NCLEX Study Tips

I graduated in December 2016 from Hawaii and I relaxed and did no studying until the middle of February (so bad, I know). I got my ATT end of January and scheduled my NCLEX for March 30th. My school switched from Kaplan to ATI (ugh) in our last semester so we had to take the ATI review class, which was okay. We also had access to the questions from ATI and those questions were WAY too easy so I didn't really use that resource. I paid for the Kaplan review class ($380) and attended that at the end of January. The Kaplan review class taught all strategies and no content. I loved the decision tree and I was so motivated to do some questions after I finished the class.

I also had the Hurst online review videos (my bf and I split $300) that we had purchased in our fourth semester. I loved hurst! It helped me with the core content and they break it down so easily. I used Hurst for around two weeks and the end of February hit so I thought it would be time for me to do some questions. I did maybe one Qtrainer, 3 Qbanks and I think that was it.

I gave up Kaplan entirely because i bought UWorld and OMG, let me tell you, I LOVED UWORLD SO MUCH! I am the type of person who likes to understand why I got the questions wrong and why the other answers were not correct, so UWorld was the best website for me. When I did Kaplan, their rationales were not enough for me and I didn't really understand WHY I got them wrong. My bf was keen on using Kaplan but I convinced him for about a week to get it with me and showed him all the great rationales they had and he eventually caved in too (hehe).

Again, the rationales were TOP NOTCH! UWorld basically taught me all the topics, in detail. It covered areas where I lacked and honestly, I would have probably failed without UWorld because I realized my core content was not very strong (I thought it was after Hurst). I did around 100-150 questions a day and maybe around 150-200 questions two weeks before my test because ya gurl was trynna cram all that information into my head. I finished UWorld a week before my test and I wanted to redo the questions I got wrong, but no time so I just read every question on my weak areas (OB, Peds, Psych, Pharm).

I also read over the a 35 page study guide that a member posted on allnurses, NCLEX Study Guide, and the most topics on there were the topics that were tested on so read over that.

Anyways, back to talking about UWorld. I cannot recommend it enough! My UWorld Qbank average was 64% and both of my readiness exams I got a 66% & 68%, which is a 89% chance of passing the NCLEX so I was hopeful. UWorld taught me how to approach and think critically with my knowledge. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE PURCHASING UWORLD ($79, but worth every penny). UWorld also had many SATA questions so I got a lot of practice with that and that made me less anxious when I got them on the NCLEX.

The day before my test, I did barely any studying. I went out and reconnected with my friends that I neglected during nursing school and studying for the NCLEX and gurl, I was so relaxed. I went home and then read over the 35 page study guide once and went to sleep.

On the day of the test, I was trying to be chill and try not to be so nervous so I listened to some music and got there one hour before my test time. Please also go look at where your Pearson testing place is beforehand so you don't get so nervous and lost when you're trying to go there (my bf went to the wrong building even though we visited the Pearson building before lol).

During the exam, it was easy questions in the beginning and then BAM! Hard question after hard question came at me and I felt like I was making educated guesses most of the time. I used the decision tree for the priority questions and that helped me a lot! I got around 10-20 SATA, 2 EKG, no med questions, 1 put in order, some education questions, and the rest priority questions. In the middle of my exam, I took the break before the normal break time because I was losing focus so I went into the bathroom, gave myself a pep talk, wiped my face with some cold water and went back to take the rest of the test. The computer shut down at 75 questions and in my head I was like NOOOO! give me more chances to pass because I honestly felt like I did not do good enough and ugh, not a good feeling. I waited for my bf to finish 30 minutes after I did and then we grieved together and vented how we thought we failed (he got 75 Q too).

So I wanted to do the PV trick but I contained myself because I didn't want to get my hopes up for nothing. But I heard it works! My friend did it and got the good pop up after 24 hrs and he passed! The two days were TORTURE. I spent my time hanging out with friends and pre-occupying my time to get my mind off it and ice cream helps a lot haha. So I was able to check my results 44 hours my test (7AM on April 1st) and I PASSED!!! I AM NOW AN RN. I thanked the lord for his blessings and I celebrated briefly by freaking out with my bf before work.

If I can pass, ALL OF YOU CAN PASS TOO! Throughout the test, I reminded myself 'if I could only do one thing, what would it be?' It was also a safety test so choose the most critical patient to see for the priority questions. Kaplan's decision tree and who to see first strategy really helped. When I got SATA questions, I dealt with them by treating each statement as a true or false when pertaining to the question.

Good luck to all the soon to be RNs taking their test! If you guys passed nursing school you can definitely pass this! May the odds be ever in your favor ?