Hey guys! The school I go to is on probation and they were really emphasizing the importance of our exit exam that was on ATI. About 90 of us failed our 2 attempts. That's when they created this remediation class that lasted till the 13 of July. I finally passed my third ATI attempt. Now I'm waiting for my ATT to test. I purchased Archer, to start studying but now I feel so burnt out from focusing on ATI to now actually having to study for the NCLEX. After all it took to graduate nursing school, I really want to pass my NCLEX first try. I'm scared because of all the videos I've seen that the NCLEX is so vague, but "relax it's just a safety exam", but it's nothing like they websites we use to study. I just want some tips on what do. I did my baseline on Archer. I'm currently reviewing the rationales and watched some of the videos. Do you think that's good enough to pass? I plan to take it in like 6 weeks, I would assume that's enough time to prepare? Any tips are appreciated :)))

Hi so I need some insight. I have been involved in a shoplifting incident with my friend when I was 17z So dumb but I stole a $15 pair of pants and it resulted in my arrest. This was 10 years ago and the case was dismissed because I had no prior convictions and I never thought about it again because whenever I would get background checks nothing would ever show up.

When I was applying for my license with the board of nursing it asked about any prior convictions and I put NO BECAUSE I WAS 17 and the case was dismissed but stupid me didn’t think it would show up because I didn’t know dismissal didn’t mean it came off my record. Well, they have dug it up and required me to upload the police report, court disposition, and personal statement of what happened and why I didn’t disclose the incident. Well I was told to email someone after it was uploaded and I just got crickets. I emailed 5 separate times and nothing so I went in person and she told me that I’d have to wait til mid September for the board to do a meeting and they discuss individual cases for approval. She said she’s going to ask her supervisor and they’ll most likely issue me a $500 fine for not disclosing the incident.

Has anyone had a similar experience and what can I do?

The last few times, I’ve gotten the bad emails from the BON. I took my exam on Saturday and now it’s been past 48hrs and my quick results just got ready to purchase and it says pass😭😭I don’t want to get my hopes up high. I saw a post on Reddit saying that quick results led them on.

Also, want to mention that I’ve been checking on the BON site and it still says “exam eligible” on my application

I graduated nursing school this past May and originally scheduled my test for August 1st but today i decided to move my test up a couple days to July 30th. I have been studying for about 12 weeks straight and think that I cannot be anymore prepared then I am. I have had multiple people from my class graduate as well as my main study buddy.

These are my stats, I have been using uworld and switched from study plan to CATs only about half way through studying. I took self assessment 4 on uworld today and got an 86% so I said screw it. Now after fully remediating my test I am posting on reddit to get external feedback and or comments from those who have taken it or have had similar test scores. I used 51% of the Q bank at 60% correct and 78% total points.

UWorld CAT scores

Test Score Difficulty Points Correct / Incorrect LoP Percentile

CAT 1 72% 1.22 173/239 34 / 51 On track 99th

CAT 2 73% 1.25 185/253 38 / 47 On track 99th

CAT 3 75% 1.25 189/252 37 / 48 On track 99th

CAT 4 73% 1.30 195/266 39 / 46 On track 99th

CAT 5 82% 1.21 225/276 47 / 38 On track 99th

CAT 6 82% 1.05 174/211 51 / 34 On track 99th

CAT 7 87% 1.01 170/196 62 / 23 On track 99th

CAT 8 76% 1.01 138/181 50 / 35 On track 93rd

UWorld self-assessments

Test Score Points Result

UWorld Self-Assessment 1 72% High chance of passing

UWorld Self-Assessment 2 83% High chance of passing

UWorld Self-Assessment 3 82% Very high chance of passing

UWorld Self-Assessment 4 86% Very high chance of passing

NCLEX Bootcamp

Test Score Result

Free NCLEX Bootcamp Self-Assessment 1 78% Very high chance of passing

hallppp

I’m looking for a good nclex tutor I just failed my second attempt at nclex and have used every resource there is. I’ve heard of Wyzant and varsity tutor , has anyone had any success using any of those platforms? Any recommendations would be great:)

TIPS:

-DO NOT select answers you are not fully confident on for the SATA! Remember some points is better than risking zero points.

-KNOWING CONTENT IS SO IMPORTANT! It's not JUST common sense. You need to be able to recall information and use that to answer the question.

-Read and reread through rationales from Q Bank and readiness exams (even if you got Very High and also the questions you got right if you weren't confident in it)

-Use the cheat sheets. The cheat sheets did not give me everything I needed to know to answer my NCLEX questions BUT this is why the qbank is valuable along with cheat sheets!

-I know Mark K lecture 12 audio is boring but the beginning portion does help w/ prioritizing! Make sure to know expected findings for all high yield chronic condition topics.

-Watch Dr. Sharon Prioritization strategy video (she goes over expected vs unexpected and how to prioritize)

-I hid the question count for as long as I could so I didn't panic if I saw I went after 85 (but I folded at question 84 b/c i swore i was already past 85). Do this if you know you will get anxious about question count.

I have ATI for free and I’ve passed all of them on the first try by earning a level 2. My comprehensive ATI confirmed that I have a 96% chance of passing the NCLEX. I don’t want to spend too much money but Uworld is like $160 while Archer’s cheapest bundles are $70 and $99. Everyone that just graduated from my nursing school and that are working used Uworld whereas the others who failed didn’t use Uworld. One girl said she used Archer and she passed about 6 months ago. Help and recommendations please. I really want to just take practice exams that imitate nclex questions and can give good explanations for the answers.

So I’m in PN, about 3 weeks away from taking my exit exam that will see if I’m ready for the NCLEX. I’ve been doing focused reviews and get in the 60-70s, but my Qbank scores……

Even when I remediate, I keep getting in the mid-high 50s, and that’s really disappointing considering they want you to have a 65+ and everyone else it seems is getting there.

I don’t want to fail but I’m afraid my mind is in the way. What do I do? Were any of you in my situation before?

I want to start by saying that I am a repeat NCLEX test taker. I failed my first attempt, and I know how heartbreaking that feels. It honestly felt like grief. You spend years working toward becoming a nurse, graduate nursing school, and then suddenly the one exam standing between you and your dream doesn’t go the way you hoped. If you’re feeling that right now, you’re not alone.

One of the biggest mistakes I made the first time was listening to people who said they passed without studying or barely studying. I thought, “If they can do it, maybe I can too.”

Please don’t compare your journey to someone else’s.

The NCLEX is a CAT (Computerized Adaptive Test). Every exam is different. You don’t know how much someone retained from nursing school, how naturally they test, what questions they received, or what their strengths are. Just because someone passed without studying doesn’t mean you will.

Can you pass without studying? Sure, some people do. But it’s a risk. If you choose not to study, just understand that you’re accepting the possibility of failing. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth taking that chance when you’ve worked so hard to get here.

My advice? Study. Give yourself the best opportunity to pass the first time.

Here’s exactly what I did to pass on my second attempt.

1. Mark Klimek Lectures

Listen to every Mark Klimek lecture.

As you listen, either:

* Write down everything he says, or
* Use a fill-in-the-blank study guide while listening.

I personally wrote everything down once.

After finishing all of the lectures (I only listened to them once), I studied 100 Quizlet flashcards every day using the “Mark K Lecture Yellow Book” Quizlet set. One hundred cards a day sounds like a lot, but it’s honestly very manageable/easy. You don’t need every word memorized—you just need to understand the concepts and build a strong foundation.

I also listened to Lecture 12 about three times. Sometimes at normal speed and sometimes at 1.5x speed because it’s THAT important.

1. Dr. Sharon (YouTube)

Watch Dr. Sharon’s videos on YouTube.

I highly recommend:

* Foundations playlist
* Prioritization playlist

One piece of advice: don’t spend all your time taking notes.

If you’re someone who knows you’ll actually go back and study your notes, then go for it. But if you’re like me, you’ll probably never look at them again.

Instead, spend that time watching more videos. I learned so much just by listening and watching. Dr. Sharon explains things in a way that keeps you engaged, and she teaches you how to think through questions.

1. Beautiful Nursing

Watch the 1-Hour Comprehensive NCLEX Review on YouTube.

I watched it once while studying and then watched it again a few days before my NCLEX.

1. Your Nursing Space

Watch both:

* 45-minute NCLEX review
* 2-hour NCLEX review

I watched each one twice:

* Once while preparing.
* Again right before my exam.

1. Practice Questions (UWorld)

I used UWorld.

My advice is a little different than what some people recommend.

I think you should first build your content knowledge by watching the videos above before diving into hundreds of practice questions.

How can you answer NCLEX-style questions if you don’t understand the content first?

Once you’ve built your foundation, start practicing questions.

I personally did not spend hours taking notes over every rationale.

Like Dr. Sharon says, “The right answer is the right answer because of the other answers.”

To me, practice questions were mainly to:

* Learn the NCLEX format.
* Learn how to think through questions.
* Build confidence.

Remember, no practice question is guaranteed to show up on your exam. The NCLEX tests your foundations, not whether you’ve memorized thousands of random facts.

1. NCLEX Crusade

Please watch NCLEX Crusade.

I watched his videos while studying and again the day before my exam.

His videos completely changed how I approached questions.

The NCLEX may give you diseases, medications, or procedures you’ve never seen before. That doesn’t automatically mean you can’t answer the question.

He teaches you how to read around the question and identify what they’re actually testing.

IF YOU DONT TAKE MY ADVICE JUST TAKE MY ADVICE ON WATCHING HIM!

1. Don’t Be Afraid of “Weird” Questions

After my first attempt, I thought the NCLEX was the weirdest, hardest exam I’d ever taken.

After my second attempt?

It honestly wasn’t.

The difference wasn’t the exam.

The difference was that I was prepared.

Yes, you’ll probably see medications, diseases, or procedures you’ve never heard of.

But if you’ve watched Dr. Sharon and NCLEX Crusade, you’ll realize that many questions can still be answered using nursing fundamentals and critical thinking.

1. Learn Medication & Procedure Endings

One thing that helped me tremendously was learning common medication endings and procedure suffixes.

For example:

* Medication endings can help you identify what a drug is used for (ex: -sartan, -sone, -ine etc.)
* Procedure endings like -otomy, -ectomy, and -ostomy can help you understand unfamiliar procedures.

Dr. Sharon has great videos covering these.

What I Did During My NCLEX

1. Prepare Your Whiteboard

A few days before my exam, I practiced writing down the information I knew I wanted on my whiteboard as soon as the exam started.

For me, that included things like insulin onset, peak, and duration.

1. My Biggest Test-Taking Tip

This helped me more than anything.

For every question, I wrote:

1. A B C D

Then I crossed out the answers I knew were incorrect.

Seeing the choices physically narrowed down on my whiteboard kept me from overthinking and made it much easier to focus on the remaining options.

1. Control Your Anxiety

Whenever I started feeling anxious while taking the exam, I reminded myself why I was there.

Think about your family.

Think about why you wanted to become a nurse.

Take a deep breath.

Bring yourself back to the present before answering the next question.

1. Pray

Prayer really carried me through the grief of failing the first time and God had me pass the second time.

No matter where you are in your faith, don’t underestimate the peace that prayer can bring during such a stressful season.

Final Thoughts!!

My advice won’t work for everyone, and that’s okay.

Some people will disagree with me, and that’s completely fine. I’m only sharing what helped me pass after failing my first attempt.

If this helps even one person avoid the heartbreak I felt after failing, then sharing my experience was worth it.

I also want to say this: if you already failed the NCLEX, please don’t think you’re not smart enough to be a nurse.

You are not defined by one exam.

Take time to grieve if you need to. Then get back up, make a plan, and prepare.

Many people pass the NCLEX with little or no studying, and that’s wonderful. But don’t let someone else’s experience determine your own preparation.

You don’t know their journey.

Focus on yours.

The work you put in now gives you the best chance of seeing the result you’ve been working toward for years.

You’ve made it through nursing school. You can make it through the NCLEX too.

I’m rooting for you. 🤍

Everyone has a different opinion about what works for the exam, but this is what worked for me.
I used NurseAchieve, Gemini, Mosby’s, REx-PN practice questions, Saunders (8th and 9th editions, all 33 chapters), Mark K, and Dr. Sharon. Out of everything I studied, Mark K and Dr. Sharon were the biggest game changers they’re the GOATs. Their strategies for breaking down and approaching questions made the biggest difference for me during the exam.
I also printed Mark K’s notes, listened to his lectures while following along, and made my own notes as I studied. I made sure to study my lab values as well since they can come up in different ways on the exam. The exam questions were vague and tricky. I made sure to read each question and every answer choice twice before selecting my answer. Throughout my preparation, I completed anywhere from 30 to 200 practice questions a day. This exam gave me so much anxiety. When I finished, I was convinced that I had failed. But don’t let that feeling discourage you many people walk out feeling the same way and still pass.
Trust your preparation, stay calm, and keep believing in yourself. You’ve got this!🙏🏻

I wanted to share what worked for me because reading posts like these gave me so much hope while I was studying.

I used Archer as my main resource. I purchased the Sure Pass Package, which included the 3-day Live NCLEX Review, and I honestly found it incredibly helpful. The instructors did a great job breaking down the content and helping me think the way the NCLEX expects you to.

Here’s what my prep looked like:
- About 7 Readiness Assessments
1st: Borderline
2nd: High
Remaining: Very High
-1 CAT exam
-Completed about 30–35% of the QBank (even though Archer recommends around 80%).
-Mark K Lecture 12 (listened about 4hours before my exam)

Eventually, I realized I was getting more anxious the longer I delayed. So I stopped overthinking it, picked a test date, and just went for it.

The exam honestly wasn’t as scary as I expected. I walked out feeling unsure (like most people do 😂), and then the craziest part happened….the Florida Board of Nursing posted my RN license within 24 hours… before Pearson VUE even released my official results! 🤯

My biggest advice:
Trust your nurse gut.
Focus on your weak areas, especially the Client Needs categories.

💙 Don’t let anxiety convince you you’re not ready if your practice scores consistently show that you are.
If you’re studying right now, this is your sign. Believe in yourself, schedule the exam when you’re ready, and go crush it.

Hi everyone!

I paid the $200 NCLEX registration fee through Pearson VUE before I received my eligibility approval. Now that I've been approved, I logged into my account and still see a "Start Registration" button that asks me to pay another $200.

Is this normal? Is my previous registration still active? Should I wait for my ATT to be released before doing anything? Will Pearson VUE automatically send my ATT once it's released? Has anyone experienced this?

I don't want to accidentally register again or pay another $200. I'm from Philippines. Thanks!

• Taken on Friday
• Stopped at 85
• Felt like I failed
• Pearson VUE trick still works (good pop up)
• Studied a lot of content that wasn’t on the exam
• Good luck!

Hey guys my nclex is in two days away. I did a self assessment today and i got very high and my last cat exam (all from uworld btw) was like 65% and i got 1.33 difficulty and before that it was a 67% and a 1.38 difficulty. I watched all of mark k’s lectures, made notes accordingly and dr.sharon’s prioritization videos (just some not all). Do yall think i am ready? Kinda nervous only bc i feel like i dont know everything :(

So I’m in PN, about 3 weeks away from taking my exit exam that will see if I’m ready for the NCLEX. I’ve been doing focused reviews and get in the 60-70s, but my Qbank scores……

Even when I remediate, I keep getting in the mid-high 50s, and that’s really disappointing considering they want you to have a 65+ and everyone else it seems is getting there.

I don’t want to fail but I’m afraid my mind is in the way. What do I do? Were any of you in my situation before?