NCLEX RN - how I passed in 75Q

Published Jul 1, 2016

3 Posts

Hey everyone!

I just wrote my NCLEX RN examination, and passed first time in 75 questions! I would frequently come to this website for advice and suggestions about the NCLEX, so I thought I would post my study and testing experience for those trying to gather information. I used Hurst, NCBSN, Uworld, and one Kaplan practice test.

What Resources Did I Use?

1) Hurst

One of my friends used Hurst, and she loved it so much that she lent me her online account so I was able to watch all of the "Core Content" videos. *I didn't watch any of the "Specialty Topic" videos. I printed out the fill-in-the-blank sheets, and filled them out as I watched the videos. I felt like this was a GREAT resource, and highly recommend it if you want a concise, straight forward, content review. I also completed 5 of the 6 practice tests...
My percentages were:
#1 - 58 %
#2 - 53%
#3 - 59%
#4 - 62 %
#5 - 69%
*these are all %, not the #/125

2) NCSBN

I purchased the 5 week Review for the content review, as it was quite inexpensive. It has a ton of great content and information, however, I only completed 2 lessons (cardiac and pharmacology). I skipped right to the end and answered the question sets.
There were 126 practice tests of 10 questions, totalling 1260 questions. I answered about 850 q's.. My average was 64%
Looking back on it now, I would not have used this for practice questions if I knew about Uworld sooner.

3) Uworld Q bank

I purchased 1 month to the Qbank. This is the BEST resource! Relatively inexpensive, and the questions are super hard. Don't get discouraged -- and keep at it. I also had this account on my cellphone, so I was able to do questions everywhere (oh, fun!).
I finished 1100 of the 1800 questions. My average was 58%.
VERY similar to the actual NCLEX!

4) Kaplan NCLEX RN Premiere Book 2015/16

I skimmed through this book, and read their decision tree. I only completed 1 of the 2 practice tests. I scored 75%. I felt this was a bit too easy, and in my opinion, I wouldn't spend any money on this! Also -- many local libraries had this book too. Borrow it for free!

I was VERY nervous to test, but reminded myself that I studied hard, took copious amounts of notes, and answered more than 2800 questions. I ALSO told myself that although it would be upsetting, i could always re take the test if I wasn't successful the first time.

I arrived 30 minutes early and sat in my car drinking my coffee, reviewing lab values and I answered 15 practice questions using my Uworld app to get my brain the NCLEX mood! I went into it feeling nervous, but okay. It shut off at 75 questions.. and in my opinion, my questions were relatively EASY! I certainly thought they were 'content based' and I had maybe 15-20 Sata's, 5 calculations, and many prioritization! The past month and a half was a whirlwind, but its over! To all of you who are preparing to write the NCLEX, you CAN do it... I know it seems daunting, scary, and ridiculously hard... but you got this. Believe in yourself.