I took the HESI a few weeks ago as part of my application for an accelerated program and everyone is right, definitely invest in the study guide. It's very general when it comes to the sciences, but the math portion was a life saver for me. Instead of taking out old textbooks, I was able to refresh all my basic math skills in less than an hour. Even though they are basic, I haven't divided fractions in a LONG time! And even though I had to take CALC II as an undergrad, you just forget things you haven't seen in a long time.
Also, take the time to really memorize your Roman Numerals and your conversions. There were at least 5-6 questions on the math portion for this section.
The rest of the math you'll see will be straight from the guide, so don't freak out. It's really easy if you take the time to go over it.
As far as the sciences go, the Biology was very basic, but I was a Bio major as an undergrad, so maybe my opinion is a little skewed here. Definitely make sure you know your cell organelles and their function. There were a lot of basic questions about that. Also, refresh on DNA and RNA and what processes to do what....transcription, translation, etc. Nothing in depth, just the basics. And don't bypass the plant section in the study guide. There was a question about light and dark reactions (where they occur), and where chloroplasts were stored.
The previous post is correct, the A&P was probably the most difficult section as there's so much material to cover. I would focus on the major muscle groups, hormones, basic anatomy of the heart, and the integumentary system. An example...
There was also a question on children being prone to ear infections and the length of the Eustacian tube being the cause.
The chemistry portion was also pretty basic and I don't remember much about this but I would recommend knowing the difference between types of bonds, the charges on molecules, and very minimal stoichiometry.
I didn't think the vocab section was necessarily hard, but sometimes they would ask you to identify the meaning of a word, but it wasn't just any word, it was a scientific word or process, so it felt more like it should have been in the Bio portion rather than the Vocab portion. But again, it wasn't anything you really haven't seen before.
The reading section was the same as most reading questions you've seen before (SAT, NET, Basic Skills). There's a passage and you're asked to identify the main idea, or what tone the author is using to write it, or what message the author is trying to get across. Obviously reading comprehension differs for every individual. My advice would be to take your time and really read the passage. RE-read it if you have to. I did my reading portion last because I wanted to get all my sciences out of the way and I assumed it would be my easiest section. At that point, I had already been sitting in my chair for 2 1/2 hours and I was impatient to get done and I made a few simple mistakes. Remember to be patient, and do that section first if you think it might be more difficult or take you longer.
I really stressed over this test and was pleasantly surprised when I finished. You'll get your score for that section as soon as you complete it, and at the end you'll get a cumulative score. Mine was a 92 and I was really pleased and didn't go crazy studying, but I did make sure to refresh all the topics covered in the guide. Do that and you'll be fine.
Hope this helps and Good luck to everyone!!!!
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Re: Anyone taken HESI A2 admission assessment test yet?
Re: Anyone taken HESI A2 admission assessment test yet?
