Hi guys,
I just wanted to share my story for those of you who are preparing for the NCLEX. I graduated in May as an average student (3.0 GPA) I took the Kaplan review class - I thought it would be worth it since it was 'guaranteed' - I took the class, it seemed really helpful and I averaged in the low 60% on the qbank and got a 68% on Q7 - I surely thought I was going to kick butt on the nclex. Exam day I was nervous and I could never get a hold of myself (thinking am I above the line or below the line). I was trying so hard to use the 'decision tree' but it did not apply to many of the questions I received. They did not really touch on any content, meaning their rationals pretty much stated why the correct answer was correct. I got 265 questions, the longest 5.5 hours of my life. The next morning I learned I failed. I was bummed but I wasn't expecting to pass with Kaplan's method.

Fast forward I got my head back in the game, I bought a 30 day subscription to UWORLD and I will say this is the BEST money I've spent for the entire nursing process. The questions were VERY similar to the NCLEX (I think I saw two similar questions). The rationals were on point and I learned/refreshed my memory with this review course. I took the exam 45 days later studied hard core the 2 weeks leading up to the exam. I did the entire bank of questions averaging 60%. I did the first 'test' after about half the qbank and got a 'high' chance of passing. I took the second test after I finished the entire qbank and received a 'very high' chance of passing. Once I finished the bank I went through and reviewed all the questions I answered incorrectly.

I took the test on August 16 - the computer shut off at 75 questions and I knew I passed. The content/review that UWORLD provided is exactly what you need to pass NCLEX and be a successful nurse.

I wish everyone best of luck. Remember to go slow, read every question slowly and if you get anxious take a break and regroup. We are the Nurses of the Future!!!!

Hi love! I also am using uworld along with kaplan. I understand that kaplan doesnt really have the best rationales. I test very soon. Congratulations on passing too! So happy for you! Do you have any tips for me? I use kaplan and uworld but most uworld because i love the explanations/rationales. Kaplan, i use it mostly for the qbank. sometimes i feel very bummed when i dont score great on kaplan. I feel the questions there are very broad, and sometimes it tries to trick u for some reason. Like i had a question lexapro was one of the options and they used the trade name for that, while all the other medications had generic names. I hate that. Hope nclex is not like that.

anyways, congrats again!

I would definitely recommend doing all the UWORLD questions and reading the rationals. Once I started UWORLD I never looked back at Kaplan. I would definitely spend time knowing precautions (airborne, droplet, contact, universal), lab values, ethics along with procedural things. All these types of questions are given on UWORLD, but just make sure you know the basics. I found that extremely helpful. I seriously think that UWORLD has everything you need to pass the NCLEX. It teaches you how to understand what the questions are asking you and how to narrow down the answer in the rationals. Oh, and I only did qbank questions in tutor mode. I wanted to know the why's immediately after I answered so I knew the rational. When I did Kaplan I only did timed tests and obvs that didn't work. Good luck!!!

Took NCLEX twice. Passed the second time using u-world as my primary qbank questions and the hurst review book a friend gave me for basic content I needed to know.

First time taking the nclex I used Kaplan q banks. Average pretty much 60% after going through all questions, unused and incorrect. Felt confident due to the scores but ended up failing the nclex at 145 questions.
A friend told me about uworld and I gave it a shot. Took 145 questions each day and studied the rationales very well. Even if it is right or wrong. I studied to make sure I understand why I got it right or wrong. I ended up with a 54% average.
The answers I got wrong, I wrote in a notebook with rationales on the topic of question. I finished u world around two and a half weeks. If not two weeks at best.
Two days before exam I already finished all the qbank questions and went through around 200 questions I got incorrect. The last day specifically I skimmed my hurst review for subjects I need to know and went through all my notes from my notebook. Evidently, I pretty much chilled the laat day after skimming.

Come to test date, I was more comfortable and relaxed. It felt like another u world exam and really took my time. I passed with 100 questions at around 1 hr 45 min.

Uworld definitely helped me out . I dont like Kaplan as much but used the decision tree as my basic steps to answer a few questions. Dont worry im not a smart kid either. Graduated with a 2.61 gpa lol
Study hard!

Question about NCLEX....can you draw a line through the wrong answer choice like you can in UWORLD?

No. I wish. At the NLEX they give you 'scratch paper' I would write 1,2,3,4 and they make a line through the numbers that weren't correct. not the same but it definitely helped.

thank you so much! congratulations on passing. I take mine in a week and my scores have not passed 54% yet. Don't even get me started on what pathetic percentage I am but I'm going to try to overlook that and just concentrate on the rationales and retest the incorrect questions again before the test. Hard to not panic....