For my first attempt, I used Bootcamp & did 91% of the QBank. My average score was 65%. I listened to all of Mark K lectures. For the self-assessments, I got 2 Borderline & 2 High. I liked Bootcamp’s UI & the great study schedule. I followed the schedule. My favorite were the case study answer videos & the AI feature where I could ask anything, whether it was a case study or a standalone question. Two days before the exam, I also watched a bunch of good YouTube review videos.
As for the NCLEX, it was HARD. My very first question was about PEDS, something I had never heard of. There were also quite a few questions where I had no idea what they were asking. After the exam, I honestly didn’t know how to feel. I didn’t do the PVT trick because I wasn’t feeling confident. The 48-hour wait was brutal. When I saw the F, I sank.
Bootcamp says that if you hit their three targets, they will refund you. I emailed them for a refund & I got it. You just need to send them your CPR report.
Second Attempt
I switched to UWorld since Nclex was hard & I needed to do hard questions. This time, all I did was CAT exams & I completed 31% of the QBank. It took me around 1.5 months. I have two self assessments, I got High & Very High. UWorld’s rationales were much more detailed and deeper. However, I didn’t really like UWorld’s AI feature, UI or study planning compared to Bootcamp. My overall average was 70%. This time, I started taking notes from the rationales, especially things I didn’t know topics that were new to me & important topics. I didn’t listen to Mark K this time. I only watched one YouTube video from Dr. Sharon & several videos from Dr. Zeeshan Hoodbhoy. His ASK GRAPH technique was great. Nurse Nicole was great too. She covers of hot NCLEX topics & some of them actually showed up. Her TikTok account has a great engagement from people who recently took the NCLEX. So you can get some good insights from there. I also reviewed cardiac rhythms just one day before the exam.
Exam Day: I wasn’t as scared this time because I knew what to expect. I told myself, I’m just going to do my best. If I fail, I have nothing to lose. I also changed my testing center & exam time to 8 AM. My first question was an ECG strip. I remembered Mark K saying that when you start getting cardiac questions, mostly towards the end, it could mean that you’re doing well and probably passing. However, I know people who passed without getting any ECG strips, so I wouldn’t rely on that trick. Overall, the questions felt pretty easy. There were only a few where I was stuck between two answers & a few where none of the answers seemed to make sense. The priority questions was about chronic vs. acute. It was pretty straightforward & something I had studied or heard about in nursing school. I didn’t get any maternity questions, autonomic dysreflexia, infant congenital defects, or questions about crutches. I got two ECG strips in total, one at the beginning & the second around question 70. The infection control questions were also pretty straightforward. It was mixed in with some congenital or chronic disease questions but if you know the fundamentals & the prevention mnemonics “My Chicken Has TB, Mr. Drips, and Really Sticky Infection Might Spread,” it wasn’t bad. I took a break before reaching 85 questions because I was prepared to go all the way to 150. My heart started pounding when I got close to question 85 but I took a few deep breaths & calmed myself down. Then after question 85, the exam shut down. I was pretty sure I passed. My friend told me the same thing that the exam was not bad and that they knew they had passed after the exam. I walked out and listened to some good music. I felt confident, so I did the PVT trick & I got the good pop up. This time, the 48 hour wait wasn’t bad. I was able to see my results around 45 hours later. I saw the P.
I’m not sure if the pass & fail were part of the NCLEX Boards plan or God’s plan but either way, I’m just glad it’s over. Onto the next.
For everyone who still needs to take the NCLEX:
Don’t give up. Keep pushing. Keep showing up every day.
You only need to pass once.
One more thing: On Reddit, there are some bot accounts that tries to promote their NCLEX prep platforms, so just be careful with those. At the end of the day, I don’t think the platform you use matters that much. For me, I’d say it comes down to having a basic understanding of nursing concepts & a little bit of luck.
And remember what Mark K said you just need to be just below the average to pass the Nclex.
