There are no words to describe the utter bliss and exhilaration I felt when I checked Quick Results and saw I passed the NCLEX-RN with 75 questions on my first try. I had done the Pearson VUE Trick three times prior and kept getting the “good” popup each time, but I still didn’t believe it. Thankfully, I live in a state where Quick Results is available, so I paid the $7.95 as soon as I saw my results were ready on Saturday. Worth it!
Now that I’ve taken and passed my boards, I want to share how I studied and passed the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions on my first try.
Table of Contents
Disclaimer!
What worked for me may not work for you. Everyone studies and learns differently. Some may need months to study for the NCLEX, but others may only need a few weeks. Either way, it’s crucial that you reflect on yourself, your study habits, and what you know and don’t know.
What Degree Do I Have?
I graduated from an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS) RN program with honors from a public community college in NYS. By graduating from this AAS program, I was eligible to take the NCLEX-RN. I graduated with a 3.5 GPA.
Related Page: NCLEX-RN FAQ
How Long Did I Study?
I graduated in December 2020 and took the NCLEX-RN on the 11th of February 2021. However, I didn’t start seriously studying for the NCLEX-RN until the 11th of January 2021. I also took Sundays as my rest day. Overall? I studied for 27 days. If I counted the days when we had to attend an online ATI review from 04 January until 06 January? It would be 30 days total.
I started late for several reasons:
- We didn’t get the instructions to apply for our license and the NCLEX until the 4th of January.
- UWorld did not email us our access codes until the 5th of January.
- I didn’t receive my ATT until the 8th of January.
- My original appointment date was on the 16th of February in a testing site further away from where I preferred to go.
Thankfully, I was able to find a seat at my preferred testing site, even though it meant I had to tweak my study schedule.
NCLEX-RN Study Schedule
This schedule is the final version I ended up using. I reduced the amount of time I dedicated to Maternity/Newborn in order to start the material for Adult Health and Child Health sooner.
Week One (11 Jan to 16 Jan)
- Subjects
- Mental Health and Psychiatric Medications
- Fundamentals
- Leadership/Management
- Testing/QBanks/Miscellaneous
- UWorld Self Assessment #1 → took it on the 11th of Jan
- Results = 83rd percentile and “Very High” chance of passing
- UWorld questions + reviewing rationales
- At least 75 questions every day
- Mark Klimek audios
- UWorld Self Assessment #1 → took it on the 11th of Jan
Week Two (a) (18 Jan to 20 Jan)
- Subjects
- Maternity
- Newborn
- Reproductive Medications
- L&D Medications
- Testing/QBanks/Miscellaneous
- UWorld questions + reviewing rationales
- At least 75 questions every day
- Mark Klimek audios
- UWorld questions + reviewing rationales
Week Two (b) (21 Jan to 23 Jan)
- Subjects
- Adult Health + Child Health + Pharmacology
- Growth + Development
- Integumentary
- Visual/Auditory
- Analgesics
- Adult Health + Child Health + Pharmacology
- Testing/QBanks/Miscellaneous
- UWorld questions + reviewing rationales
- At least 75 questions every day
- Mark Klimek audios
- UWorld questions + reviewing rationales
Week Three (25 Jan to 30 Jan)
- Subjects
- Adult Health + Child Health + Pharmacology
- GI
- Endocrine
- Urinary/Renal + Reproductive
- Hematological/Oncological
- Immune
- Adult Health + Child Health + Pharmacology
Testing/QBanks/Miscellaneous
- UWorld questions + reviewing rationales
- At least 75 questions every day
- Mark Klimek audios
Week Four (1 Feb to 6 Feb)
- Subjects
- Adult Health + Child Health + Pharmacology
- Respiratory
- Neurologic + Musculoskeletal
- Cardiovascular
- Critical Care
- Adult Health + Child Health + Pharmacology
Testing/QBanks/Miscellaneous
- UWorld → I finished answering and reviewing all of the questions midweek. So I went through the questions I answered incorrectly.
- NurseAchieve Mock CAT #1 (free trial)
- Result = “Solid Pass”
- Kaplan CAT #1 and #2
- Green circle
- Mark Klimek audios
Test Week (7 Feb to 9 Feb) → Test Day = 11th February 2021
- Testing/QBanks/Miscellaneous
- Mark Klimek Prioritization/Delegation + Labs
- Kaplan CAT #3
- Green circle
- NurseAchieve Mock CAT #2 (free trial)
- Result = “Solid Pass”
- UWorld Self Assessment #2 → did this on the 9th of Feb.
- Results = 90th percentile and “Very High” chance of passing
What Did I Use to Study?
For the next post, I’ll be giving you a rundown of my thoughts, along with the pros and cons of the various NCLEX-RN prep tools I tried.
Lecture and Lab Notes:
While I was still in school, I wrote detailed and thorough notes as I read through the textbook and listened during lecture/lab. Although I will admit that these notes I wrote in school are a bit too detailed, writing those notes helped me retain the information because they’re in my own words.
When I used my lecture notes to study for the NCLEX-RN, I focused on pathophysiology and nursing interventions. I mostly used them for:
- Maternity/Newborn (textbook)
- Child Health (textbook)
- Adult Health → Cardiovascular, GI, Neurological, Respiratory, Burns, Diabetes (textbook)
Mental Health Nursing
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, 8e
On the flip side, while my notes for Adult Health, Child Health, and Maternity/Newborn were fantastic? I wrote terrible notes for Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing. To ensure that I felt comfortable with the Psych material again, I went into my textbook. I wrote one (1) to three (3) pages worth of notes for several psychiatric conditions and medications. Once I finished them, I’d go and answer questions.
Comprehensive Review Book:
Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination, 7th edition (link is to the 8th edition)
I bought my copy when I started Fundamentals and used it throughout nursing school. I used an older edition. However, I didn’t see a point in purchasing a more recent edition when this copy worked just fine.
I didn’t use this too often for the NCLEX, however. It wasn’t something I picked up every day. I felt that there was no need to read from it and highlight/take notes. When I did pick this review book up, I mostly used it to get a quick rundown of the pathophysiology, medical management, and nursing interventions for the conditions I still had some trouble understanding. I also used it to go over basic nursing skills.
Mark Klimek:
Let me be clear: I would have absolutely attended one of Mark’s live reviews if COVID wasn’t a thing, and they had a review session here. However, with COVID and the fact that I’m absolutely tired of online lectures? I decided to listen to the old MK recordings that are available online. Although their age shows (especially with medications), Mark’s strategies are so damn helpful. I listened to the majority of the audio files at least once, but I repeatedly listened to specific recordings:
- Psych
- Labs
- Prioritization & Delegation
- Maternity/OB
Registered Nurse RN on YouTube:
Of course, I can’t forget to mention the queen herself, Sarah from Registered Nurse RN on YouTube. Like many students, I watched her videos throughout nursing school. While I didn’t view her videos too often, I did watch a dozen or so during Weeks 3 and 4.
Since there were too many to watch, I focused on my Med-Surg weaknesses: COPD, asthma, canes/walkers, RA/OA, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease.
UWorld:
UWorld is The GOAT of NCLEX prep. I used UWorld every day. Even if I wasn’t answering questions, I was reading through their rationales. Now, how did I use this? I did at least 75 questions every day. Towards the end, I ended up doing 100-250 questions a day. Partially because I wanted to finish all the questions for a set of topics and because I was trying to prepare myself for the possibility of getting more than 75 questions on test day.
Additionally, I used both of the “Self-Assessments” available with my UWorld subscription. I completed one assessment on the first day I started studying. Then on the 9th of February, I completed the second self-assessment.
Whenever I created a test, I would make a test based on whatever topic I covered that week. Then at the end of the week? I would create a quiz with used questions only from all the subjects I have covered so far. Doing this allowed me to check and see if I learned from my mistakes and helped keep me on my toes, so I didn’t forget Psych or Maternity by the time I was doing Adult/Child Health.
Results overall?
I usually ended up getting above average in the tests I created. Depending on the topics included, I would range from the 50s to 90s. Throughout the time I used UWorld’s QBank, I stayed between the 95th and 99th percentile.
- Self-Assessment #1 → 83rd percentile
- Self-Assessment #2 → 90th percentile
Archer Review
Oh man, I’m adding this qbank with a lot of hesitation. Yes, I used this briefly. However, after a while (aka a few tests), I started getting frustrated with it. I think I only used my $25 subscription for a day or two before I have up. Archer Review is a massive waste of money.
Nurse Achieve (Free 30 Day Trial):
One of my friends sent me a link to Nurse Achieve’s 30-day free trial promo (no longer available as of 05/31/22) that she had seen on FB. By this time, we were both almost finished with UWorld, so we thought we would give this a chance.
I didn’t use Nurse Achieve’s qbank. However, I did use the two mock CATs available with the free trial. For both mock CATs, the exam shut down at 75 questions. I scored a “Solid Pass” on both. Like UWorld’s self-assessment, I made sure to have a few days gap between attempts.
Kaplan CAT:
If my school didn’t pay for UWorld, I would not have purchased an additional NCLEX-RN prep. However, since I was running out of questions in UWorld and already used one of the free mock CATs from Nurse Achieve — I decided to go ahead and get Kaplan’s CAT. Although I did consider the QBank/CAT combo, I chose to just stick with the CAT.
This program comes with 3 CATs, and I did all of them. Like the other assessments, I spread them out. Kaplan CATs shut down at 75 questions, like the Nurse Achieve exams. Additionally, I obtained a green circle for all 3 CATs.
And There We Have It!
Overall, I thought that the NCLEX-RN was challenging but fair.
Would I change anything? No, absolutely not. Although I only spent 30 days studying for the NCLEX, I think I did a pretty solid job preparing myself.
Look, I’m not the best test taker. But despite the intense anxiety I experienced on test day? I felt prepared and relatively comfortable with all of the material and with NCLEX-style questions. Even though I didn’t know everything related to a topic, I knew enough to answer those questions as they became more challenging.
Sure, there are topics that I will have to review before I start working. But you know what? Learning and education don’t end when we get our RN license. We must continue to learn and educate ourselves. Continuing education is an essential aspect of our jobs. Medicine and nursing are ever-changing, and we need to be ready and willing to study old and new material.
If you have any questions about the NCLEX-RN that I didn’t answer in the FAQ or questions about the material I used, feel free to comment below or send me a message through the “Contact Me” form or Twitter or Instagram!
Sam Mathews
Really liked your post about the nclex prep. Can you please mention your thoughts about the ncsb review program?
Thanks1
veronica.
Unfortunately I never used that review program so I can’t really give much thought on it. I do think you’re better off utilizing other NCLEX prep programs
Shereal
Hi. Thank you for ur tips. I have used Kaplan and Archer and am now searching for a free CAT test as I failed Kaplan CAT1. Unfortunately Nurse Achieve seems to no longer have a 30day trial.
veronica.
That’s a shame. I thought that Nurse Achieve’s CAT was pretty good all things considering. It might be worth paying for it if you already completed/reviewed what’s available on UWorld.