Is Kaplan helpful?

mzjennx, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2009

hi there. I took a kaplan diagnostic in class IN SCHOOL and sucked really bad. I scored a 56%. I decided to take kaplan because it comes with a money back guarantee if you do not pass. So far I can say, the REVIEW IS HELPFUL. Kaplan helps you get on the ball when it comes to studying for the NCLEX. They show you how to look at questions. I took the classroom session that also came with online access. The course comes with a review of content, review of questions, how to use the desision tree for answering questions, test taking strategies, diagnostic and readiness test, qbank with 1000+ questions and question trainers. The course books sucks though and sometimes the video online time out too fast. It a good review so far its just expensive. It helps to build confidence in answering NCLEX-like questions.

Discouraged:-( · Jan 30, 2009

Hello. I did not pass my NCLEX the first time, but then I took Kaplan the second time around and passed with 75 questions. I thought it was good.

EwokRN · Jan 30, 2009

Hi. I just passed NCLEX this Tuesday. I did find Kaplan very useful. Mind you though, before I had taken NCLEX, I actually had to pass our Nursing School's HESI exit exam, which took me 3 tries. For HESI, I did the Saunders Comp NCLEX review CD questions, and then from there, I did Hogan's Prentice Hall Comprehensive NCLEX RN review CDROM using the Saunders book to help understand content. I think these materials helped me pass the HESI, which many say is harder than NCLEX.

After passing HESI, I used the Kaplan online course and used the Saunders to understand content. I think using the Hogan book's CDROM really helped boost up my scores for the Diagnostic/Readiness Tests for Kaplan. Kaplan, imho, is really good for prioritization, ABC's, and choosing physiological over psychosocial questions, but that's it. With that said, my only complaint of the Kaplan online course; however, is that the strategies they give you after all the questions in the Q trainers and the Q banks are too short. I learned the hard way that you should not only read the strategies and rationale from just Kaplan and think you're going to pass automatically..in fact, I think you should also look at other strategies and rationale written after each NCLEX question from different NCLEX review books, and not just Kaplan.

IMHO, those who pass NCLEX via Kaplan also took time to study and review questions from other NCLEX books, and not just Kaplan, because while Kaplan has pertinent strategies, Kaplan online doesn't offer *all* the strategies. Research more in other books too!

P.S. The Kaplan online questions are still good to do. I did find a lot of questions in these q trainers on nclex, it's just that the strategy explanations are too short.

caliotter3 · Jan 30, 2009

I think any program would be helpful if a person puts consistent focused effort into their study. The money back guarantee that Kaplan offers is attractive.

south102001 · Jan 30, 2009

I think Kaplan is very helpful. They teach you ways to break down questions. I also think the Qbank questions are very similar to real nclex questions.

jomaezelle · Jan 31, 2009

hey everyone. i took the kaplan course also but i failed with it. so i guess it depends. for me it didn't help me a bit

etxyz · Feb 1, 2009

hello all. thanks for taking the time to reply on my OP question, and CONGRATULATIONS to those who passed the nclex. i'm not sure yet if i would opt in for that kaplan review at my school. i read about kaplan testing strategies from an an old/discarded kaplan nclex book that i picked up at my school library. kaplan strategies seemed good and easy to follow.

njfb08 · Feb 10, 2009

i just don't understand kaplan i used it but it wasn't working for me...

50caliber · Feb 10, 2009

Kaplan is helpful in terms of prioritization, ABCs, psychosocial vs. physiological. But I would not use Kaplan just by itself. Supplement it with Saunders and that should be more than enough. When I was taking the NCLEX, a lot of quesitons made Kaplan's techniues irrelevant. Questions involving evaluating outcomes comes down to your knowledge/theory of the topic asked. Qbank questions were very very similar to the NCLEX.

Bottom line, if you have the money for Kaplan, take advantage of it. Worst case, you get your money back. Don't rely soley on Kaplan. There is no way of getting around studying. Study hard and understanding theory combined with Kaplan's technique should get you more than prepared for the NCLEX.

Yeswecan · Feb 12, 2009

I took Kaplan and felt really prepared and ready for NCLEX. However, fifteen minutes into NCLEX, and I felt like I was on a sinking ship. Still waiting for results, I will let you know if it actually helped. Good Luck!

inthealth · Feb 12, 2009

I thought Kaplan was really good and I actually recommend it to anyone! The Qbank is awesome and the questions were very similar to the NCLEX, I passed in 75 questions! good luck...