Life After Nursing School: NCLEX Prep

Well, now that I am officially done with nursing school I can now move on to the most dreaded exam of every nursing student's life: NCLEX. I do not have a set NCLEX testing date yet, but that is not stopping me from starting studying in between the holiday festivities. Throughout this blog post I will highlight various informative pieces regarding two different NCLEX items that I have either purchased and used, or have purchased and plan to use shortly. 

The first general tip I have for you is to go out and buy a large NCLEX study book. Barnes and Noble has their giant nursing school section, complete with NCLEX preparedness books. The Saunders edition NCLEX book is one that I have heard rave reviews about, and has very high ratings online.


HURST


I have sat in on four different Hurst information sessions to make sure that it was really the program for me, and I can say that I am very happy with my purchase. I am one of those people that are too terrified of NCLEX to not take a review course. I figured, I have now spent thousands of dollars and four and a half years of my life in nursing school to get to this point - a few hundred more won't kill me if it lets me take this course. 

What I know of Hurst to offer is: One multi-day live review course (with all subsequent sign-ups free of charge)  and one 90 day access to a plethora of online materials. I personally have not opened my online materials yet because the representatives have always told me to wait to open them until I am finished with my final live review day. However, from what I know about the online material, it is comprised of content lessons covering every single inch of basic nursing content, and has different quizzes and exams for practice.

Personally, I am a nursing student that does not struggle with test anxiety or test-taking strategies as much as I do with knowing nitty-gritty content details. I would get 100% of my select-all's correct if I knew 100% of the information. However, it doesn't always work out that way - so I am glad that I purchased an NCLEX test prep that was content based. 

What I find the most reassuring about Hurst is that they have a money-back guarantee if you do not pass NCLEX on the first try, after using their services in the way that they have them scheduled (I have asked one of their representatives in an information session before, and they have a special analytic system to track the use of each person, so they are able to truly tell whether or not you have used all of your materials or were slacking off).

I am very excited about going to my second review course and being able to open up the different online materials. Now, if you cannot attend a live review you can always schedule an online-live review. Online live-reviews are sessions in which one is live-streamed so you can watch it at home on your computer. The last option for purchasing a HURST package is just purchasing the online course material without a review lecture attached. I had a friend last winter take NCLEX with only using the online content material, and she passed just fine, so the in-class sessions are a preference based item. 



U-WORLD

The second NCLEX testing prep that I am looking into trying is U-World. U-World is something that I have only heard about for the past semester, but I am very interested in trying it. After browsing their website I have found that they offer different packages of practice NCLEX questions, each containing a varying amount of account access time. Each time limit has a different price attached. (For example, my friend has a three-month access period for practice questions for around $130).  

I have previous classmates and friends who have used both Hurst and U-World, and say that the combination is a winning ticket. From these sources, I have been told that U-World test and quiz questions emulate the wording of NCLEX questions, so you are able to "warm up" to the feel of the test before it's actually in front of you on the computer. 


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Now, depending on where you are in the program, you might be thinking:

"What, Michelle, I've only just begun, I don't want to think about NCLEX now".

Well, you will have this post to reflect on once the time has come for you to start thinking about NCLEX. There a lot of products out there that are promoted to help you pass NCLEX, and the whole game is finding the right product that fits your learning style. For instance, I will never use KAPLAN NCLEX prep because I know that I do not have a problem with the process of answering questions. 

I will do a follow-up post with more in-depth information after I take and pass my NCLEX exam, so that way I can give a full, well-rounded review about products, tactics, and strategies that I used to bring me success. I hope that this post was able to open your eyes and tickle your ears with the new and exciting world of NCLEX prep!
 
Study hard!
 
- Michelle
#BSNbabe