This post is not sponsored. All products were purchased with my money. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello all! This post is something I have been oddly excited to share. It is a UWorld review! I have officially been an RN for a while now, but I wanted to share my thoughts on UWorld since I feel there was a great deal to unpack. If you are thinking about using UWorld this is a great post for your to reference!

“Why UWorld?”

If anyone has followed my blog throughout the years, you would know my program used ATI to prepare us for the NCLEX. ATI was integrated into each courses syllabus including the practice and proctored exams. Each semester we paid about $294.00 for ATI access. Out final semster we spend about $495.00 for access as that included a live ATI review, BoardVitals access, etc. I know I see BoardVitals advertised a lot from nursing YouTubers, so if your program has ATI and you aren’t willing to dish out the extra money use it!

I decided to try out UWorld because I felt like everyone ranted about it, including graduates from my nursing program. I decided to go for it and try it!

WHICH UWORLD PLAN?

If you visit the UWorld website you will see there are a few different options. These options are based off of how many days you want access. Each plan also comes with app access, so you can complete practice problems from your phone! This can be upgraded if you so choose. I used the 30-day access qbank and did not make any upgrades. I do believe this plan is sufficient if you remain consistent and read the rationale.

How I Used UWorld in My Study Plan

If you are curious as to how I used UWorld in my study plan you can read this post. The general gist is that I used UWorld every single day. This excluded days off (Sundays) when I would just review my notes from UWorld rationales. I made sure to take my time, read the rationales thoroughly and take notes. The UWorld rationales are pretty detailed and provide extra information. Please keep in mind I did use other resources to review certain topics. I also made sure to complete problems using the UWorld App.

MY UWORLD PERFORMANCE

UWorld provides you with a percentile rank based on the questions you have completed. You will also have access to a chart that graphs your progress over time. My overall performance was in the 89th rank, with 64% of all questions answered correct. As you continue to answer questions, your rank will go down. Don’t let this scare you! The percentile rank is a tool. Even though my score seems really low, I was performing consistently which showed in the graph report. There was a point in which I felt like my brain was in overload from doing practice problems. So what I did was take a break from NCLEX prep for 1-2 days and when I returned I noticed my scores increased. You know this content! You are just reviewing!

MY NCLEX-RN EXPERIENCE

I wanted to discuss my NCLEX experience because I believe using UWorld played a large part in helping. Just to preface this, I am not the world’s best testtaker. I get really nervous and perform alright. I am saying all this to say using UWorld helped calm my nerves a great deal. UWorld looks EXACTLY like the NCLEX. When I sat down for the NCLEX I felt calm because the look of the test was familiar.

I do believe UWorld was a lot harder than the NCLEX. I had so many SATA questions on UWorld it was sickening. It all worked out for the good as I had a great amount of SATA questions on my testing date as well. Don’t let that scare you! I felt very good after the test and I have NEVER had that feeling after an exam in my life. I do feel I was well prepared.

THE GOOD AND BAD

TIPS FOR THOSE USING UWORLD

Here are a few tips I have for those who are planning on or are currently using UWorld:

• Take your time when reading questions.
• Complete a set of “mixed” (all subject) problems everyday.
• READ the rationales.
• Treat each set of practice problems like the real NCLEX.
• Don’t use outside resources to answer problems. It is okay to not know/be wrong.
• Review general topics you seem to struggle with.
• Take a break if you notice your scores are suddenly low.

That is all I have for you all! All in all, I recommend UWorld if you can afford it. I do think UWorld alone can get you the results you need. I do plan on making a blog post on studying for the NCLEX on a low budget, stay tuned for that!

Thanks for reading!