To pay for hurst... or not?

[I'm Leah]

Took my last final today and took the ATI predictor test. I got an 83% on the predictor which gave me a 99% chance of passing nclex on the first try.

I really just want to TAKE the nclex. I'm not really much of a studier. I pay attention in class and I don't have much patients for flash cards or hours of practice questions.

I would feel SOOOO stupid if I didn't take the hurst (which is coming to our school next week) and then didn't pass the nclex.

I hear there is a lot of pharmacology on the nclex (and now it's only generics?) which is definitely a weakness of mine. Our pharmacology was lacking, for sure. But I also have heard that hurst doesn't do a lot of pharmacology review.

So what to do??

I'm also wondering about the predictor. Does that just mean that people who got that score just went on to spend lots of time studying for the nclex and THEN passed? Or could I take it today (no more studying) and have a 99% chance of passing?

[turtlesRcool]

I really think ATI is enough. I assume your program had you taking ATI tests throughout, and you have the various ATI books and study materials.

In my program, we took ATI every semester, and we also had access to the different practice tests after graduation.

Honestly, I did very little studying for NCLEX. I found doing ATI practice tests helpful, and I liked reviewing the rationales. There wasn't much that I really did in terms of reviewing materials, though. I studied drug classes, especially endings (our pharm instruction was also quite weak in my program). I looked over my cardiac notes, because I find that to be one of the most complex body systems. I looked over my endocrine notes, because I find that to be the system in which I am the weakest. And then I just took the test.

And I passed NCLEX first try with the minimum questions.

Now there WERE a lot of pharm questions. A lot of the drugs were ones I'd seriously never heard of. They were so random, that there's no amount of studying that realistically could have prepared me to know them. So, I used a few test-taking strategies to narrow down possible answers, and then I guessed.

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

Nothing works for everyone. I suggest sign up for the one week free trial of Hurst, go over it, see ifit addresses your needs then decide.

As for ATI, not a lot of faith in it personally, but people do pass with it. My school stopped using it because pass rates were dropping.

[I'm Leah]

Thank you! Yes, we had to do ATI alllllllll the time. And I loathed it. And it was really expensive. I've gotten better at taking it, too. Which scares me. Because maybe I've just figured out ATI tests. And if they're not just like NCLEX then that won't be helpful.

[I'm Leah]

That's very interesting about ATI and pass rates dropping. It sure doesn't seem helpful for me. And their program is so antiquated. You can't even run it on chrome, it crashed at the end of the semester, and it's just not generally user friendly at all.

[BSN<RN]

I also did ATI through my school, but we were required to do HURST review due to a bad NCLEX pass rate with just ATI the previous year. Honestly I wish I had my $300 dollars back. HURST is a very thorough content based review, which to me seemed so different from ATI and honestly just bored me to tears because I felt like I was going through 2 years of nursing school in 3 days. I bought the 3 week plan from NCSBN and am going through the questions because that's honestly been the most effective way for me to study ATI and for exams in general. If I had a choice I would just do NCSBN and questions through materials like Saunders.

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

I'm doing Hurst and I like it. I am also studying from the Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN 5th edition and answering questions on my NCLEX 4000 software. The cool thing about Hurst is if you fail, you can get your money back provided you look

at all the online videos and take every Q Review Test. So, the money back guarantee is cool so that you don't feel like you're really losing the money should you fail. I say get that piece of mind and do Hurst. If you fail, you keep your money. If you pass, you're only less than $300 out.

[Chocolate_RN85]

Pay for it, period .

[letmebeanurseee]

It never hurts to try and it may be helpful! I loved Hurst to be honest. But if you feel like you are good for content, don't take it. If you are close to someone who is taking it...maybe ask for their notes or for them to teach you?

[MissCerah]

I graduated Aug.2014 and my school used ATI religiously! At times I HATED it because some of the tests were long. Overall I feel ATI helped but I didn't wait until I got the "green light" (which means they give you the ok to take the NCLEX) Having a personal coach and telling you where your strengths and weaknesses were helped. I hate when I hear people say to prepare in this and that . Honestly, no one is sure what is going to be on the test. I had a medium amount of pharm and A LOT of select all that apply questions ( which are my weakness ), medium amount of delegation and infection control. I walked out of that test center convinced I failed at 107 questions. To my surprise, I passed. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that ATI did help and prepare me, but it is expensive from what I hear (ours were automatically added in our tuition). My final and overall advice is to relax, do at LEAST 50-100 questions a day. Keep your head up! If I can do it, many, many others can!

[SwampCat, BSN]

I was in the same boat. 99% predictor test. My school has a 95% pass rate on first try. I know I'm not in the bottom 10% of the class, so I see no point on spending the money. I am reviewing lecture slides and pharmacology at my leisure and will take the NCLEX as soon as I get my ATT (soon? please?). Don't waste your money.