Very Low Kaplan & Uworld, Passed NCLEX in 75 First Time, Tips & Secrets

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Dear all,

This will be long so please bear with me. I will try to make it worth your while.

If you've made it this far, congratulations! YOU WILL soon obtain an RN!!!

I am only here to help, and if I motivated a single person that would mean the world to me.

First off, have you had a difficult experience with ANY of the following?

  1. Nursing school
  2. Uworld
  3. Kaplan
  4. Test taking
  5. Self-confidence
  6. Failed NCLEX once or more

Well, you're not alone. I've failed several of my nursing exams where the averages were very high. I've gotten several 38%'s on Uworld questions while my first assessment was 41% (low chance of passing). I've gotten 43% on Kaplan trainers and some 38%'s on Kaplan Qbank questions. I suck at testing, in terms of blanking out, anxiety, and so on. My self-confidence... Shot! And although I passed NCLEX, I would've failed once or more had I not discovered the strategy explained below. Still in all, I PASSED MY FIRST TIME WITH 75 QUESTIONS!!! (27 SATA, 1 Exhibit, 1 Med calc, and 1 Put in order, 2-4 EKGs, and no Hot spots)

Doing the method below will make you hungry for questions. Believe it or not, I enjoyed every minute of the NCLEX. I do confess that I was scared at first. But, this is why I took my time, thought it through, reread several questions and answers, and thoroughly rationalized each - good from bad, right from wrong, maybe from hell nah. By question 5 I was enjoying it till 75. By the research section that followed, I really didn't care as much as I should. NCLEX wants you to pass, but at the same time they need to know you are ready to practice as an RN. NCLEX is your friend, not an enemy, nor a beast, in my opinion.

Here are 3 MAJOR TIPS that will help you PASS! I know many will argue with my tactics, but I stand by them religiously! And I truly believe, if followed, ANYONE will pass, most likely in 75. I will explain each below in more depth:

1) PRAY!!!! (references: allnurses, youtube, fellow classmates, personal experience etc.)

2) YOU! (Pray for this too)

3) QUESTIONS (Pray for this, but also TAKE YOUR TIME doing them!)

Pray - Pray as much as you can, as much as you want. I believe in G-d, and that G-d loves everyone and everything, especially you! I prayed day in day out. I even spoke to NCLEX saying, "Please be aware that I am preparing to meet you. I recognize that you are a powerful, yet wonderful entity etc." I PROMISE YOU WILL SEE MIRACLES IF YOU PRAY! (I sound like a priest, but they are RIGHT ON!)

You - You need to believe in yourself, take care of yourself. Exercise during breaks. Eat right. Watch TV. You can even PRAY for help in feeling confident, motivated, and full of energy. Praying is major here too!

Questions - STICK WITH ONE RESOURCE!!!!! Stop overwhelming yourself with Saunders (encyclopedia) mixed in with a whole bunch of others books and courses. I did use Saunders, but as a reference here and there, though I would say google did the better job. I used Kaplan to build stamina with those long trainers, but didn't learn much. I used UWORLD, AND THAT IS ALL YOU NEED FOR CONTENT AND PRACTICE!!! I highly recommend doing them in TUTOR MODE as this will keep you ACTIVELY studying. DON'T WASTE TIME WITH NOTES. If you need to jot down some small quick important pointers then go ahead, but COMPREHENSION IS KEY, like knowing the disease process or other. In a nutshell go with below bullets:

  • Do 200 q's a day for 2 weeks with 1-2 days off per week, then 75 or less 1 to 2 weeks before exam for your brain to relax as the NCLEX approaches (4 weeks max is all you need if you kill it doing it like this). Don't look at time, just focus on getting it done!
    • You should be going through the entire bank at least once doing it this way (the more, the better)
    • I recommend choosing all subjects when making questions
    • I recommend redoing all the wrong questions once done (if time permits)
    • If you get low scores think of my 38% to cheer you up

    [*]COMPREHEND the question and the rationales, but TRY NOT TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THE RATIONALES. You will learn how to skim and retain information quickly with practice.

    • When it comes to doing questions, spend EXTRA TIME ON THEM! This will help with comprehension. Take your time and you will succeed! At first, I spent 140 seconds on questions and eventually just 45 seconds average. Further note that the reason why I passed NCLEX in 75 was because I spent TWO HOURS = 96 seconds per question on average. Getting them right is more important! "SO TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT RIGHT!!!"
    • Focus more on your wrong answers, unless you guessed on your right answers.

    [*]USE THE STUDY GUIDE posted somewhere in allnurses. I added Labs and my own VERY FEW notes to it and reviewed it once a week.

    [*]If you do take notes, make them short, sweet, and to the point.

    [*]TRY NOT TO MEMORIZE, RATHER UNDERSTAND WHY (cant stress this enough)!!!

    [*]Simulate your scheduled NCLEX date and time by doing 75 questions test mode or an assessment to get your body in the game

    [*]PRAY that you will succeed in questions, on NCLEX, and with YOURSELF!

Any questions please feel free to ask!

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

Congratulations on passing, and thank you for returning to share your tips with us!

I wish you success as you begin your nursing career!

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Thank you very much, dianah! I really appreciate that.

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Thank you for your wonderful advice, where can I find your study guide?

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Thank you for your wonderful advice, where can I find your study guide?

You are most welcome, Nurse2bArielle4life!

I will do my best attaching the study guide here. I am pretty new to allnurses so I'll do my best. I added you as a friend to see if it'd be easier... not so sure of that, though.

Please note that it is not mine. I found it somewhere in allnurses and converted it to a word doc so that anyone (including myself) can adjust it as they please. I also copied and pasted lab values from a youtuber who gave full permission to do so.

If you don't see it within the next couple of hours please private email me at [email protected] and I will send it as an attachment.

Best!

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