Kaplan review class

Published

Specializes in ER, ICU, Nurse Manager.

I just graduated Friday and I begun the Kaplan review class yesterday. I thought I would be fine taking the NCLEX until I stepped foot in that review class. It feels like I have not went through nursing school at all. I don't feel like I can pass this test, but then again I think clearly it cannot be that hard unless 85% of people would not pass the first time. Has anyone out their felt this way who took Kaplan? If you did, do you think Kaplan's questions are harder than the NCLEX? Please respond, I'm scared to death.

Rachel

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I took the Kaplan course after graduation 6 years ago. I felt the same way. By the end of the course I was a lot more confident (but still had this awful sick gut feeling till I passed).

Yes, the questions are almost the same :uhoh21:. Hate to have to say that now with how you are feeling.

Trust me, by the time you are ready for the NCLEX you will feel better ;). For me not fully confident but I always got the willies with tests.

Do EVERYTHING they recommend... it works ;)

A year and a half ago I took the Board Certification for Med/Surg. Same thing, sick feeling, felt I didn't pass and did pass.

Good luck and keep us posted!

night ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU,.

i don't know about the kaplan's review, however, i am taking a review next week through rinehart and associates. all the best to you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Adult SICU; open heart recovery.

Hi Rachel,

Congrats on graduating! I'm in exactly the same position as you. I had the first Kaplan class (and the diagnostic test) today, and it totally freaked me out! We had a thorough review class all last week at my college, and I felt pretty confident by the end of that. I wasn't sure if I really needed to do Kaplan. Anyway, the diagnostic test was horrible! Everyone I talked to felt the same way. I was hoping that maybe they make it extra hard so that people will be too scared to drop out.

I'm terrified that the real NCLEX is going to be like that. I'm especially worried because they just raised the bar again. I've gotten very good grades in my nursing program and several people have told me I should have nothing to worry about, but I don't know if I believe that anymore!

Good luck!

Hillary

I just graduated Friday and I begun the Kaplan review class yesterday. I thought I would be fine taking the NCLEX until I stepped foot in that review class. It feels like I have not went through nursing school at all. I don't feel like I can pass this test, but then again I think clearly it cannot be that hard unless 85% of people would not pass the first time. Has anyone out their felt this way who took Kaplan? If you did, do you think Kaplan's questions are harder than the NCLEX? Please respond, I'm scared to death.

Rachel

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neurology, Neurosurgerical & Trauma ICU.

Hi everyone....congrats on graduating!

I graduated last year. I did not take Kaplan's course, however.....several people I work with did.

From what I heard (several people said this), it wasn't all that great and the course that was given by Drexel University (which our employer paid for for us) was much better and afterwards, they felt that the Drexel course better prepared them for the boards. Also heard some say that Kaplan gave wrong information too!

Just what I heard!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, ICU, Nurse Manager.
Hi Rachel,

Congrats on graduating! I'm in exactly the same position as you. I had the first Kaplan class (and the diagnostic test) today, and it totally freaked me out! We had a thorough review class all last week at my college, and I felt pretty confident by the end of that. I wasn't sure if I really needed to do Kaplan. Anyway, the diagnostic test was horrible! Everyone I talked to felt the same way. I was hoping that maybe they make it extra hard so that people will be too scared to drop out.

I'm terrified that the real NCLEX is going to be like that. I'm especially worried because they just raised the bar again. I've gotten very good grades in my nursing program and several people have told me I should have nothing to worry about, but I don't know if I believe that anymore!

Good luck!

Hillary

I am like you, never failed a nursing test and received all A's and B's in all my classes, but I am still very scared. Everyone always says that the NCLEX is nothing like any nursing exam. It is all about critical thinking, I just hope I know enough. How are you going to study?

Rachel

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I heard about the review classes and that they are long and comprehensive. I heard its like taking the RN program but cramming all the info you learned in 2 years into 4 days. Some you will recall, some you wont remember very well, but know you did go over it vaguely. Some of the info your instructors might have missed, or went through too fast.

I have heard of people who passed with out it and others who say they learned a lot from it. But I havent heard of anyone who took it that failed the NCLEX, so I'm crossing my fingers.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Adult SICU; open heart recovery.

Hi Rachel,

I'm not sure how I'm going to study. I'm actually thinking about the GRE this week because I'm scheduled to take it on Saturday. I've been so busy finishing nursing school I haven't really thought about GRE stuff in a couple of months. Once I get that out of the way, I'll be able to focus solely on the NCLEX. I was planning to do a study group with a small group of friends. We were just planning to go over thousands of questions, I guess (we were told to do 4,000-5,000 questions!). I'm still kind of undecided about this whole Kaplan thing. It's $299, and if I want a full refund, I need to decide before Thursday. One of the main reasons I enrolled is because several of my friends did, and I also wanted some structure to force me to study. I was worried that I wouldn't be disciplined enough to study on my own. We had this great review class last week taught by Judith Miller (one of the authors of an NCLEX review book put out by the NSNA). The class was 8 hrs/d (with breaks) for 5 days. It covered the main points of all the systems and she offered many good test-taking tips. It's mandatory at our school, but the cost was included in our tuition. I felt pretty confident coming out of her course.

The Kaplan diagnostic test has got me totally worried! I'm really curious to see how I did on it. As much as I want an excuse to see my friends for 3 more weeks, I'm having a hard time justifying spending $299. I wish they'd stop changing the NCLEX! If I had statistics on the pass rate for my nursing program, I'd feel better, but we're the first class to take the test with the higher standard. I just don't understand why they keep making it harder to become licensed when we have such a severe shortage! I mean, I know patient care is becoming more complex, but come on! Are high patient-to-nurse ratios r/t the shortage good for patient safety?

Best of luck to you,

Hillary

I am like you, never failed a nursing test and received all A's and B's in all my classes, but I am still very scared. Everyone always says that the NCLEX is nothing like any nursing exam. It is all about critical thinking, I just hope I know enough. How are you going to study?

Rachel

Up Vote Up Vote ×

We had a "kaplan" style class built into our program (former teachers of kaplan, etc) I went to DREXEL UNIVERSITY so I feel I can compare the two because they do have their "own" also and we got both (for credit and a grade with other things thrown in). The questions were more like Kaplan (FOR ME) because I got all priority of care and nursing role style questions.

The bottom line is do as many questions as possible. I did 6500 questions in the last 10 weeks of our program (not the mention all the previous ones I did to help study for any and all classes). Get your hands on any and all questions- Saunders, NASA, SPRINGHOUSE, etc- it does not matter- just a bank of questions. The key FOR ME was knowing how to answer the questions. It is almost like being brainwashed (bad anaology but the best I could come up with).

I passed in 75 questions.

Oh yeah- CONGRATS on finishing!

BEST OF LUCK! BELIVE THAT YOU CAN DO IT! Because you can!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Im taking Kaplan now as we speak! I think it is great. I hope it will help me pass boards. I cant wait! I needed to start working YESTERDAY!! LOL

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

i graduated last year and it depends on how fast/slow it takes your school to send your transcripts to the bon........... then once they are processed they send you the ATT..........xoxo Jen

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

hope this helps but i did 3500 questions practice on the computer before i took nclex...... i used kaplan., sanders and mosby. i tried to do 150 ques a day took weekends off..... hope this helps

xoxo jen

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion