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According to NCSBN, National Council of State Boards of Nursing the gap between international students and US educated students passing the NCLEX RN is diminishing.

In 2000 there were more than seventy-one thousand US educated pupils sitting for the NCLEX exam and over seventy-five hundred pupils educated outside the United States. About 88.5% of students taking the NCLEX were educated in the US

As demands for nursing students increased so did the number of pupils studying nursing. Aging Baby Boomers, population explosion, and nurses performing the tasks that were traditionally performed by doctors is causing a serious demand for nurses.

Is the need for nurses similar to the need for computer engineers? Computer engineer positions were met by students outside the United States who were determined to learn the trade. These students are also recognizing and satisfying the need for nurses. Many US Citizens are protesting that there are citizens with skills and experience who want a job in the computer science field and issuing more work visas will only increase unemployment in the US. Will nurses in the US be competing for jobs in the US with students educated abroad? Last year there were 119,579 United States educated students and 33,768 internationally educated pupils sitting for the NCLEX RN test. This is a bit more than 28% of all nursing students taking this exam.

The increase in international students could be as a result of the NCSBN opening three new test sites outside the United States. In just seven years the percentage of international students has risen 17.5%

Students educated outside the United States are alert to the need for nurses in North America and know that educating themselves may be their opportunity to obtain a work visa and possible permanent residency in the US and may garner them a life of a greater quality of living and freedom from oppression.

How well are United States educated students performing compared to their internationally educated counterparts? are still out performing international students, but international students are gaining on them.In 2007, there were 119,579 US educated nursing students taking the NCLEX RN. 85.5% of them passed. 52% of the 33,768 students educated outside the US nursing students passed the first time.

How about those students who had to repeat the test? In 2007 26,411 students sat for the exam for at least the second time. These were US educated students retaking the exam. Simple math indicates that there are students taking the exam for at least the third time A mere 52.4% of these repeat test takers passed. The pass rate for Students educated outside the US dropped to 25.7%

NCLEX Audio test prep materialsare available online. Since the audios are available online they are accessible to anyone in the world.

most students use the audios to study for the exam, but a few students have thought ahead and use it to learn the class material prior to starting the class.

Students around the world find it difficult to make time to study. NCLEX review materials on audio make it easier to review while performing other activities such as driving or going to the gym.