I passed w/75 q and low Kaplan scores!

Published Jul 9, 2015

48 Posts

Hi future nurses :)

I promised myself that if I passed the NCLEX , I would post how I studied and my kaplan test results! I had low Kaplan results and was nervous to take the NCLEX but I studied for about 4 weeks and thought enough is enough let's get the exam over with! I took it 2 weeks ago.

Here are my Q-trainer results:

Q1: 60%

Q2: 58.7%

Q3: 45%

Q4: 46%

Q5: 48.7%

Q6: 55%

Q7: 55%

Sample test results:

1: 52%

2: 60%

3: 73%

4: 30%

As you can see I didn't have the best test scores. This really discouraged me but I kept going. I only studied about 4 hours everyday except on days that I work. I work part-time 12 hour shifts. When I did study, all I did was go through about 60-75 questions from the q-bank or did one of the tests. I went through the rationale and also went through the Kaplan content review book.

I completed 100% of the q-bank (cumulative score was 57%) and re-did most questions I got incorrect and all the tests. I read every single rationale even the questions I got correct. Sometimes I went through them twice. I wrote down notes on topics that I found difficult for me to remember (exp, OB topics).

I read through maybe 90% of the Kaplan content review book. I did NOT study pharm, I pretty much skipped that chapter. I did this because I found it impossible to remember every single drug and their names and their side effects. I did not want to stress myself even further. This maybe wasn't the best thing to do. I did have a couple of med questions.

I memorized lab values. I concentrated on my weak areas like OB. And I read through that 32 page NCLEX review that I found on this website. Also like 2 days before my exam date, I read OB content on the Saunder comprehensive review textbook. Yes, I had Saunders and barely used it because the questions were soo much easier than Kaplan. I found Kaplan to be very similar and actually harder than NCLEX. I had about 7-10 SATAs, infectious disease/isolation, and priority questions.

Lastly, my school made us take a Kaplan review course the month of May which all we did was go through questions with a speaker and talked about the rationale. So that is all I did and I passed! I just wanted to give some hope to people who have gotten low Kaplan scores. However, I would like to say I was a good nursing student and was on the Dean's list 3 times during the program and I also have very good memory.

Don't focus on the scores but make sure to go through the rationales! Good luck everyone :)