Passed the NCLEX! - Used Kaplan, UWorld & NCLEX RN Mastery as study tools ~

[alleahxRN]

Hello again!

Just wanted to update & say I passed the NCLEX with 76 questions!!! I also said that if I passed, I'd talk a bit about my educational background & the tools (mainly Kaplan & UWorld, and some NCLEX RN Mastery) I used to study for it!

It always helped calm my nerves to look at other testimonials, so I thought I could add to the pile.

~ Educational Background ~

I graduated from an ADN program in NJ. I finished with an overall GPA of 3.0 - nursing classes (only) probably lower than that. I finished with a C+ for nearly all clinical semesters, save for the last class in that I earned a B.

I did NCLEX questions here & there leading up to graduation, but I didn't really dig my heels in until I finished my final exam.

~ Study Tools ~

Kaplan - Used right after graduation

My school was kind enough to get a review program with Kaplan. We had teachers come in person for 6 sessions before we did everything else online.

Pros: Kaplan was good at exercising critical thinking skills, figuring out test habits/stamina & gave us some nice strategies & tips (i.e The Kaplan Decision Tree) to approach questions. I also liked how they modeled their test plan / areas for improvement after the same plan by NCLEX. When you review Trainers / QBank quizzes, they list all the questions you got correct, incorrect, and even the ones you changed from Correct to Incorrect / Incorrect to Correct & etc. I found this to be pretty valuable - since I'm a really bad person about second-guessing / changing answers myself. It also lets you know where you miss questions back to back - this was good in helping me pinpoint where I get tired & need to take breaks. It also told me of where I was getting things Incorrect > Correct, so I could keep those habits. Oh, you can also customize the QBanks to focus on areas of the NCLEX you need to work on.

Cons: Questions are definitely a step or two harder than actual NCLEX questions - and if you could never reach the 65% score they say to aim for (like me) it could seem a bit discouraging. I wouldn't say it's a total bad thing, if you're the kind of person that wants to be "over" prepared. Main issue though: rationale for most items was pretty limited / scarce. Would not use this too much as a content review. There was a couple questions where I'd get a single sentence for an explanation. I also wish I could see a graph / or something so I can see the trend of my scores all on one page.

NCLEX RN Mastery - Mobile App

Pros: Available whenever I needed to be on-the-go / was unable to be at my computer. Could do it anywhere. On the train/bus, or cozy in bed (on days I was too lazy to move over to Kap/Uworld lol) Great readability. Keeps percentage of Q's you're getting Correct/Incorrect. Also lets you flag the topics you Didn't know, Sort of know, & Knew so you can see how much information you retained. Good rationales behind all the questions.

Cons: To me, I felt the questions were a step or two easier than the ones I saw on the NCLEX? Regardless, the core nursing ideals, focuses for each illness was still present. I also didn't like how I had to pay more for the diagnostic exams (... I think. I'd check on that. Maybe I just couldn't find them.) I also wish I could go back to the questions I missed.

UWorld - I used up until I took the NCLEX

Pros: Comes in plans you can buy for your personal needs - but what always stays is the full access to their question bank. The layout of their practice exams is probably THE CLOSEST replication of the NCLEX. If you like familiarity - get this. Questions were about the same / if not slightly harder than NCLEX. Rationales in the reviews were AMAZING. Explanations were well thought out, came with pictures, charts, everything you need to get a better picture of the topic at hand. I also love that you could see which percentile of people you fell under when answering questions & that you could track / trend how your scores are doing in relation to yourself, the average for your generated test bank, and the overall users of the site. Not that it matters too much - but made me feel good to actually see my scores go up over time!

Cons: Doesn't tell you which Answers you changed from Incorrect > Correct / vice versa. They broke up their areas by content (GI, Maternal, Cardiac, etc.) and not by NCLEX test plan (Physiological Adaptation, etc.) so can't really focus on an area like you can in Kaplan.

Overall thoughts? They're all good materials - just depends on what you're looking for.

Here's a summary (of my experience) with each app/tool, if you want to decide to focus on one thing.

TL;DR

Kaplan - great for critical thinking / higher level questions. figuring out test styles / habits. pacing yourself. More about taking the Test.

UWorld - great for content review. brushing up on content from school - or even learning stuff you haven't come across. More about what Topics they can ask on the Test.

NCLEX RN Mastery - nice if you like doing questions anywhere, anytime.

I hope this could anyone! Definitely feel free to ask me questions in replies / etc! :)

[ab197]

Would you say that if you do well on Kaplan that you're probably prepared in both content and test-taking?

[euisme, BSN]

First of all, congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing how you studied! I have Kaplan -- and I LOVED the live classes, but as I take the Question Trainers and read through the rationales... well, it's leaving more to be desired. I'm wondering if I should pick up UWorld because I already have tried the demo and I LOVE The depth of explanation and VISUALS. I worry that as I continue through Kaplan I'll spend so much time looking things up for further understanding rather than already have it right there in the rationale. My exam is in 5 weeks, which is perfect timing to use ALL of Kaplan's resources, but now I am trying to figure out how to use both. As someone that has used both, I appreciate your input.

[Quota, BSN, RN]

I'm currently studying with Uworld and will be doing a 3 day Hurst review through my school in early August when our summer semester ends. Loving Uworld so far at about 300 questions into the qbank, awesome rationales. We also have to take the HESI exit exam at the end of this month, I'll be relying on Uworld to study for that. Pretty confident I'll be ready for the NCLEX between all this and have no problems.

[alleahxRN]

@ab197

Test-taking wise: Yes! I'd say so. Content-wise: I'd like to say Yes, as well! However, there's an asterisk I leave at the end - since I can't predict what topics the NCLEX will present in any test.

Regardless, the more questions you finish, the more topics you'll be exposed to. So I'd just say to study up, the best you can!

[alleahxRN]

First of all, congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing how you studied! I have Kaplan -- and I LOVED the live classes, but as I take the Question Trainers and read through the rationales... well, it's leaving more to be desired. I'm wondering if I should pick up UWorld because I already have tried the demo and I LOVE The depth of explanation and VISUALS. I worry that as I continue through Kaplan I'll spend so much time looking things up for further understanding rather than already have it right there in the rationale. My exam is in 5 weeks, which is perfect timing to use ALL of Kaplan's resources, but now I am trying to figure out how to use both. As someone that has used both, I appreciate your input.

Thank you so much! Yes, I feel you with the QTrainers / QBanks rationales. It's why I picked up UWorld later on - due to the demo & the recommendations from my friend.

For me, I finished all the Kaplan QTrainers, most of the Sample NCLEX Tests & did a couple of QBank questions. I ended up with an average around 57-60%, overall? So, I didn't feel too bad about it..

Once I made the purchase for UWorld - I ended up using it until test day. Seriously, it was so nice to see the rationales for answers right underneath the question in review. On top of that, the layout of UWorld is very, VERY similar to the actual NCLEX format - closest I've seen! Which was a nice bonus in feeling more comfortable during test day.

I wish you good luck! Regardless of what tool you focus on - just do your best to study up! (but also REALLY try to relax when you can / day before testing~)

[alleahxRN]

I'm currently studying with Uworld and will be doing a 3 day Hurst review through my school in early August when our summer semester ends. Loving Uworld so far at about 300 questions into the qbank, awesome rationales. We also have to take the HESI exit exam at the end of this month, I'll be relying on Uworld to study for that. Pretty confident I'll be ready for the NCLEX between all this and have no problems.

I think you'll be great - just keep at it! Wishing you the best of luck!