IMPORTANT: Each cohort has a 3-day in-person ATI NCLEX Review scheduled shortly after classes end in the semester they graduate. Attendance is required.
May 2025 Grads - your review dates are 5/5, 5/6, and 5/7 in Masterton 113 from 8:45-4 pm each day.
August 2025 Grads - your dates are 8/25, 8/26, 8/27 in Masterton 113 from 8:45-4 pm each day.
Contact Lindsay Larsen for questions.
The primary resource for preparing for the NCLEX-RN exam is ATI, which students will use throughout their USM nursing experience. Most students will find that the ATI resources provided through USM offer an excellent and robust NCLEX preparation resource.
If students want to personally seek additional NCLEX resources beyond ATI, we recommend either the Princeton Review or Kaplan
DO NOT USE UWorld. We strongly recommend against students using this program. There is limited supporting data to show that it leads to student success on the NCLEX. Past students who have used this resource did not typically achieve strong NCLEX results.
question formats they may encounter in the examination
When will students learn more about the process for NCLEX registration and the exam itself?
In your final semester, the Associate Dean and Coordinator of Nursing Student Services will present the process for applying for licensure to the Board of Nursing and for taking the NCLEX-RN examination in a group information session for students.
Return the State of Maine School of Nursing Certification form (sent to your email) to the Board of Nursing
Complete the top 3 lines of the form ONLY. Dr. Petersen will sign the form, and we will send it to the Board of Nursing after graduation and all of your grades have been posted in MaineStreet.
Register for the exam with PearsonVue:
The first registration is for the exam and is through PearsonVue.
This will cost $200.
The school code for the USM School of Nursing is US40509400
The first name and last name you use on your application to PearsonVue and to the State Board of Nursing must exactly match the first name and last name on your picture ID that you will use for identification at the testing center.
There are two (2) test sites in Maine. They are located in Bangor and Westbrook.
If you received test-taking accommodations while a student at USM and you would like to apply for accommodations for the NCLEX-RN, please contact the Disability Services Center (dsc-usm@maine.edu). Someone from that office will need to send a letter (or email) to the Associate Dean, documenting the services you received while a student at USM. The Associate Dean will then write a letter that you will need to send to the Board of Nursing. The process may be different for states other than Maine.
PearsonVue will communicate with you via email only, so please use a secure email address that you check frequently.
Apply to the Board of Nursing
The second registration is with the State Board of Nursing in the state where you want to receive your initial license.
If you are applying to the Maine Board of Nursing, the application fee is $75.
Most states require that you be a resident of the state in which you want to obtain your license. Contact the Board of Nursing in that state to obtain an application packet and verify the residency requirement.
The first name and last name you use on your application to PearsonVue and to the State Board of Nursing must exactly match the first name and last name on your picture ID that you will use for identification at the testing center.
Certification from the School of Nursing form for the State of Maine (The Coordinator of Nursing Student Services will send you this form via email)
All NCLEX examination registrations will remain open for a 365-day period during which the board of nursing may determine the candidate’s eligibility. The time period begins when the board of nursing receives the candidate’s registration from the test service. Once a candidate is made eligible, they must test within the validity dates printed on the Authorization to Test (ATT) (usually 90 days). We recommend you register with PearsonVue at the same time you apply to your state board of nursing.
There will be some pretest items. These items are not scored, but they are used to pilot new test questions. You will not know which question is a pretest item.
The questions you receive can range from a minimum of 75 up to a maximum of 145. The maximum amount of time allowed will be 5 hours.
There are two scheduled breaks – one at the 2-hour mark and one at 3.5 hours. You do not have to take the breaks, but we recommend that you do. If you need more frequent breaks, you can always raise your hand, and a proctor will come to you to assess your needs. All breaks do draw from the total 5-hour time limit.
Please remember to view each question as its own separate entity. Do not get hung up on trying to determine if you are receiving a lot of Pharmacology or Labor/Delivery kinds of questions. You may think you are getting a lot of one type of question when, in reality, it is just the setting that is being repeated, not the content.
Consider visiting the PearsonVue website to review the information about the testing centers. You can do a virtual tour of a center – they are all set up the same way. It might help to ease some pre-test jitters if you can see what your surroundings will look like.
Helpful Links
NCSBN National Council of State Boards of Nursing
NCLEX Question Tutorial - this tutorial will accustom students to the types of question formats they may encounter in the examination