my thoughts on preparing for nclex

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hi everyone! i PASSED the nclex on thursday june 21 with 75 questions. thanks to the goddesses :-)

i read this site a lot and got lots of good studying tips and wanted to share my own impressions of the exam.

i studied for this test much differently than i have done for any other test...i did not memorize ANYTHING. i really believe the key to acing this test is not to learn content, but to practice your questions! i attended a kaplan review and felt like the classroom learning was a waste, but their online question trainers and q-bank were worth every penny. their q-bank tests are EXACTLY like the real deal. there were absolutely no surprises, i felt just like i was at home practicing on kaplan.

i just took test after test in tutor mode (kaplan's q-bank), and every time i missed a question i wrote my rationale down in a spiral notebook, then reviewed that notebook once a day. seriously, that is ALL I DID. it was really hard to resist "cramming" for this test, but i am so glad i did not. a lot of questions on the nclex are so random that cramming most likely won't help, but the ability to think critically will. (even though i am an OB person, hate med-surge and know nothing about buck's traction or the like.)

just thought if there are other "type a" folks out there, my experience may help. resist the temptation to "know it all!" also, my other piece of advice is to take the day before the test off from studying and get some R&R. the day i quit studying was so hard, i had to keep fighting the urge to take another test, so needless to say i was a little wound up.

oh, and this has been said before but it bears repeating: the test is designed for everyone to get 50% wrong, so be prepared to get a lot of questions on the test you don't know. just don't let it trip you up. remember 85% of people pass on the first attempt, the stats are in our favor.

very best of luck to all the test-takers out there!!! thanks again for this great supportive group.

in peace, law.

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Specializes in NICU.

Hey Law79,

I was just wondering how you did on the Q Bank questions? What percentages were you getting? I have been getting the the 50s and 60s and I am taking the NCLEX on Friday. I plan on doing tons of questions all week and the Question Trainers- I hope I wil be ready...

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hi there, i never got great scores on kaplan. they told us we should get over 65% on the question trainers and i never got that score! i got a 62% on QT #7.

on the q-bank, my scores were really variable. the way i took the tests is i only tested in one area, e.g. basic care and comfort. i always took only 25 questions. then, i kept testing in the same area until my score was over 60%. for example, my first score in basic care and comfort was, get this, 32%!! that's right, my weakest area, lol. the second test i took in that area i got a 64%. i did that for all of the content areas, but i mostly spent time on the areas that i did poorly in on the question trainers. personally, i think 50s and 60s are just fine. just take practice tests in the areas you are getting the lowest scores and i am confident your scores will go up like mind did. you start to learn "how" to answer the question even when you don't know what they are asking ;-) good luck, i am sure you will do fine.

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Law et al,

I have heard over and over that the best thing you can do is pratice taking the test. It makes total sense that you're not going to be asked to recite all those lab values you have memorized. Virtually every practice test I've looked at has questions that, in some way or another, asks you "What would you do in this situation?"

Thanks for the advice!

Diahni

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Thank you for that comment regarding getting 50% wrong becuase i tested today and immediately came home and looked up answers and now i'm panicking!!!!! hopefully in 2 days i'll now

hi everyone! i PASSED the nclex on thursday june 21 with 75 questions. thanks to the goddesses :-)

i read this site a lot and got lots of good studying tips and wanted to share my own impressions of the exam.

i studied for this test much differently than i have done for any other test...i did not memorize ANYTHING. i really believe the key to acing this test is not to learn content, but to practice your questions! i attended a kaplan review and felt like the classroom learning was a waste, but their online question trainers and q-bank were worth every penny. their q-bank tests are EXACTLY like the real deal. there were absolutely no surprises, i felt just like i was at home practicing on kaplan.

i just took test after test in tutor mode (kaplan's q-bank), and every time i missed a question i wrote my rationale down in a spiral notebook, then reviewed that notebook once a day. seriously, that is ALL I DID. it was really hard to resist "cramming" for this test, but i am so glad i did not. a lot of questions on the nclex are so random that cramming most likely won't help, but the ability to think critically will. (even though i am an OB person, hate med-surge and know nothing about buck's traction or the like.)

just thought if there are other "type a" folks out there, my experience may help. resist the temptation to "know it all!" also, my other piece of advice is to take the day before the test off from studying and get some R&R. the day i quit studying was so hard, i had to keep fighting the urge to take another test, so needless to say i was a little wound up.

oh, and this has been said before but it bears repeating: the test is designed for everyone to get 50% wrong, so be prepared to get a lot of questions on the test you don't know. just don't let it trip you up. remember 85% of people pass on the first attempt, the stats are in our favor.

very best of luck to all the test-takers out there!!! thanks again for this great supportive group.

in peace, law.

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Thank you for that comment regarding getting 50% wrong becuase i tested today and immediately came home and looked up answers and now i'm panicking!!!!! hopefully in 2 days i'll now

Everybody,

I'm wondering if there is anything particularly good about the Kaplan questions? - the reason I ask is I have three different cds with practice questions I got from my library. The Kaplan costs one hundred bucks for three months access, but if it's worth it, it's worth it, no?

Diahni

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LAW79,

Thanks for your insightful advice!

I test in a few days and will NOT study the last couple days---just to give my mind a rest.

Just curious, how many questions did you answer before the screen turned blue?

This is a great site for nursing students, I agree.;)

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LAW79, about how many questions did you practice before nclex?

thanks

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hi everyone! i PASSED the nclex on thursday june 21 with 75 questions. thanks to the goddesses :-)

i read this site a lot and got lots of good studying tips and wanted to share my own impressions of the exam.

i studied for this test much differently than i have done for any other test...i did not memorize ANYTHING. i really believe the key to acing this test is not to learn content, but to practice your questions! i attended a kaplan review and felt like the classroom learning was a waste, but their online question trainers and q-bank were worth every penny. their q-bank tests are EXACTLY like the real deal. there were absolutely no surprises, i felt just like i was at home practicing on kaplan.

i just took test after test in tutor mode (kaplan's q-bank), and every time i missed a question i wrote my rationale down in a spiral notebook, then reviewed that notebook once a day. seriously, that is ALL I DID. it was really hard to resist "cramming" for this test, but i am so glad i did not. a lot of questions on the nclex are so random that cramming most likely won't help, but the ability to think critically will. (even though i am an OB person, hate med-surge and know nothing about buck's traction or the like.)

just thought if there are other "type a" folks out there, my experience may help. resist the temptation to "know it all!" also, my other piece of advice is to take the day before the test off from studying and get some R&R. the day i quit studying was so hard, i had to keep fighting the urge to take another test, so needless to say i was a little wound up.

oh, and this has been said before but it bears repeating: the test is designed for everyone to get 50% wrong, so be prepared to get a lot of questions on the test you don't know. just don't let it trip you up. remember 85% of people pass on the first attempt, the stats are in our favor.

very best of luck to all the test-takers out there!!! thanks again for this great supportive group.

in peace, law.

Thanks so much for the info.

I wanted to ask you for some advice: I start my 4th semester in 3 weeks. I plan on preparing through Kaplan as well here in the Bay Area, when do you think I should start? Do I wait until graduation?

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hi nina43,

i would recommend waiting until you graduate to begin studying for the nclex. i am a big believer in compartmentalizing things...it helps prevent feeling overwhelmed. so just worry about school for now. then after you graduate, 3-4 weeks should be enough time to study if you make it the priority. i was working part-time while i studied and i did so for about 3 weeks.

best of luck!

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You signed up for the 1000+ qbank for $299? Is that the one you did? Just want to make sure I'm looking at the right one. Thanks!

I did the practice qbank and got a 70% on 20 questions! They were fun!

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Hi there!!

Thank you so much for your thread. I'm helping out DF w/ Studying and I will let him know about your tips. He's not much the A student, but likes to know everything. lol

I was quite skeptical about qbank, but from the reviews from this site, it's worth a shot!

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