I'm still taking prereq's but have been taking NCLEX practice tests

AJPV · Oct 20, 2011

Let it encourage you, but don't let it give you a false sense of security. The consistent feedback I get from people after taking the actual NCLEX is that it was significantly harder than any prep material/tests they studied. But still, it's a good sign. Make sure you're answering enough questions to get a good statistical sample (like 200-300 questions).

NenaRK · Oct 20, 2011

thanks, the total number of questions is 537 on the practice test iphone app I've been using.

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 20, 2011

If I were you, I wouldn't share your NCLEX success with your fellow students or nursing instructors. Just keep it under your hat :)

allnurses Guide · Oct 20, 2011

It's good to know that you have a grasp on how to take the test. It is weird and takes some getting used to its style, BUT don't become overly-confident.

The tests are only one component of nursing school.

You also have to pass your labs, homework and clinicals!!.

Oh... and you have to understand and apply the material too.

I agree with roser13... shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Keep up the good work :)

beast master RN · Oct 20, 2011

i dont want to rain on your party , or seem like a downer , but first the practice test prob isnt as hard as the real test , second if you were making a 95 % or even a 85% id be pretty happy 75 is kinda of on the cusp , be encouraged you got 75 just keep working hard

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2011

Hello all,
I am currently taking my prerequisites for Nursing, and I sometimes take NCLEX practice tests online or I also use an app on my phone that has an NCLEX practice test on it. I thought for sure that I would get almost all of the questions wrong, but I wanted to get an idea of what to expect. I was surprised to find out that I got 75% of the questions correct :) I went to different sections of the practice test, thinking it was just that one section I did well on, but I realized that I do pretty well on all the sections! I know the NCLEX isn't really anything like Nursing school OR being an actual Nurse, but still it makes me happy that I already have a grasp of whats to come.
So...strange question but, is this a good sign that I got the majority of the practice questions right?
Thanks!

I don't mean this in a mean way, I am sure you are very intelligent and have common sense which are character traits that will make you a good nurse. I can see that you are ambitious and hard working which will also go a long way towards being a nurse. This tells me you are very good at taking tests but it is not an indication that you will be good at nursing. Nursing is much more than passing the NCLEX to be a good nurse although you can't practice without passing the test

It tells me someone needs to look at the NCLEX so that it requires nursing knowledge and not just good test taking ones.

AJPV · Oct 20, 2011

Which iPhone NCLEX app are you using? They vary quite a bit in difficulty level. I'm about to graduate and I've found that the big yellow Saunders book (comes with a CD that has thousands of extra questions) is the most difficult (and the most similar to the actual test from what I've heard). It is smart to buy that book right at the beginning of school and go through each subject area as you cover them in class.

trauma_lama, BSN · Oct 20, 2011

I don't mean this in a mean way, I am sure you are very intelligent and have common sense which are character traits that will make you a good nurse. I can see that you are ambitious and hard working which will also go a long way towards being a nurse. This tells me you are very good at taking tests but it is not an indication that you will be good at nursing. Nursing is much more than passing the NCLEX to be a good nurse although you can't practice without passing the test
It tells me someone needs to look at the NCLEX so that it requires nursing knowledge and not just good test taking ones.

i totally agree...NCLEX should not just be about common sense, it should be a good test of the concepts learned in clinical and nursing classes. otherwise, why don't we all just go take the NCLEX and skip over all this boring school stuff?? I would rather have a nurse who barely passed NCLEX but has great comprehension of nursing/health concepts than someone who literally knows nothing about nursing but did well on NCLEX. just sayin... :cool:

noahsmama · Oct 20, 2011

No offense, but I can't help but think that the NCLEX app that you are using is not truly representative of the types of questions you'll get on the real NCLEX.

Does the NCLEX app include "select all that apply" questions, i.e. where you can choose anywhere from 1 to ALL of the answers as correct, and where your response is incorrect if you miss even one of the correct responses, or choose one of the incorrect ones? This is the hardest type of question and unless your app includes these, it's not representative.

I studied using Saunders and also Moseby, and found that they were pretty reflective of the difficulty of the real NCLEX when I took it.

Not to discourage you -- I do think it's a good sign that you're scoring well on the practice questions, but I'd be careful about reading too much into it.

Good luck with nursing school!

allnurses Guide · Oct 20, 2011

75 is good for not having learned the material but not so hot in terms of what you will need in class.

75, in most schools, is a fail.

You have to pass the classroom tests before you can even sit for the NCLEX so I'd start crackin' the books

GGT1 · Oct 20, 2011

This post is kind of irritating and a bit unbelievable... for example (and I'm sure this is petty) but why would you post this under General Nursing Discussion? You are not a nurse and not even in nursing school? Why not share this with other pre-nursing students.... there is a very specific section for that.

Am I becoming a bitter nurse?