I took the HESI A2 at my school's testing center on 08/17/17 and scored a 93% overall. Several people have been asking me questions about the test so I thought I would make a post about it to help. :)
My school only required these four sections. (Not sure why the A&P section wasn't required, but I won't complain!)
Math - 98%
Reading - 90%
Grammar - 90%
Vocabulary - 94%
~It took me 2 hours and 45 mins to complete everything. Take your time and double check before you click submit answer. You can't return to a previous question.
Tips:
1. Study for the test at least a month in advance, especially if the school you are applying to requires the science sections as well.
2. If you are required to take the math section, make sure you find out if the school you will be testing at allows a calculator so you can prepare accordingly. My test had a calculator on the screen, but no physical calculators were allowed. Double check your answers because the calculator buttons stick sometimes. And yes, there is a decimal button on the calculator!
3. Take the subject first that you are most worried about. For me this was math, and it also took me the longest.
4. Use more than one study tool. The 4th edition Evolve Elsevier book was great for math and grammar, but you NEED to take practice tests. This is the key to success.
5. Please don't assume the test will be easy and that you don't need to study things like vocabulary or grammar. It is a "general knowledge test" but not studying for each section thoroughly could be your downfall as I saw this happen to a few people I know. The vocab contains many words I had never heard before I began studying, but using practice tests helped me tremendously.
6. KNOW which sections of the test are required by the school you are applying to!
If anyone has more tips for others to use, please leave them in the replies!
What I used to study:
-4th edition Elsevier book
-Pocket Prep app from the app store (Seriously get this if you can, it's $15 but worth it)
-McGraw Hill HESI A2 Practice Tests book
-HESI A2 words Flashcards | Quizlet (For the vocab)
-HESI A2 Practice Test | Free HESI Exam Practice Questions
-Free Practice Test for the HESI® exam
-YouTube videos especially for math
Math: know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions and mixed numbers. Know how to turn mixed numbers into improper fractions and vice versa. I had some where you were adding three fractions instead of just two. There were TONS of proportions which are very easy once you get the hang of them. I didn't get any questions about roman numerals or converting Celsius to Fahrenheit, but I would learn them just in case. I only got one military time question. I got maybe around 5 questions converting things like grams to milligrams and milliliters to liters. Make sure you can convert decimals to fractions, decimals to fractions, and decimals to percentages. Practice, practice practice. If you can do all of the practice questions in the Evolve book and get the right answer, you should be fine on this section.
Reading comprehension: most of the passages were much shorter than I expected. I thought these questions were kind of tricky, so read the passage twice before answering any questions. It mostly asked questions like "What is the meaning of loquacious in the third sentence?" and "What can you infer about how the author feels towards alcohol?" Many questions for me seemed like there were more than one right answer. Go with your gut and don't change your first answer unless you know it was wrong.
Grammar: PRACTICE! Read the entire section for grammar from the Elsevier book, and take several practice tests to improve what you know. What seems/sounds correct may not actually be the right answer, which is why it's important to know the rules of grammar. I understand this section can definitely be hard if English is not your first language, so practice because practice makes perfect. The majority of the questions were "which word in this sentence is used incorrectly?" and there were some where you needed to be able to tell what word was misspelled. Know subject-verb agreement and the difference between independent/dependent clauses. Know the difference between tricky words like lay/lie and further/farther. Know the difference between using then and which in a sentence.
Vocabulary: Unfortunately, the words provided in the Elsevier book are not enough. Still learn them though. Take practice tests and use the Quizlet vocab set that I provided earlier in this post! I made flash cards of words I knew I needed to brush up on and looked over them at least twice a day. This section I know makes people panic, but for me it was the easiest section because I used several different resources that prepared me well. If I went in without ever studying for this because I thought my vocabulary was already excellent, I'd be in big trouble. Many words were brand new to me. I used the Elsevier book, Pocket Prep app, quizlet, and the McGraw Hill book to get my vocabulary terms to study.
Each section had 55 questions and you find out what you scored on that section once you submit it, so you don't have to wait.
I hope this post can help some people. Good luck to everyone, you can do it!
