itsjuustme

I feel your pain, I posted this to kinda give hope to people with less than perfect Kaplan scores. Glad I could help. I don't have a job lined up. The long wait kinda discouraged me from looking at the time because I was starting to doubt that I passed lol Good luck! Sending good vibes for you!

As new grads, we all know the struggle and the stress that comes with prepping for the NCLEX. Here is my story. Disclaimer: I was 22 years old and was not a straight A student in nursing school by ANY means. I always had to work hard for my grades. I'm not a "listen to the lecture once and get it" kinda person. I registered to the BRN site in late May, 2015 and graduated mid June. - I wanted to be the perfect student and study the weekend after. But realistically I got sucked into summer fun and decided to enjoy my post-nursing school freedom for a few weeks before diving into studying. I received my ATT on July 2nd - I was freaking out because I hadn't t really spent that much time seriously studying. I mainly skimmed my Saunders NCLEX book but only got through a few chapters if that. - Because of my lack of proper studying, I decided to register to take the NCLEX on July 31st so that I could get almost a month of solid study time. After hearing good things about the Kaplan Review so I registered for the In-Person Kaplan class on June 24 - I chose the In-person review because it was less than a week long and was a lot more interesting than staring at the computer for a few hours a day. - I personally loved the class, we went through hundreds of NCLEX style questions a day and got to ask the teacher questions, and work through the "why's" of correct answers. - The teacher recommended that we don't study during the course so I did just that . I would get home from class and just relax! It was great but also kinda stressful. Here are my Kaplan scores: - Diagnostic test: 62% - Readiness Test: 65% - QT 1: 59% - QT 2: 62% - QT 3: 51% - QT 4: 54% - QT 5: 61% - QT 6: 50% - QT 7: 48% - Average: 56.8% As you can see, it is pretty obvious that the tests did get harder and harder. They always took me so long to complete and review that I never set up practice tests or do much of the study modules. I did watch most of the pharmacology study video while getting ready in the morning or before going to bed. I found this very helpful. Pharmacology went from being my lowest section on my tests to one of the highest! I have kaplan to thank for that. Kaplan perks: - The test results show which questions you got wrong, the rational for each answer AND if you changed an answer from wrong to right or vice versa. This helped SO much. I realized that I usually change my answers from wrong to right. Something that most nursing teachers tell you NOT to do, but hey, do what works for you! - Kaplan is strategy centered and no content centered How I studied - I studied for about 3.5 hours a day (with breaks) for 5 days a week. This lasted for all of July till the day of my exam. - I would take one Kaplan test a day and go through each question 2x and look up anything I didn't know. - I went over my notes from Kaplan class at least once a day - Only picked up my Saunders book when I needed for info for a disease. - Mostly looked stuff up online (hello google!) - NEVER PICKED UP MY NURSING BOOK DID Kaplan help? YES!! - The questions were very hard compared to the actual NCLEX questions. - By the time I sat and took the NCLEX, I freaked out at every question because I thought it was a low level when in all honesty, I was just SO prepared. Thanks Kaplan. - I used the strategies from kaplan on EVERY question on the NCLEX. I was able to look at a topic I had no idea about and still come to a logical answer. NCLEX experience - I took QT 7 the day before and even went over a one page review sheet I made too. I know it's taboo but it worked for me. - My test was at 1pm and I went to bed at 10:30 the night before. - I got up, had a oatmeal, toast, and fruit while going over my one page of notes and went on my way. - I went to the test center a week before and that helped calm my nerves on test day. - At 74 questions, I took a bathroom break and came back. I answered ONE question and BOOM my screen turned blue and my test shut off at 75 questions! DID I PASS/BRN madness - I took my NCLEX on July 31st and got no results till August 31!! - The wait was torture, especially since people who took it after me were getting their scores in 2 days time. - I had a BSN program application that couldn't be submitted until I had a license number. As the the deadline got closer, I called the BRN over 30 times trying to get through to someone. - The phone line hung up on me so many times because of "high call volume". When I finally got through to a person, they would tell me to keep waiting or that my scores were not in the computer smh! I was getting restless. - Finally on the day of my deadline I called the BRN over and over until I got a person. - I made my frustrations with the wait VERY CLEAR and explained my situation. - He told me he would get someone to "take a look" at my file. - 15 mins later, I checked the BRN site and I PASSED!! The truth is, you learn SO MUCH in nursing school. Don't underestimate that. If you were an OK student, you are already halfway there. - Know your weaknesses. If it's bad test-taking (like me) then Kaplan is for you. My content skills were not exceptional but I was able to review what I didn't know by reviewing my kaplan tests. I would recommend Kaplan to everyone. So to all the average students out there, there is hope. You CAN PASS!! Good luck future RN's!