Kaplan free practice exam

[BonnieSc]

Anyone else taken the free practice exam that Kaplan offers? I took it recently, and I was a little surprised that my score showed I was "borderline" passing, since I did well on the ATI Comprehensive Predictor. But I know the whole purpose of this practice session is to sell their review courses, so I figure they don't want anyone, or very many people, to pass the practice test... I know one of my friends got "not passing" on this practice test last year, but passed NCLEX on the first try without taking a review course, so I don't take it too seriously. Or am I wrong?

That's a pretty good marketing ploy--pass back test results, have all the students shocked to see that they're not going to pass the NCLEX, then offer to let them take the course at a discount if they sign up right now!

But if I'm wrong and this DOES mean I'm in danger of not passing and need to take a review course, please tell me!

[Sheri257]

Low scores on Kaplan aren't unusual. I don't think it's a marketing ploy because that's just the way it is with all of their tests. Their exams are really tough but, it was also the closest to the actual questions on the NCLEX.

The way I look at Kaplan is this. I'm sure some people can get by without it, and if they don't want to spend the money then don't. But, to me, the real value of Kaplan is being able to go into the exam with as much confidence as possible.

I too was a Kaplan skeptic but, after studying half a dozen NCLEX guides I think I would have panicked if I hadn't reviewed Kaplan because nothing prepared me for those questions like Kaplan did. For me, the other NCLEX guides were a waste of time.

It really boils down to ... what is the price of confidence? To me it was totally worth the price because I did not want to have to take this exam again. And I did not want to freak out while I was taking the exam either.

Maybe I would have passed without it but, I do feel that Kaplan prepped me better than anything else.

P.S. I wouldn't put much stock in the ATI. A friend of mine failed the NCLEX because the ATI told him he had a 99 percent chance of passing. Because the ATI made him overly confident, he didn't do any prep for the exam and failed.

:typing

[BonnieSc]

Well, it IS definitely a marketing ploy; the guy who ran the test and discussed the results was a salesman, not a nurse. But thanks for your response. I agree, that might be one of the dangers of the ATI--making people overconfident. They do have data to back up their claims about the comprehensive as predictor, but I think most of the people who have done well on the ATI comprehensive are the same people who are then conscientious about studying for the NCLEX--no one should think that a good score on ATI means they can stop preparing.