Residency program question

[babynurse333]

So I graduate mid December 2023. I want to do a residency but most in my state have cohorts starting in feb, may, august, and November. I'm wondering if it would be better to apply for a Feb or may cohort? Start of feb seems super soon after school and doesn't give me much time to study and take the NCLEX especially with the holiday season and waiting for results. But may seems like a super long time after graduation before I start working? Can I even apply for a may start date before I graduate? Not applying for residency before I graduate kinda stresses me out. Please let me know what you think would work best and how to go about it!

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

babynurse333 said:

Start of feb seems super soon after school and doesn't give me much time to study and take the NCLEX especially with the holiday season and waiting for results.

How much time do you need to study? I had a NCLEX class in the last semester of nursing school and studied 4 weeks post graduation. Most of the studying after graduation was waiting for my ATT. If I could have taken it right after graduation, I would have. NCLEX is not as scary as you think (if you did well in nursing school). I passed at 75 questions (old format, though).