Free resources
Everything free, in one place
The official links you will need, our free guides and tools, and the communities worth your time. No email required for any of it. Bookmark this page and come back as your test date gets closer.
The official sources
Start here. Everything else, including us, is interpretation.
NCSBN
The people who write the exam. The current NCLEX-RN test plan lives here, and it is the document every prep company works from.
ncsbn.org → OfficialNCLEX candidate site
Registration steps, what to bring on test day, and the official word on how the exam works. When a forum post contradicts this site, this site wins.
nclex.com → OfficialPearson VUE
Where you actually book, reschedule and sit the exam. Check the ID rules twice. Name mismatches turn people away at the door.
pearsonvue.com →Registering step by step: our scheduling and registration guide, plus what check-in at the test center is like and what to do when your ATT email does not arrive.
Cheat sheets and tools
The reference material students print, and the calculators you will use in school anyway.
Lab values
Every value the NCLEX asks about, what high and low mean, and what you do about each. The most-read page on this site.
Read it → Cheat sheetABG interpretation
The tic-tac-toe method, compensation, and the four classic patterns with practice problems.
Read it → Cheat sheetPharm mnemonics
Drug endings, antidotes, and the patterns that let you answer questions about drugs you have never seen.
Read it → ToolsEight calculators
Drip rate, Parkland, MAP, anion gap, corrected calcium, peds dosing, GCS and mEq conversion. Each one shows its work.
Open them → DataPass rates by state
First-time pass rates for every state, and what those numbers do and do not tell you about your own odds.
See the table → FreeThe 10-question diagnostic
Ten real questions from our bank, scored by subject, in your browser. The fastest way to find out where you stand.
Take it →A plan for the time you have
Pick the one that matches your calendar, not the one that matches your ambition.
12 weeks out
The long runway. Content review first, then questions, then timed practice.
Read the plan → Plan8 weeks out
The most common timeline, and the one our 3-month plan is built around.
Read the plan → Plan4 weeks out
Tight but workable. Questions from day one, content review only where you miss.
Read the plan → Plan2 weeks out
Triage mode. What to cut, what to keep, and how to spend the last 48 hours.
Read the plan → PlanThe last week
A day-by-day cram plan that protects your sleep, because a tired brain fails questions it knows.
Read the plan → PlanThe last 24 hours
What to do, what to eat, what to wear, and why studying the night before costs more than it pays.
Read it →Understand the exam itself
How the CAT works
Why the exam gets harder when you do well, why it can stop at 85 questions, and why neither means what you fear it means.
Read it → NGNThe six NGN item types
Matrix, bow-tie, cloze, drag and drop, highlight, extended multiple response. What each looks like and how it is scored.
Read it → NGNWorked case studies
Full NGN case walkthroughs, question by question, with the reasoning written out.
Work through them → AfterQuick results, explained
The 48-hour unofficial result, what it costs, and what the Pearson Vue trick does not tell you.
Read it → RetakeReading your CPR
If you did not pass, the Candidate Performance Report is your study plan for round two. Here is how to read it.
Read it → RetakeAfter a fail
The 45-day plan for coming back from a fail, starting with the week you should not study at all.
Read it →Applying in a specific state? Start with the state-by-state application overview.
Other people's stuff, honestly rated
We compete with some of these products. The reviews say so, and say what each one is genuinely good at, because you will find out anyway.
The best free NCLEX resources
What is actually free, what is a trial in disguise, and how far free alone can take you.
Read it → CommunityThe subreddits worth reading
Where the honest test-day stories are, which threads to search first, and what to ignore.
Read it → CommunityThe YouTube channels that teach
The channels that explain content well, and how to use video without letting it replace practice questions.
Read it → ReviewIs UWorld worth it?
Short answer: often, yes. Longer answer: it depends on your runway and your budget.
Read the review → ReviewIs Archer worth it?
The budget pick, reviewed on its own terms, including the readiness assessments everyone asks about.
Read the review → CompareThe full comparison
UWorld, Archer, Kaplan, Nursing.com and us, head to head, with prices and question counts.
Compare them →Reading is the warm-up
10 real questions will tell you more about your readiness than any list of links. Free, in your browser, scored by subject.