statepatrick001

Kaplan questions IMO are harder than NCLEX questions, therefore gettings scores in the 50's and 60's is ok (this was me and I passed in 75 questions). I can't speak for everyone but I felt prepared going into the NCLEX after having done Kaplan and felt confident that I passed when I walked out. The Kaplan tree helps but you also need to be confident in your test-taking ability. I also did about 75 questions in Kaplan/day. I didn't even finish all the questions they had. Good luck!

I took the test early June, did Kaplan online finishing most of the practice quizzes and exams. Most of my scores were in the 60's. I booked a room at a hotel for a quiet night, I did 70 practice questions the night before, and I made sure I had at least 8 hours of solid sleep. Passed the NCLEX in 75 questions and felt confident going into the exam. Sit at the table, take a couple of breaths, and think about each questions but don't hang yourself up on one question for too long (there's going to be questions you flat out don't know, it's okay). Good luck!!

I don't feel that anything in particular is harder than the other. Sure, there's a lot of bs that comes with the classes and all of the instructors teach differently, but it's how well you're able to adapt to new challenges I think is the overall challenge. There's no doubt you will read relentlessly, prepare for clinicals always, and have non-stop studying to do. When you take some time for yourself you'll wonder "what could I be doing for nursing right now." I also dislike doing skill assessments in front of your instructors while they stare at you, it's extremely uncomfortable. With that being said though, you're going to learn a ton. I just finished up my first semester of ADN classes and it was extremely challenging. When people say "you're going to want to quit but keep at it and you will be fine" they mean it. It will push boundaries you are uncomfortable with, beyond the limits you are willing to take them, and just when you thought you were about to reach the top of the cliff, your instructors added another mile to climb. Don't give up, stick through it, and believe in yourself. Make sure you have a good support system as well(it's always easier when people are cheering you on to succeed).

I made my own study guides to be honest. Upon using flashcards for labs I would make my own study guides from lecture matierials and I would update it every time I had a lecture so by the time my exam came around I already had a study guide for it which I was fresh on ( I would constantly read over my study guides). Also, I made a couple of friends in my class and we met once a week to go over materials from class. We also would go to the tutor on the same day and before an exam to make sure we were studying the right material ( our tutors were previous students of our professor and knew what to look for). To help study bones I bought cards that labeled all of the bones in the body. They had #'s on the front, name on the back and my friends and I would consistently go through the ones we were told to go through in lecture. Also if you can, look at real manicans and make sure you know the difference between left/right bones and which bones you're looking at. Label the bones on the manican and see if you can go through them all without having to look at your study guide. I got an A in A&P 1 and i missed an A in A&P 2 by 8 pts. If your teacher likes the book, you better like it too because he/she will most likely pull material from the book to put on exams so make sure you at least read then skim and highlight important area's.

Great! Thanks so much for the advice I will make sure I am prepared for the little things and get myself settled in...great advice.

Hey everyone, I'm sure you have seen tons of these threads lately (congrats to everyone who has been accepted into programs the last couple of weeks)but I was hoping for some pre-program advice beginning in Fall. I'm hoping that many of you would be able to share some insight into preparing for your first semester in Nursing school. I was just recently accepted into my schools Associates Program. Any advice would be great on how to prepare for the semester/semesters to come and when I should start preparing for the NCLEX. I've heard the sooner you start the better. I also heard that I should enjoy my summer since my life is about to go on a roller coaster ride (something I'm completely fine with). Although I'm not terrified since I knew this is where I wanted to be for the better half of a decade and I'm extremely excited to take that next step in preparing/succeeding for my future. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts and opinions.

Like the first person said, if you haven't registered for classes yet you should really get a start on that. I was in the same position as you when I first started ( I didn't work in auto I worked in hospitality but knew what I really wanted to do with my life). Get your classes together and if you know which teachers are teaching the classes you need, go to Rate My Professors - Review Teachers and Professors, School Reviews, College Campus Ratings , usually students post really good information about professors and whether they are easy/helpful. Once I registered my classes I made sure I had all my regular school materials ready and checked as often as possible to see if teachers had posted their Syllabus. It's extremely important to get a head start on your syllabus and make sure you know what the teacher wants and what your course load is going to be like. I always buy a calendar with each new school year to keep track of when I have tests/exams/homework due. Staying two-weeks ahead helped me immensely and it paid off with a 4.0 my first semester. As soon as you find out who your Adviser is, send them an e-mail. My first semester was made a lot easier when I was told I could satisfy a high school AP Chem rather than having to take a Chemistry course at the Community College I'm attending. Make sure you know what classes you will need to take and what your course-load will be like. My adviser was able to tell me whether I should schedule another class, stop, or cut back on one to try and keep my GPA boosted. When it comes to getting into Nursing school, your GPA is everything ( as well as the courses you took ). My current school goes by a point system to be accepted into the program. You get a certain amount of points for each pre-req class you take at the school and then the points are weighted/affected by your overall GPA. If necessary, go to study sessions especially for courses like Human Anatomy and Physiology even if you think you know everything, you may surprise yourself. My tutoring sessions were with someone who had my teacher previously so they were able to skip all the B.S. and tell me what I really needed to focus on; I received an A that semester. Study hard, do your best, and believe in yourself always even when things get stressful. Good luck with everything! ***The reason I put so much importance on scheduling classes is some classes are only open in the Fall and some only open in the Spring, so you may not be able to start in the Spring depending on your course load.

I'm currently going to a community college for my ASN Degree. I woukd highly recommend it if you like the small school atmosphere. It's just as tough to get into the program, however, the classes are smaller and the attention I recieved from professors put me at a 3.84 overall GPA before applying into the program.

Before I decided to go into Nursing I earned a Bachelors Degree from a different school which was great because it covered a lot of pre-req's I needed for the Nursing Program at my new school. I would see if your credits for certain pre-req classes will transfer without your GPA. If so, then re-take those classes you did poorly on at the new school since you were already going to take them anyways. I don't know of any programs that will take students sitting under even a 3.5 and that's pushing it. When I enrolled at the new school I needed my 3 Bio classes,and a chem class to finish pre reqs and my GPA was only based on those classes. I also took Chem online @ NursingABC.com which satisfied my chem requirement (not all schools accept this though so I would ask a counselor if thats the route you're thinking of taking.) In any case, I would contact the school and talk with a counselor who can help you. It seems like most of you pre-reqs were already satisfied, however, may not transfer over to the new school (it depends on the school). It's best to call and ask the school if they transfer GPA's and if not, how you can go about applying to the program and sending over your school transcripts.

I agree with Beachy, call around to schools and ask them what they look for in applications. It usually depends upon the college whether or not they combine GPA's from other college's or if they will accept your highest GPA (my guess is it depends on which classes you took at those colleges, usually math and science courses are above others). My current school only transferred my credits but not GPA, however, I had to take some more pre-reqs with them so I was fortunate enough to hold a better GPA with them than my previous school. Hope everything works out!