Dear EMONTESH,

How are you at testtaking, period? The test is not trying to determine how smart you are, but how competent you are to practice safely. I prepared myself by actually saying, " I will PASS ". I know how that sounds, but the NCLEX  was one of the hardest test for me to study for. I devoted 3-4 hours a day before my test date. I studied everything, OB, Meds, Anatomy & Physiology, Peds, Geriatrics, Mental Health, Med-Surg, Nutrition, and the test plan itself. I thought I was overstudying, but I wasn't. I took a review course offered by my school for $150.00, it helped to teach me how to decipher and read what the question was actually asking. The test is not memorization, most of the questions are focused on level of difficulty. If you answer the first question correctly the machine will produce another with the same level of difficulty where you will have a 50% chance of answering it correctly, that's CAT(Computerized Adaptive Testing) at work. Needless to say, if you answer the first question wrong, the machine will pick a question with lesser difficulty for you, it will go on like that until the computer has determined you have met the passing standard or you have not. That's why a person can answer the minimum number of questions on the NCLEX-PN 85, and either pass or fail. The same thing for the NCLEX-RN, can answer the minimum of 75, and either pass or fail. Take my word for it, some very smart people in nursing school who graduated have not passed the NCLEX.