Took NCLEX without studying. Anyone else?

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So I decided I really didn't want to study for the NCLEX. When I heard you can just take it again, I thought: brilliant. I'll just give it a shot and see if I can do it. If not, I'll disillusion myself of what the test is not and I'll study a bit each day for the next month or so.

Luckily, I don't need to be working right this second, and I'm not in an embarrassing situation where employers are waiting on me to pass.

Wondering if anyone else decided to give it a whirl without studying.

My experience today:

I started out thinking, "Hey, these aren't so bad. Not so bad at all." But by question 50 I was quite ready to be done.

I have a hard time staying interested in tests. Mostly, I think, because they don't scare me, and they certainly don't interest me. I simply find them boring.

Having heard the test could end at question 75, I had high hopes. Real high hopes. These soon turned out to be hopes made of wishful thinking. Question 76 arrived. Then 77...99...110....150...180...I soon realized the test was on to me and I wouldn't be let go until I'd received every delicious question it had to offer.

Around question 240 I seriously just wanted to walk away, it was becoming so tedious. 265. Finally. Test ended. Whew. That's a lot of questions if you're not used to that kind of question load. Took me five hours. I didn't take any breaks because I didn't want to run out of time.

I've since learned you can run out of time and it will just look at your last 60 questions. I also learned that there is no way for the test taker to know whether he/she passed based on how many questions they received.

While I doubt I passed, I honestly have no idea. The fact is, the test kept giving me questions...so I was hovering somewhere around certainty--either just below, or just above. It was basically five hours of guessing.

Oh well. I'll either be very pleased I don't have to study for that test, or I'll frown for a second, laugh, and start going over some questions (and memorizing some lab values, etc.). I think I'd start with that "random fact" thread, only because it seems way more fun to read than actual practice questions.

But if I DID pass, I think it would be really funny. I think the ability to retake the test in 45 days is so generous. I wish I'd just taken the test right away, after graduating, instead of vacationing for a few weeks doing nothing. Then I could be even closer to my second test date. I'm telling my fellow students (who can afford the testing fee x 2) to just take it now and see if they manage--again, if they can afford the time off/fees.

Different strokes for different folks.

Oh yeah--I also had a classmate do this today. We just decided to do it the other day and signed up for the first available test. She scored a 75 (argh, so lucky to be done so quickly, either way) and was out of there.

Updates to follow (Wednesday).

:up:

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Specializes in ICU.

Yeah, you can take it again, but not everyone has $405 lying around either!

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Right. I totally covered that in my post. Oh. I will add this: I notice many people are willing to pay 400-something for review courses out there. I'd rather just take it twice. Once right away. Then study on my own (Maybe the Saunders book and those free questions...some free pharm cards online, etc.) and then take it again.

Seems way better to me than studying your heart out for a month and paying 200 more after 400 for a review course.

But again, to each their own. We're all different.

Just wondering if there were others out there who took it without studying with a similar mindset.

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Specializes in ICU.

Sorry, I am a bit on edge...waiting for my results!!:)

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lol. Hey, moonischasingme1. Hope you pass.

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Again, I have no idea if I failed (and I realize, scientifically, there is NO way I CAN know, because of how the test is constructed). But I was thinking, with a chuckle, that if I DID fail, I can at least be pleased I made it to the end. I kept the test wondering about me to the very end. (Not that I need this to feel better about myself). It just occurred to me as a funny plus. There is no way failing the NCLEX could ever lower my self-esteem for even one second. I don't take it that seriously from my perspective and I understand that its surrender is inevitable. I like this pink heart.

:heartbeat

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Specializes in ICU.

lol!

:heartbeat

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Wow, I applaud you for being so laid back about your test. If there was a funny,happy, or even a somewhat amusing idea that popped into my head while taking that horrible test then I guess I was to shocked to remember it. I do wonder though if I wasted $225 on the live review I paid for because it didn't help at all. I would like to know if I could have passed it without studying but after spending 80+ hours studing,reading 2 review books, and 1000's of cd questions I can say I passed(last Thursday). Good luck and let us know if you pass....

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Goodluck

So I decided I really didn't want to study for the NCLEX. When I heard you can just take it again, I thought: brilliant. I'll just give it a shot and see if I can do it. If not, I'll disillusion myself of what the test is not and I'll study a bit each day for the next month or so.

Luckily, I don't need to be working right this second, and I'm not in an embarrassing situation where employers are waiting on me to pass.

Wondering if anyone else decided to give it a whirl without studying.

My experience today:

I started out thinking, "Hey, these aren't so bad. Not so bad at all." But by question 50 I was quite ready to be done.

I have a hard time staying interested in tests. Mostly, I think, because they don't scare me, and they certainly don't interest me. I simply find them boring.

Having heard the test could end at question 75, I had high hopes. Real high hopes. These soon turned out to be hopes made of wishful thinking. Question 76 arrived. Then 77...99...110....150...180...I soon realized the test was on to me and I wouldn't be let go until I'd received every delicious question it had to offer.

Around question 240 I seriously just wanted to walk away, it was becoming so tedious. 265. Finally. Test ended. Whew. That's a lot of questions if you're not used to that kind of question load. Took me five hours. I didn't take any breaks because I didn't want to run out of time.

I've since learned you can run out of time and it will just look at your last 60 questions. I also learned that there is no way for the test taker to know whether he/she passed based on how many questions they received.

While I doubt I passed, I honestly have no idea. The fact is, the test kept giving me questions...so I was hovering somewhere around certainty--either just below, or just above. It was basically five hours of guessing.

Oh well. I'll either be very pleased I don't have to study for that test, or I'll frown for a second, laugh, and start going over some questions (and memorizing some lab values, etc.). I think I'd start with that "random fact" thread, only because it seems way more fun to read than actual practice questions.

But if I DID pass, I think it would be really funny. I think the ability to retake the test in 45 days is so generous. I wish I'd just taken the test right away, after graduating, instead of vacationing for a few weeks doing nothing. Then I could be even closer to my second test date. I'm telling my fellow students (who can afford the testing fee x 2) to just take it now and see if they manage--again, if they can afford the time off/fees.

Different strokes for different folks.

Oh yeah--I also had a classmate do this today. We just decided to do it the other day and signed up for the first available test. She scored a 75 (argh, so lucky to be done so quickly, either way) and was out of there.

Updates to follow (Wednesday).

:up:

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Wow!! I Am Definitely Interested To Know If U Passed!!!! I, Myself, Had No Extra Money, A Job Relying On If I Passed, And 2 Kids To Support. Other Than That I Might Have Done The Same Thing!!! Good Luck!!!

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Specializes in OBGYN.

oh my god this really cracks me up...had a good laugh...ya ur thread even made me feel a little less stress about my upcoming test...i hope i pass but there is still another chance

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Specializes in Peds, PICU, Home health, Dialysis.

There was a student in my class that took the NCLEX without studying -- granted, she managed to maintain a near perfect 4.0 in nursing school. And she passed with 75 questions.

If I didn't have a job lined up, a manager that has a ton of faith in me, many bills that need to be paid, I would definitely not be as uptight about the exam.

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