The Princeton Review NCLEX Review 2023: Is It Effective?

If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of nursing students who plan to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) this year, you’re in the right place to get an exclusive, honest, and thorough review of The Princeton Review NCLEX test prep programs.

We’ll dive into the nitty gritty here, to compare and contrast The Princeton Review’s NCLEX programs with those from other leading NCLEX test prep providers.

All About The Princeton Review NCLEX

The Princeton Review (TPR) – which provides test prep for multiple exams, not just the NCLEX – has amassed 1,445 reviews on Trustpilot with an average score of 4.6/5 stars. More than 400 million students worldwide have taken The Princeton Review courses since the company was founded in the 1980s.

My Thoughts on Princeton Review’s NCLEX Qbank

With the NCLEX-RN® QBank, you’ll get access to, in the neighborhood of, 3,500 practice problems, each of them high-quality. There’s very little wasted instruction (otherwise known as “fluff”); each question, and its accompanying explanation, offers a unique logical walkthrough that you can eventually use on the actual NCLEX exam.

Practice questions were sourced directly from the makers of the NCLEX

Each question has a corresponding explanation provided by TPR.

It’s worth emphasizing that I really appreciated the nuance and logic included in the explanation for each question, which not only informs on the specific topic at hand but also illuminates analytical principles that apply to the entirety of the test itself.

Get a feel for the question bank and other features that you might find valuable with The Princeton Review’s free NCLEX-RN resources. 

They offer a free 5-day NCLEX course sample, which can be really helpful for students who want to get a feel for the course before purchasing. Note, however, that you will still need to input your credit card details to gain access to this free 5-day trial. You will not be charged, however, after the 5 days is up, and are not responsible for canceling within the 5-days like many other subscriptions.

The Princeton Review’s NCLEX Options

You’ve got a pair of course options to choose from, depending on your needs and how much you’re willing to invest in your NCLEX prep. Let’s take each one by one:

NCLEX-RN® QBank (self-paced)

Price: $199

With the more affordable self-paced option, you’ll get the 3,500+ practice questions in the QBank – the heart and soul of the program – along with all the explanations that come with them.

At the $199 price point, that access lasts for a full year – significantly longer than some other prep companies that only allow access to their materials for a few months.

If you only need three months of access, The Princeton Review knocks a few dollars off to set the price at $159. If you just need a month for a quick review, perhaps as a complementary course to sharpen your skills right before the exam, you can purchase 30-day access for $99.

In addition to the question bank, you’ll also enjoy the advantage of your own online flashcards to study on the move, while you’re sitting in traffic (in the passenger’s seat) or waiting at the doctor’s office.

What you won’t get is any live instruction element. If that’s what you’re looking for, take a look at the LiveOnline course, the second option below.

NCLEX-RN LiveOnline

Price: $499

The NCLEX-RN LiveOnline introduces an extra layer of test prep, but at a premium of about $300 added on to the price tag.

The main advantage of the LiveOnline course, as the name suggests, is the live instruction. If you were fortunate enough in your undergrad training to benefit from a great teacher, you know how effective interpersonal instruction can be for helping you to better absorb and conceptualize difficult material.

The Princeton Review’s instructors are indisputably high-quality. All of them meet the following qualification standards:

• Active RN License
• MSN in Nursing Education
• 10+ years of teaching
• 5+ years of practice
• Certified Nurse Educator (CNE)

In addition to the instruction itself, to ensure that you’ve fully taken it in, you’ll also enjoy one-on-one access to your instructors to follow up with regarding any material taught in the class. My instructor was highly responsive when I piloted the course, usually responding within a few hours of my message.

Who Needs The Princeton Review NCLEX Course?

Even though you’ve made it through nursing school, there’s no guarantee that you’ll ace the NCLEX on your first try – especially if you don’t utilize a test prep program of some sort. Learn more on how many times you can take the NCLEX. 

According to data compiled by The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the average pass rate for first-time test takers in 2021 was 86% and 79%, for bachelor’s degree holders and associate degree holders, respectively.

source: American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Consider one of The Princeton Review NCLEX programs if you:

• Want a pass guarantee to make sure your investment pays off
• Want access to industry-leading practice questions taken directly from the exam provider
• Want to learn with proven, experienced instructors with years of teaching and nursing experience

The Princeton Review NCLEX Alternatives

Let’s run down a few of the most notable competing NCLEX programs available to nursing students and see how they stack up to The Princeton Review NCLEX.

The Princeton Review vs BoardVitals

BoardVitals is a no-nonsense, highly affordable ($79 for a month of access) alternative to The Princeton Review.

If it helps tip the scales, get 10% off your BoardVitals with Test Prep Nerds after you read our review. Also, the totally-free trial program allows you to explore the BoardVitals platform.

The Princeton Review vs Kaplan

Kaplan is the other heavyweight in the test prep scene – the Evander Holyfield to The Princeton Review’s Mike Tyson (or whatever analogy you want to go with).

Its Kaplan’s NCLEX programs are comparable to the ones offered by The Princeton Review in terms of pricing and the QBank questions (about 3,000).

Critically, though, Kaplan offers a (more expensive) option for in-person learning, so if the tactile sensations of an actual classroom environment enhance your learning experience, that’s an important consideration.

The Princeton Review vs UWorld

At $129, UWorld NCLEX prep is a little cheaper than most of TPR’s courses. And, like TPR, there are no video lessons, nor are there lessons. It’s essentially a question bank posing as a test prep program. That said, it’s increasingly popular among nursing students – especially if you use it as a complementary prep service to supplement a more robust program.

Princeton Review vs Hurst Review

Starting at $250 for the most affordable option, the Hurst NCLEX Review places a premium on test-taking strategy, not necessarily just the content itself. (Arguably, test-taking strategy is just as important as familiarity with the material itself.)

The Princeton Review NCLEX FAQs

Let’s explore some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding The Princeton Review’s NCLEX programs.

The Bottom line on The Princeton Review NCLEX

Here are the key takeaways when weighing whether to make the leap and go with The Princeton Review for your NCLEX prep:

• Leading QBank practice question reservoir, sourced from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing
• Flexible packaging based on access periods
• Powerful pass guarantee backed by a full refund
• No physical books or practice videos