Taking my NCLEX-RN in a week and need advice on Kaplan trainer scores/studying

[tori1]

Hi! So I took my NCLEX-RN a little while ago and failed with 265 questions. Bummer. I knew I had to prepare better this time, so I got the Kaplan "NCLEX-RN Strategies, Practice, and Review" book which was AMAZING and really helped me to see the questions in a whole new light! I took the 265 test at the end and scored around a 73%. I also read through all of Saunders and did the questions on the CD. I feel like those questions are good for content, and I really got a lot out of my review.

Anyhoo, a friend of mine sent me a link to a website that had all 7 of the trainers today. I took the 6th one and scored a 78% and just wanted to see what kind of scores other people got. I am trying to go into this test with a clear head and positive thoughts, I just know I freeze under pressure, and need to make sure I'm ready.

Previously I used Virtual ATI which did not help much at all, so I'm a little nervous that I'm going into this next exam just studying on my own.

Any advice as to how I should spend my next week studying? Thanks in advance!

[vbarger28, BSN]

I graduated from Kaplan myself. Saunders is good for content, but won't give you the critical thinking you need to pass like the Kaplan review can aid in. Lipincott is who Kaplan uses, and they are very similar to Nclex, and at a higher thinking level. With Kaplan, you need to be at or about 60% cumulatively to have a good shot at passing your boards :) The idea is to SEE as many questions as you can so you can understand the rationals, not answer all your reviews right the first time you encounter the question :) Keep studying good luck

[SE_BSN_RN, BSN]

Did you use the 2012/2013 or the 2013/2014?

And which ones are higher level questions? I hear this term a lot but don't know the rating of the questions.

[tori1]

I used the 2010/2011 and 2013/2014 Kaplan books, though they both had the same questions and rationales. But going through the information twice was helpful!

As for 'higher level questions,' I'd say any question that has you use critical thinking to arrive at the answer would fall into that category. Questions that make you think as a nurse and figure out what you would do next, rather than content. These are the questions the NCLEX tests on.

[tori1]

Whoever sent me the private message for the website, apparently I'm not active enough on the website to respond... if you send me your email I'll send it your way :)

I'd post it here, but I think that's against the rules...