Long (ish) post ahead. Warning….. 😂

I’m looking for some advice because I’m honestly feeling pretty lost. I failed the NCLEX twice, both times at 85 questions, and I’m trying to figure out what I need to change for attempt #3.

I graduated nursing school in the Philippines in June 2023. I took my first NCLEX in April 2026 and failed. I took my second attempt on September 18, 2026 and unfortunately failed again at 85.

What’s frustrating is that I genuinely felt much more prepared and had a better understanding of the material the second time around, but my result was still the same. (Ugh I’m soooo frustrated)

📝 NCLEX #1 — 4/18/26 — Failed at 85  
Test Plan Areas:  
● Management of Care — BELOW  
● Safety & Infection Prevention/Control — BELOW  
● Health Promotion & Maintenance — NEAR  
● Psychosocial Integrity — NEAR  
● Basic Care & Comfort — NEAR  
● Pharmacological & Parenteral Therapies — NEAR  
● Reduction of Risk Potential — BELOW  
● Physiological Adaptation — NEAR  
Clinical Judgment — NEAR  
● Recognize Cues — ABOVE  
● Analyze Cues — NEAR  
● Prioritize Hypotheses — NEAR  
● Generate Solutions — NEAR  
● Take Actions — NEAR  
● Evaluate Outcomes — NEAR

For my first attempt, I mainly used Bootcamp + SimpleNursing. I finished all of Bootcamp’s questions, but looking back, I realized I was starting to memorize some of the questions rather than truly understanding how to apply the concepts.

📝 NCLEX #2 — 9/18/26 — Failed at 85  
For my second attempt, I switched things up and used UWorld + SimpleNursing much more heavily.

Test Plan Areas:  
● Management of Care — NEAR ⬆️  
● Safety & Infection Prevention/Control — NEAR ⬆️  
● Health Promotion & Maintenance — BELOW ⬇️  
● Psychosocial Integrity — NEAR  
● Basic Care & Comfort — BELOW ⬇️  
● Pharmacological & Parenteral Therapies — BELOW ⬇️  
● Reduction of Risk Potential — BELOW  
● Physiological Adaptation — NEAR  
Clinical Judgment — BELOW  
● Recognize Cues — NEAR ⬇️  
● Analyze Cues — NEAR  
● Prioritize Hypotheses — ABOVE ⬆️  
● Generate Solutions — NEAR  
● Take Actions — BELOW ⬇️  
● Evaluate Outcomes — ABOVE ⬆️

This is the part that is really confusing me.  
I improved in Management of Care and Safety, and I went from NEAR → ABOVE in Prioritize Hypotheses and Evaluate Outcomes.

But I dropped in several content areas and went from Clinical Judgment NEAR → BELOW, with Take Actions BELOW.

I honestly felt like I had a much better understanding going into the second exam compared to my first attempt.  
And I still failed at 85. 😭

So now I’m trying to figure out what I’m actually doing wrong.

I don’t want to just repeat the same cycle of buying another QBank, doing thousands of questions, and hoping it works the third time.

What would you do differently for attempt #3?

Looking at both of my CPRs together, what stands out to you?  
Should I:  
● Continue UWorld?  
● Go back to Bootcamp?  
● Try a completely different QBank?  
● Focus more heavily on content review?  
● Work specifically on Clinical Judgment?  
● Focus on Take Actions/application?  
● Do more prioritization/delegation?  
● Do more CATs?  
● Spend less time doing questions and more time reviewing?  
● Something completely different?

If you failed twice and passed on your third attempt (or later), what specifically did you change that finally made things click?

I would especially love to hear from people whose CPRs looked similar to mine or people who also kept getting stopped at 85.

I’m really trying to make my third attempt different instead of just doing more of the same. Any advice is appreciated. ❤️

Sorry if this is a lot to take in! But hoping someone would have a similar experience as me that have passed and can potentially help a desperate girlie out who’s tired of studying and tired of her current job and wants to move forward? LOL thank u in advance <33333

Failed NCLEX twice at 85 questions, comparing my CPRs. What am I missing?