Is Saunders better than Kaplan?

suzanne4, RN · Oct 28, 2008

Kaplan actually owes you a refund, do hope that you got it. They guarantee that you will pass with their program or they will refund your money.

I only use Saunder's in my program and nothing more than that. And only the one book of Saunder's.

If you tried them twice and did not pass with them, then there is no way that you should be considering them for a third time.

roze · Oct 28, 2008

Hi dats a nice question,i did kaplan too and didnt work for me,try suzzanes plan

SinCityRN · Oct 28, 2008

Hey RC. Kaplan doesn't work for everyone. I took their course for my first two try's and failed. Then I moved on to Saunder's and just found out that I passed last week. =) One thing that you'll be hearing from graduates about Saunder's is that the questions seem to be very easy. However I can say I learned the most out of Saunder's alone since what really matters is that 1.) You understand what the question is asking. 2) Understand the rationale behind why an answer is correct. It allows for good retention going over through questions in a format that is easy to understand. Kaplan relly's on strategies. Just my opinion since I've already taken their course. Most of the people that I know who failed with Kaplan passed with Saunders hands down. I highly recommend it.

redheadnurse08 · Oct 29, 2008

I have taken the NCLEX twice and studied with Kaplan both times. I didn't pass. I am now onto Saunder's and currently completing Suzanne's plan and it's helping me a lot!! I like Saunder's because the book is easy to understand and their question bank is HUGE (bigger than Kaplan). Also, I like their style of writing for their book -- outline form...only the most important stuff is there which is good for me! The CD that comes with the book is also very helpful. It was the best $40 I've spent (also cheaper than Kaplan). I do have to agree with LVdreamer above -- Kaplan does seem to rely heavily on their decision tree and strategies which I could never grasp myself. Most of the time I would be too into trying to remember how to use their decision tree and then totally forget the purpose of the question I was answering. Some people have success with Kaplan...some do not. Everyone forms their own opinions!! Continue doing research and you'll figure out which one is right for you. Good luck. :)

SoonMomToBe · Oct 29, 2008

From my experience with Nclex twice, I think saunders has much more better content to study. It's true kaplan doesn't work for anyone. I know some of my friends that used kaplan and some pass or fail so it's really up to the person. I know now where is my weak areas and I think following suzanne's plan would be the best choice right now. Good luck to you.

cassim143 · Oct 29, 2008

In response to kaplans refund policy, you only qualify for the refund if you used all their resources and did not log on to the site after failing the test.

esjay · Oct 29, 2008

what i found helpful in kaplan was the strategy book. it basically tells you how to think for the exam etc.

Rosa Cabrera, RN · Oct 29, 2008

Thanks to everyone for your replies. This second time around I relied SO HEAVILY on Kaplan's decision tree that, like someone else mentioned, I completely forgot what the question was asking me in the first place.

Also about Kaplan's policy, they do only give you a refund if you did every single one of their QBanks and Practice tests along with showing up to their classes (which I did show up to ALL 3 of them) and basically doing everything on their site. They have access to everyones accounts and scores so shame on me for not knowing better. Anyway, based on your responses I am definitely going to try the Saunders book and Suzannes plan. Thanks to you all again!

lpntorn08 · Oct 30, 2008

I study using Kaplin and fail also did not get refund, rules for refund bad. I am going to use sanders this time.