX. I used Kaplan, did all the question trainers and NCLEX sample tests, diagnostic and readiness. I had about 400 questions left in the qbank. I did about 2 weeks of STRICT studying... ~5-12 hours a day (not including the week of Kaplan live lectures). I wrote down things I saw that wouldn't stick and that I kept seeing come up on the tests and studied my own notes. I passed my NCLEX in 75 questions and you can too! Just put the time and effort. The Pearson Vue trick did work for me. Good luck!

[fustudent610, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

I ended up passing in 75 back in October. I 100% agree about the SATA, either you know it or you don't. However, in my experience NCLEX was easier than kaplan. It didn't try to trick me. I knever stared blankly and thought "what the heck is it asking???" Which I did many times with kaplan. Of course each experience is so individualized. But I will say kaplan hit the nail on the head for the nclex content.