u/Doryan123

Just took the Kaplan nursing entrance diagnostic exam and wanted to post my experience because a lot of the Reddit posts I read beforehand were outdated now that the test seems to have changed.

I studied for about 3 weeks using the Smart Edition Nursing book. If you buy the book, it comes with 4 practice tests, videos, and question banks. Some parts were EXTREMELY helpful, but some sections didn’t really match the current Kaplan exam anymore.

My scores:

• Reading: 9/11 (82%)
• Spelling/Vocabulary: 12/16 (75%)
• Math: 13/17 (76%)
• Science: 8/16 (50%)

OVERALL: around 72-74%

READING:
I honestly didn’t study reading much because I consistently scored 80+ on Smart Edition practice tests. On the actual Kaplan though, the questions felt different.

One thing that frustrated me:
Smart Edition writing questions underline the part of the sentence that’s wrong, so it’s easier to focus on the issue. Kaplan does NOT do that. They number the sentences instead, and you have to reread the passage over & over, to figure out what the question is referring to. It takes longer and by the end of the reading section I was honestly exhausted from rereading passages multiple times.

MATH:
Smart Edition focused heavily on fractions, but the actual Kaplan had a wider variety of math. Thankfully the questions were pretty straightforward. They weren’t trying to trick you. I used deductive reasoning plus the calculator and was able to work through most of them.

SCIENCE:
Science completely blindsided me.

I had read SO many Reddit posts saying the Kaplan was mostly anatomy. Apparently they’ve changed the science section within the last year because that was NOT my experience at all.

For context, I’ve aced 

• Biology 101 & 102
• Microbiology
• Human Pathogens
• Anatomy 1 lecture + lab

And I STILL bombed the science section.

It honestly felt more like a broad knowledge test covering all those classes together instead of just anatomy memorization. There was very little chemistry besides really basic biology-level concepts.

I think Smart Edition probably USED to match the exam better before Kaplan updated it. Their anatomy videos/questions were really good and probably still helpful for foundations, but the actual test felt broader and less predictable.

Spelling/vocabulary and grammar concepts.

These felt important:

Grammar/Vocabulary concepts that helped me for Kaplan:

• Independent/Main Clause = Complete thought that can stand alone -> Example: “I studied.”

• Dependent Clause = Incomplete thought that starts with words like because, when, if, although -> Example: “Because I studied”

• Simple Sentence = One independent clause / one complete thought -> Example: “I studied for the test.”

• Compound Sentence = Two complete thoughts joined together -> Example: “I studied, and I passed.”

• Complex Sentence = Independent clause + dependent clause -> Example: “Because I studied, I passed.”

• Complex Fragment = Dependent clause by itself (unfinished thought) -> Example: “When I got home.”

• Preposition = Shows location, time, or direction -> Examples: under, over, beside, during -> Example sentence: “under the chair”

• Conjunction = Connects words or ideas -> Examples: and, but, or, because -> Example: “I was tired, but I studied.”

• Adjective = Describes a noun -> Questions it answers: What kind? Which one? How many? -> Example: “red dress”

• Adverb = Describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb -> Questions it answers: How? When? Where? -> Example: “ran quickly”

• Object/Object Pronoun = Receives the action in a sentence -> Examples: me, him, her, them -> Example: “I called her.”

• Parallel Structure = Items in a list should match the same grammatical pattern -> Example: “dancing, singing, drawing”

As soon as I left the testing center I bought the purple Kaplan prep book because I definitely think the actual Kaplan materials will probably match the updated exam better. I do kinda feel like this Exam is you, either know the information or not because its such a broad variety in each section.

I’m planning to study for another 1–2 weeks and retake it. I’ll update after my next attempt in case it helps someone else.

I booked an MSC cruise through Cruises.com back in February during a “Free Balcony Upgrade” promotion. The offer wording says: “Free Balcony Upgrade based on Balcony Bella stateroom at Oceanview Bella stateroom price.”

Now that the cruise is getting closer, I logged in to MSC's website and my booking is showing an interior room instead of a balcony. I’m confused because I thought the promo meant we’d actually be booked in a balcony room.

Has anyone experienced this before with MSC or Cruises.com? Did your room update later, or did you have to contact them to get it fixed? Do I call, MSC or Cruises.com?