The Pearson Vue NCLEX Trick

If you’re in nursing school and have taken (or are about to take) your NCLEX, you’ve probably heard of the infamous Pearson Vue NCLEX trick. Throughout my nursing school journey (especially as it came time to take the NCLEX), people literally would not stop talking about this “trick” that helps you determine if you passed or not. Honestly, to me this feels like the old wives tail of the nursing school world.  I will be very upfront from the beginning and tell you that I have no idea if it actually works. But nonetheless, it is a fascinating concept. So here we are!

What is the Pearson Vue NCLEX trick?

Otherwise refered to as PVT, the Pearson Vue NCLEX trick refers to the pop-up message that comes up on your screen if you try to re-register for the NCLEX exam AFTER you have already taken it (and are waiting for your results). After taking the NCLEX, you go home, log into the Pearson Vue website, and attempt to register for the NCLEX exam (yes, even though you just took it). According to the trick, there are one of two ways this could go:

1. You ARE able to register for the NCLEX exam again, which some people refer to as the “NCLEX bad pop-up”, AKA you failed the exam. 
2. You ARE NOT able to register for the exam again, which is also referred to as the “NCLEX good pop-up”, AKA you passed the exam. 

Basically, there are several different pop-ups you can potentially get when you try to re-register for the exam. This graphic below does a great job of explaining what each pop-up means.

How to do the Pearson Vue NCLEX Trick

You can read on for why I don’t actually recommend trying this trick, but I totally understand the desire to try it anyways. If you do choose to try this trick, here’s how you do it:

1. 1. Take your NCLEX exam. Then take a deep breath and go home knowing you’ve done your best!
   2. At LEAST one hour later (you should wait up to 4 to give the system some time to update), sign into the Pearson Vue website.
   3. Attempt to register for the NCLEX exam (again). Since you’ve already done this once, you should know how to do it. If you don’t, here are how to register for the NCLEX exam with Pearson Vue. You do have to answer all of the questions and enter your payment information. **Important note: Pearson Vue does NOT offer refunds. To avoid an unnecessary charge, you can fudge the expiration date on your credit card or submit a visa gift card or something instead!**
   4. You will receive one of the above pop-ups immediately upon submitting your payment information.

How soon after taking the NCLEX does the trick “work”?

As stated above, you do need to wait anywhere from 1-4 hours AFTER your original NCLEX attempt to try this trick. Though technology is fast, it’s not always THAT fast. While I know you’re eager to find out your results and will do anything it takes to get them sooner rather than later, attempting to do this trick too early might give you false hope OR make you extremely stressed for no reason! 

How accurate is it?

As a disclaimer, I honestly don’t recommend doing this trick because I have heard SEVERAL horror stories of people who got either the good pop-up or the bad pop-up only to have their results be the opposite of what they thought. I know I’ve already said it but I’ll say it again: The ONLY way you will 100% know that you passed is to wait the agonizing few days for your official test results. 

The internet is absolutely FULL of people discussing how accurate this trick is, and that’s for good reason! Allnurses.com has some interesting discussions on this, as do some Reddit boards like this one.  You should be especially mindful of trying this trick if you completed all of the questions on the NCLEX exam and are truly unsure if you passed or failed.

I don’t want to try the trick and be disappointed. How long do official NCLEX results take?

If you’re dying to find out your NCLEX results but don’t want to rely on questionable methods, you have some options.

1. You can wait for official NCLEX results to arrive. This will take about 6 weeks. 
2. You can pay $8.00 for Quick Results and get your (unofficial) results 48 hours after taking the exam. I did this and would recommend it 1,000 times over. Per the NCSBN,

Candidates whose NRB participates in the Quick Results Service (only applies to candidates seeking licensure in the U.S.) can access their ‘unofficial’ results 48 hours after their exam. There is a $7.95 fee for this service.

You can read more on using Quick Results HERE. I have honestly never (ever) heard of these unofficial results being inaccurate. The only important caveat to this is that only certain states participate in Quick Results.

If your state is not on the list, you will unfortunately not be able to exercise this option. If this is you, I’m sorry! There is one more option. If you attempt to look up your license on your state board of nursing’s website, your license MAY appear in a few days if you passed. There is really no guess as to how long this takes, although I can say that in California my license showed up online 48 hours after passing the exam. This is not the case for all states, as some do take anywhere from 7 days to the full 6 weeks to appear on the website. Do your best to stay entertained and stress-free during this horribly stressful time!

I hope you found this post on the ins and outs of the Pearson Vue NCLEX trick helpful! remember that passing on the first try or not has NO impact on how great of a nurse you will be! You will pass and you will become a nurse one day. Hang in there!