I know a lot have found this exam harder than any other exam, and many have failed. It's a very stressful thing to think about prior to actually taking it which i think plays a huge role in why people fail. For me, I was miserable. I studied just a couple times a week after graduating but it was 3 weeks prior to the exam that I was studying 8 hours a day
I utilized kaplan and saunders and .org's for review. I felt like i was set on strategies for the questions themselves, but i realized that with a week left, I still felt like content was an issue. There's too much to know, and you really aren't going to know it all ((Maternity and especially pediatrics was my weakness).
When all is said and done, I took the exam, and realized that no matter how much you study, it's how you decide what's best for the patient that will pass you on this exam. That's all i can tell you. Unfortunately I will not share what content I was getting on the exam. But after 3 intensive (with 5 weeks total of studying) weeks of studying content and kaplan (more kaplan), I left the exam with a smile on my face (which quickly turned to a frown as i left the building because you just never know). 5 days before the exam i was irritable, i was crying (even when i was studying), and i was a nervous wreck. The day before-I was only nervous. My dad's place was closer to the testing center so i spent the night crashing on the sofa. He treated me to a massage the night before, which helped me sleep. Later that night, i was smiling and happy that soon this would be over with. The next day, as i was driving to the exam center and on my way into the building-again, a nervous wreck. But when i was brought in for the exam ( I was able to take it 3 hours early) and was finally at the point where I was looking at the tutorial, i started to tear a little. I had to bring it back together because i told myself i had no choice and i was already there and had to do my best. If i miss anything on the tutorial, it might hurt me. So starting with the tutorial, I immediately stopped tearing, put the sound-proof headphones on, and by the time the first question came, I was totally zoned in. Honestly, and please don't get mad, these questions were soooo not as hard as kaplan. O..m..g. I laughed(ok i smiled) at a few that i knew were high level thinking. Some of the SATA (getting these SATA back-to-back which meant i was doing well-80% i swear, like 80% were SATA--but even if you pass in 75, this DOES NOT mean you will have the same % of SATA!! SATA aren't the highest level thinking, but they are one of the higher level thinking type of questions you will get--again this is adaptive and is not the same for everyone). A little advice on SATA: these are the ones that make people nervous and i always got these wrong on my exams in NS. BUT, don't panic if you see an alternative choice that you don't know what to do with. Quickly-not too quickly (don't want anyone to panic lol), but calmly, use kaplan decision tree/other kaplan strategies first...then if that fails, and it will sometimes, use nursing judgement 
b/c if you have it, you will pass. I know that bit of advice is sooo broad and not very reassuring, but trust me, when you need to use it, you will use it. (Or maybe i just work better under pressure i don't know that's just me) and then if you still don't know it, either uncheck it or check it and try not to think and just click next. just do it. and please don'tt check it if you are unsure that it has anything to do with the topic of the question-in other words if you are unsure it's the right answer. It's best to leave it unchecked. Why check an answer off if you don't even know if it has anything to do with the topic? That's what i did, and still, the high level questions kept coming on..I don't remember getting more than 5 lower level questions and i can spot those from a mile away because of the training i had with kaplan (week long 5days 8hr/day sessions with kaplan instructor during last week or maybe two? weeks of school, QBANK and question trainers 1-5 in my last month and within the month after grad, and then QT 6 2 weeks prior to exam, QT 7 a week prior to exam, with many QBANKS in between-i finished 80% of them) . Anyway, that test shut off at 75, and i had a great feeling but still a feeling of uncertainty. I did PVT and it worked, I knew i passed. The feeling only lasted for the drive home and 2 hours after that. Then I started thinking about cleaning up my resume and cover letters and jobs...:/
ADVICE: stay cool, don't keep rescheduling your exam ( someone rescheduled their 7/31 exam, and mine was originally on 7/30. I changed it to 7/31.,lmao. i just had to. I was a wreck. I felt like my content was still poor, there wasn't enough that i knew). OH! btw my kaplan QT 6 was 59%, and 7 was 63%. Qbanks were on average like 55%. diagnostic (which was taken 5 weeks before exam) was like 61%. Aim for the 60's before taking exam. Even low 60's, just get to 60 , but if you don't , and your exam is in 2 days, do ...not...panic! my QBANKS were in the 50's 40's, highest was a 64 maybe. not too great...and i still passed feeling confident during and after (for the most part...i didn't want to be too confident). Start out strong, taking your time especially in those first 75 questions, because if you do, you have a better chance of getting them right , and therefore will be able to leave in an hour and half or so, as opposed to sitting through all 265. Whoo that was a relief.
Sorry if this post is repetitive or not helpful, but that's my advice and my thoughts on this test that everyone fears. Just get kaplan. or at least the study manual ( i did not own, but my friend says it is helping with strategies). There's also a QBANK app for iPhone or iPod touch that is free and they don't offer all 3000 (i forgot how many kaplan comes with-my school required us to buy the whole package, including the kaplan instructor who came to our school-every semester-$200 each semester-but that was online access plus the kaplan instructor, who also replied to my emails AFTER graduation very very promptly) but at least offer a lot of them and give you an idea of what the hardest of the hardest questions look like. Better to be over prepared.
Anyway, start early, don't take the exam too much later after graduating (if you can help it) and again: kaplan. But most importantly: stay calm. ohh and please please stay away from all nurses.com and the horror stories of people studying their butts off with kaplan or other resources who have still failed. I'm not denying their stories, but chances are that maybe they didn't study as much as they said they did. You don't know that. Just worry about you are your progress, and make adjustments by focusing on your weak areas for content, and reviewing questions and rationales (for those of you with kaplan..sorry i don't have better advice for non-kaplan users, but i believe this helped me a lot). Think: What was my thought process with the ones i got wrong and the ones i got right? Compare and contrast. If you have the time and patience, write down your rationales AS you are taking practice exams (or Qbanks/QT for you kaplan users). Sometimes it's about strategically answering questions, and not so much knowing content (although I found myself familiar with all content on my questions-well, not all, but a lot).
I need to stop typing, but for those who's exams are coming up soon, I'm sure you studied hard and prepared yourself well, so please don't worry and be anxious. It's not worth it. I put myself through more than i needed to, trust me.
