You finished nursing school. Congratulations. Now there is one more exam, and it is the one everybody talks about in a slightly lowered voice. The NCLEX is the licensing exam run by NCSBN, it uses computerized adaptive testing, and since April 2023 it has been the Next Generation NCLEX, built to measure clinical judgment rather than just facts.
No book, app or pair of headphones can promise you a pass. What the right materials can do is give you good questions to practice with, and what the right gear can do is make sitting down to practice every day a bit less miserable. This guide covers both. It starts with the free official resources, then the best-known prep books on Amazon, then the study setup around them.
The short version
8 picks- 01 Content review book Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination Amazon
- 01 Content review book Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination Amazon UK
- 02 Strategy book Kaplan NCLEX-RN Prep Amazon
- 02 Strategy book Kaplan NCLEX-RN Prep Amazon UK
- 03 Question book Lippincott Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN Amazon
- 03 Question book Lippincott Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN Amazon UK
- 04 Flashcards Oxford Ruled Index Cards, 3 x 5 Amazon
- 04 Flashcards Oxford Ruled Index Cards, 3 x 5 Amazon UK
- 05 Whiteboard Desktop Dry Erase Whiteboard Easel Amazon
- 05 Whiteboard Desktop Dry Erase Whiteboard Easel Amazon UK
- 06 Budget headphones Soundcore by Anker Q20i Noise Canceling Headphones Amazon
- 06 Budget headphones Soundcore by Anker Q20i Noise Canceling Headphones Amazon UK
- 07 Tablet stand Lamicall Adjustable Tablet Stand Amazon
- 07 Tablet stand Lamicall Adjustable Tablet Stand Amazon UK
- 08 Big ticket: iPad Apple iPad (11-inch) Amazon
- 08 Big ticket: iPad Apple iPad (11-inch) Amazon UK
Start with the free official stuff
Before you spend anything, go to the source. NCSBN’s NCLEX site has a free sample pack with RN and PN case studies that show the newer item types, an exam preview, a candidate tutorial for the testing software and the candidate bulletin. It also publishes the test plans, which set out what the exam covers. They are updated every three years, and the current RN plan took effect on April 1, 2026.
Read the test plan once, early. It is the closest thing to a syllabus the NCLEX has. NCSBN does not endorse any prep book or course, including the ones below.
The best NCLEX prep books
The three books below are long-running, widely used and sold on Amazon. They do different jobs, so many students use one for content and one for questions. Whatever you choose, buy the newest edition: older ones were written before the Next Generation NCLEX or the current test plan.
For content review: Saunders
The Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination is the big one. It goes through nursing content by topic and body system, and comes with thousands of practice questions in the book and online. Recent editions include Next Generation NCLEX style items.
Pick this if your weak spot is content: you read a question and genuinely do not know the drug, the lab value or the condition. It is heavy, so use it at a desk, not on the bus.
Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination
The doorstop. Content review plus a mountain of practice questions.
A big content review by Linda Anne Silvestri and Angela Silvestri, organized by body system and topic, with thousands of practice questions in the book and online. Recent editions include Next Generation NCLEX style items.
- Format
- Paperback with online question bank
- Focus
- Content review plus practice questions
Best for
Students who need to relearn content, not just practice questions.
Worth knowing
It is heavy, in both senses. Buy the newest edition, since older ones predate the current test plan, and check that the online access code is included if you want it.
For test strategy: Kaplan
Kaplan’s NCLEX-RN Prep book comes out every year and leans toward strategy: how to read a question, spot what it is really asking, and work through the newer clinical judgment items. It includes a full-length practice test.
Pick this if you know the content but keep landing on the second-best answer. It is lighter on content review than Saunders.
Kaplan NCLEX-RN Prep
Less about facts, more about how to read the question.
Kaplan's yearly NCLEX-RN book, focused on test strategy and clinical judgment practice, with Next Generation NCLEX style questions and a full-length practice test.
- Format
- Paperback, with online practice test
- Focus
- Strategy and clinical judgment
Best for
Students who know the content but keep picking the second-best answer.
Worth knowing
Lighter on content review than Saunders. Buy the current year's edition.
For question practice: Lippincott
Lippincott Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN is mostly questions, with rationales for why each answer is right or wrong. Recent editions were revised for the Next Generation NCLEX.
Pick this for daily question sets once you have a content base. Read every rationale, including for the questions you got right. Getting one right by luck teaches you nothing.
Lippincott Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN
Questions, questions, and the reasons behind the answers.
A question-heavy review book with rationales for right and wrong answers, organized by nursing area, and revised in recent editions for the Next Generation NCLEX.
- Format
- Paperback
- Focus
- Practice questions with rationales
Best for
Daily question practice once you have a content base.
Worth knowing
Not a content review. Pair it with your notes or a review book.
What about question bank apps?
Most students also use an online question bank. Many are sold as subscriptions directly from the company, not on Amazon, so we do not list them here. Your school may already give you access to one, so ask before you pay.
Study gear that actually helps
The research on studying is fairly clear on one point: testing yourself beats rereading. A 2015 study of medical students found that doing more practice questions and reviewing more flashcards predicted higher licensing exam scores. So the gear below is built around testing yourself, and around making long sessions bearable.
Flashcards
The cheapest study tool there is. Write a question on the front and the answer on the back, then quiz yourself, shuffle, and come back a few days later. Drug classes, lab values, isolation types and priority rules all work well on cards.
Oxford Ruled Index Cards, 3 x 5
Cheap, low-tech and still the best way to quiz yourself on a bus.
Classic ruled 3 x 5 index cards in a bulk pack. Write a question on one side and the answer on the other, and you have made retrieval practice out of paper.
- Size
- 3 x 5 inches
- Ruling
- Ruled one side
Best for
Drug classes, lab values and anything you need to recall, not just recognize.
Worth knowing
Writing the cards is not studying them. The work is in testing yourself, again, a few days later.
A whiteboard for drawing it out
Close the book and draw the RAAS pathway, the blood flow through the heart or the signs of increased intracranial pressure from memory. Then check. Where you got stuck is what you study next. A small desktop whiteboard makes this quick and wastes no paper.
Desktop Dry Erase Whiteboard Easel
For drawing the heart until it finally makes sense.
A small double-sided whiteboard on a fold-out stand that sits on a desk. Good for drawing pathways, flow charts and the blood flow through the heart from memory.
- Size
- Desk sized, varies by model
- Stand
- Folding easel
Best for
Blank page practice: draw it without notes, then check.
Worth knowing
Get low odor markers if you study in a small room.
Highlighters, in moderation
Color-coding is useful for organizing notes. Highlighting the whole book is not studying. A muted set like Mildliners keeps your notes readable.
Zebra Mildliner Highlighters
Soft colors for color-coding, so your notes do not glow.
Double-ended highlighters with a broad chisel tip and a fine tip, in muted colors that do not bleed through most textbook paper.
- Tips
- Chisel and fine
- Colors
- Muted, multipack
Best for
Color-coding by body system, drug class or "will be on the exam".
Worth knowing
Highlighting feels like studying. Testing yourself is what actually sticks.
Headphones for a loud house
If you live with roommates, kids or a dog with opinions, noise canceling headphones turn any chair into a study spot. The Soundcore Q20i is a strong budget option. If you also want headphones for the commute to your first job and for sleeping after nights, the Sony WH-1000XM is the step up.
Soundcore by Anker Q20i Noise Canceling Headphones
Library quiet for a student budget.
Over-ear Bluetooth headphones with hybrid active noise canceling and long battery life, per the maker, at a fraction of flagship prices.
- Noise canceling
- Hybrid active
- Connection
- Bluetooth
Best for
Studying in a loud house, a shared dorm or a busy cafe.
Worth knowing
Noise canceling is good, not flagship. Never wear them on the unit.
Sony WH-1000XM Noise Canceling Headphones
Silence on the bus, the break room and the day bed.
Sony's flagship noise canceling headphones, for commutes, study and switching off after a loud shift.
- Noise canceling
- Active
- Battery
- All day and then some
Best for
Long commutes, studying for certifications, and quiet after chaos.
Worth knowing
Not for sleeping on your side. Pair with earplugs for daytime sleep.
A tablet stand
Hours of question bank practice on a tablet flat on the desk means hours of looking down. A simple adjustable stand lifts the screen closer to eye level. Your neck will notice.
Lamicall Adjustable Tablet Stand
Lifts the screen off the desk and your chin off your chest.
A simple, sturdy aluminum stand that holds a tablet or phone at an adjustable angle, for lectures, question banks and video calls.
- Material
- Aluminum alloy
- Fits
- Most tablets and phones
Best for
Long question bank sessions on a tablet without hunching over it.
Worth knowing
For heavy note-taking with a stylus, a flatter angle works better. Check it fits your tablet with its case on.
Big ticket: an iPad
If you are carrying around a stack of review books and printed lecture notes, an iPad can hold the e-book versions, your notes and your question bank in one place. With a compatible Apple Pencil (sold separately) you can handwrite notes on slides and search them later.
It is a big purchase, so it makes the most sense if you will use it for work too, and if you have not already got a laptop that does the job. Check that any testing or school software you need runs on it.
Apple iPad (11-inch)
Every textbook, every lecture slide and every question bank in one thin slab.
Apple's standard iPad. With a compatible Apple Pencil it handles handwritten notes on lecture slides, and it runs the e-textbooks and question bank apps most programs use.
- Screen
- 11-inch
- Notes
- Works with a compatible Apple Pencil, sold separately
Best for
Students drowning in PDFs and heavy textbooks, and handwritten notes you can search.
Worth knowing
The Pencil, case and keyboard are extra. Check which Apple Pencil works with the model you buy, and whether your program's testing software runs on it.
A study setup that works
- Pick one main book and one question source. Three books half read are worse than one finished.
- Do questions every day, in small sets, and read every rationale.
- Keep a “missed it” list of topics you got wrong, and turn them into flashcards.
- Practice on a screen, since the real exam is on a computer.
- Protect your sleep. The CDC says adults need 7 or more hours a night. An all-nighter is a poor plan for an exam built around judgment.
- Take the day before off, or close to it. Lay out your ID and directions, and check the rules in the candidate bulletin.
What to skip
- Old editions from a used bookstore, unless you are only using them for content you already know.
- Every book at once. It feels productive. It is mostly expensive.
- Anything that promises a pass, a guaranteed score or “the secret”. There is no secret, just questions and sleep.
- Fancy planners you will abandon by week two. A wall calendar works.
- Earbuds on the drive to the testing center. Arrive with your ears free and your nerves intact.
The NCLEX study checklist
- The free NCSBN sample pack, tutorial and test plan
- One content review book (if you need content)
- One question source with rationales
- Index cards and a small whiteboard
- Headphones for a quiet study spot
- A tablet stand, if you study on a tablet
- Sleep, food, and one day off before the exam
Buying for someone who is studying? An NCLEX survival kit makes a great gift.
Your school’s guidance and the official NCSBN rules come first, so check the current candidate bulletin before test day.