SDtoKY

I took mine for the 3rd time on the 23rd of last month and passed with 75 questions. My scores were somewhat identical to yours. 265 on the first exam, and I got an 84 on 2nd. On my first attempt, all I did was the Kaplan qbank questions. The next attempt, I figure if I knew much more of the content I would do a lot better. That didn't work out. I hopped from one topic to the other and there I just lost my train of thought. Also I didn't do that many questions compared to the first attempt. I probably did less than 800 questions. Someone told me about Hurst Review. They taught me the core content and in addition they had a qbank that was pretty difficult. For my previous attempt, I studied the Hurst Review book and did about 4000+ questions. Hurst, Kaplan qbanks, and NCLEX 4000http://www.exammaster2.com/wdsentry/utmbrn.htm I read content for about 2-3 hours a day (from Hurst review work book). I also filled in some gaps that book didn't cover. I.e., certain cardiac or neuromuscular disorders (MS, Myasthenis Gravis, myocarditis etc etc). The only time I looked at the Kaplan book is when I was reviewing meds. Took an hour or so for lunch and then did about 150-200 questions. I tracked my scores including the 8 sections that are covered on the NCLEX. On days that I worked I did either 50 questions or I took a day off. If there's a Hurst Review in you're area I would HIGHLY recommend it. Some people on this site think it's worthless but I felt it was worth the money and it paid off at the end. Barne's and Nobles and Borders has a Hurst book that teaches you testing strategies but it's different from the course book they give you in the live review.. So you might want to take a look at that before considering the course. To me Kaplan is good if you know the core content very well. I don't know much about the ATI and never did Saunders. I never thought I was going to ever pass the NCLEX. After failing on my 2nd attempt I was frustrated, furious and somewhat depressed. But I never gave up. You can do this and you will pass.

To DinaMarie and YEGRN - Good luck to the both of you. Now let's go save some lives! SDtoKY RN

Good job!!!!

I finally passed!

Third time around, I did hurst review. Followed there study plan. In addition I utilized their question bank and their additional materials. I also did the Kaplan qbank as well as NCLEX 4000 University of Texas Medical Branch - Nursing The 2nd time i took the test, I just tried to cram in so much information. I probably did less than 1000 questions. I got no practice at all. I figure if I knew the material very well I could pass. BIG MISTAKE. Third time around I did questions from those 3 sources and read the hurst review book for a couple of hours a day. When I wasn't reading the Hurst book I also read the Kaplan drug flash cards. I took an hour and a half break for lunch before doing questions. I did about 150 to 200 questions a day. After about 30 or 40 questions I took a 5 minute break just to give my brain some rest. Then kept on repeating that until I finished. So I did that leading up to the exam. But I did take a few days off here and there when I had to work.

Same here. I had a friend who failed at 75. But then again she had a panic attack and is also pregnant. But she retook it last week and passed with 265 questions

I finally passed yesterday!!! Stopped at 75 questions. I took a break at 35. Stretched out, drank a gatorade, ate a candy bar. For about a minute i looked outside the window to regather my thoughts and went back in. Took another break but at this it was at 72 questions. I did the same routine and then after 3 questions my exam shut off. Like what irish_rainbow said earlier, if you graduated from an accredited RN or LPN program you can pass this test. I had so many doubts when I failed twice. Initially I started with Kaplan and did what they told us to do which was finish all the questions and score somewhere in the 60s. After failing on the second attempt, a coworker referred me to Hurst Review. I followed their lesson plan and read the book along with the 5th day material. After failing for the second time, I never gave up. I figure it wasn't my time yet to be an RN. I revised my study plan from reading and looking over Kaplan drug flash cards and the hurst review book for about 2 or 3 hours a day and followed up with 150 questions. I took some days off just to relax. I didn't do that on my second attempt. I tried studying 12 hours a day but that didn't work. Anyways I logged down all my scores and percentages on the 8 categories. I did this leading up to yesterdays exam. Overall, I logged in over 4000 questions. This included the Kaplan Qbank, Hurst Review QReview and NCLEX 4000 At the end it was well worth the time and the patience. For everyone out there. YOU CAN DO THIS! and please please please NEVER GIVE UP!

I just found out i passed!!!!! 3rd time is a charm!!

The first time I took it, I failed at 265. 2nd attempt I failed at 84 questions. I just took mine yesterday and it stopped at 75. I hope I didn't do any worse the 3rd time around

I took mine yesterday. I got 75 questions like everyone here. Got 12 select all that apply, got some pharm questions of course and even on a drug or 2 i never heard of. I knew I kinda messed up on some of those. Got a bunch of priority. I have a gut feeling i got the last few string of questions right. I am almost positive I answered the last question correctly. This is my 3rd time taking the test and Im super nervous. Im almost tempted to do the pearsonvue trick but I'll wait and do it on the state's BON site. Sigh.......

Congratulations on passing!

irish_rainbow A buddy of mine told me the exam same thing. So I might have to adopt that. Besides we have 6 hours. But seriously who cares if you annoy the heck out of the people at the test center. Our main objective is to pass that exam. I can give a flying *** what they think. They're not the ones having to spend 200 bucks to retake a test. Anyways.. I haven't practiced any questions for the past couple of days. Work and spending time at the pool and all that fun. I will continue on monday. However I did read a little bit of material at the pool. I retained every bit of it. Why? Because I'm relaxed like I should be and not all stressed out. Im trying to balance out from being too relaxed to being all high strung and trying to memorize everything. Just trying to stay relaxed and calm. I wanna say once more, good luck to you on your upcoming second attempt. Your study schedule seems your like on the right path to beating this thing. And of course we all will! As for the questions go, I didn't realize that was the nclex4000 people have been talking about. Thanks for the info. And yeah I do recognize that diabetes question.

irish_rainbow I admit, I did burn myself. I was exhausted after the test. But I should have practiced more questions and studied by myself. And did I fail to mention, I didn't take any breaks. And if I did, I'd took a break for like 5 mins and start again. I've been doing questions from this site and also from Hurst Review. I'll look over other sources once these run dry. University of Texas Medical Branch - Nursing I will keep fighting until I get this. I just won't overstudy and blow a gasket in the process I'll just practice questions, do some light reading and be patient. Good luck!

I couldn't sleep tonight so I figure I browse the boards but anyways..... The first time I took the test I too had 265 questions. My scores were just as identical as yours except for 1 category. 1st exam strategy: Did ALL Kaplan questions in 12 days with minimal reading. I took it a second time at the beginning of this month and failed at 84 questions. I did more reading on the material than practicing questions.I literally was putting in 12 hour days on my studying. Everyone thought I was insane and some were telling me to kick back on the reading and spend more time on questions. I take mine for the 3rd time in a few weeks. And of course I'm nervous as hell. I too have made a log of how many questions I have completed along with the scores and did some reading at a minimal. And in addition, I started studying by myself. I studied with a girl who failed just like me but felt like I was being counter productive because she always wants to borrow my books and other related material. I just need to find more practice questions. As far as the reading goes, I'm sticking to the Hurst Review book that was given in class. I felt that it helped me a lot on diseases and some basics And I totally agree with you that this test doesn't detect your IQ. Believe me, I have graduated with people who barely scraped by in class and passed with flying colors and in fact don't deserve to be a nurse for undisclosed reasons. Good luck on your upcoming exam!

When i took Kaplan, all I did was focus on what they told us to do. I almost passed the first time around. If I had to do it over again the second time around, I should have switched to another review course and stuck to their game plan. I didn't think Kaplan was helpful (although they did provide a nice set of questions) and I heard promising things about Hurst Review. I'll take that course next week and stick to their plan until I take it again next month. Thanks for the advice!