Fall 2019 Lonestar Hopefuls

twynne1 · Sep 4, 2018

Hey, I plan on applying to North Harris campus . I just hope I pass the hesi with a high score .

Antonette26 · Sep 5, 2018

Hello, I plan on applying to the Montgomery location.

Nancyface23 · Sep 5, 2018

I plan on applying to Cyfair but am thinking of choosing a secondary just in case. Also, what are y'all using to study for the HESI?

twynne1 · Sep 6, 2018

I used pocket prep and Elsevier hesi book ... which still didn't help me as much.

Nancyface23 · Sep 6, 2018

Well I havent even began to study! I'm retaking A&P 1 though to get an A bc I got a B last year so I think I'm good in the anatomy section atleast. I just gotta study for the rest. Do you know when you're taking it yet?

twynne1 · Sep 6, 2018

Im taking it October 29th . Im pretty confident in a&p and vocabulary . My lowest were math and grammar ughh so I need to study those sections

Nancyface23 · Sep 6, 2018

Well good luck and let us know how it goes!

HowdyHowdy, LVN · Sep 6, 2018

Never too early to start talking with others and planning ahead.

I will also be applying to the NH, KW and Montgomery transition programs next year.

Just took my HESI again on 8/30 and will be applying with a 7.71.

Nancyface23 · Sep 8, 2018

Never too early to start talking with others and planning ahead.
I will also be applying to the NH, KW and Montgomery transition programs next year.
Just took my HESI again on 8/30 and will be applying with a 7.71.

That's a really score I'm sure you will get in. Any tips for the Hesi?

tncaruthers5 · Sep 22, 2018

Hi!

I'm also planning on applying for CF, NH, and Montogomery. I scored an 88% on the HESI so I'm retaking it in a month. I'm also retaking English and AP in hopes of getting A's instead of the B's I had previously.

HowdyHowdy, LVN · Sep 23, 2018

That's a really score I'm sure you will get in. Any tips for the Hesi?

Sorry for the late response... let me see if I can remember as best as I can.

Math - basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and they give you a calculator. Can you push buttons? Outside of that, know how to do all of those same functions, but with fractions. Also, lots of ratios/proportions. Written like... 10:100 :: __:500 - fill in the blank (its 50). Know all of your conversions (lbs to Kg, g to Kg, mL to L, mL to tsp/Tbsp, mL to oz, oz to pints, to quarts, etc.) Google the big G conversion chart and memorize that and as soon as you sit down, write it down. If you can remember that 30mL = 1oz and memorize the Big G chart, your can figure out the fluid conversions from there. It helps. I didn't have any temp conversion questions. The math is easy. My scores on math so far have been 100, 100, 98.

Grammar - most of the grammar is obvious to anyone who speaks decent English, as the questions are structured as "Choose the word that best fits the sentence- "John _____ the ball. throwed, throught, threw, thow'ed". However, get the 4th Edition Elsevier Hesi A2 book and review it, especially look at the section that I think is called "15 common grammar..." and remember those. Things like "lay/lie, there/their/they're, who/whom, etc" it gives you awesome tricks to remember those. Know them because they will be on there for sure. Know when to use an apostrophe with an "s" (plural vs. possessive). My scores on this section in the past - 94, 96, 92.

Reading Comprehension - this is probably the most straight forward and least difficult to prepare for, if you can even call it preparing. Read the paragraph and answer questions about that paragraph. Usually you can rule out 1-2 answer choices right off the bat. I found it helpful to stay organized by writing "A B C D" on scratch paper and physically crossing off the ones I know aren't correct. Use your context clues and the sentences around what it's asking about and pick the best answer." Past scores - 90, 94, 94.

Vocabulary - this part is also sort of difficult to actually prepare for. Most of the words you will know by knowin' talkin' good english. Again, the HESI A2 book can help here. It has a big word bank. Go through it, highlight what you do not already know and study those. Piece of cake. Each time I've taken the test I've gotten a 96 here. Grrrrrr.

A&P - ok... this section can be a real PITA. To be completely honest, I've taken this section four times and have had four entirely different experiences. Some of the questions are very broad "name the two branches of the nervous system" or very specific "List the hormones secreted by the posterior pituitary gland." Not only that, but you will get them in vastly different numbers because there are only 25 questions and the test bank probably numbers in the hundreds. For this, I heavily reviewed the 4th edition HESI A2 book by Elsevier AND...more importantly....Downloaded the premium version of the Pocket Prep App and anytime I had a free chance, I did practice questions on the app. Lunch break at work, sitting in traffic, sitting on the toilet...ANYTIME...it helps. I believe that app helped me far more than anything else. I would set it to only ask AP questions and just do 5 or 10 questions at a time and flag the ones I got wrong. I would study each explanation, even on the ones I got right. Every 100 questions or so, I would go back and redo the questions I previously flagged and eventually, by answering AP questions, I started painting a picture of the human body in my head and how all the systems worked together. I was surprised by how effective it was. I highly recommend downloading the paid version of the app. It's like 15 bucks. You can use it for the other sections too but I did not. The free version is useless. As for the types of questions, as I said before, its hard to say buttt.... know joint types, anatomical locations and movements, MAJOR muscle groups as much as feasibly possible because it is impossible to learn all of the tiny ones (I kid you not, I was asked one time "name the muscle that superiorly adducts the great toe"...it was rare, but that time it was really THAT specific), know your endocrine and lymphatic systems, hormones..there is quite a bit of that. Also the WBC types and functions. I've had a good bit of nervous system questions. Know your bones well. Scores I've gotten....80, 88, 72, 84. I loved AP in school and still do. But with God as my witness I hate this section of the test.

Critical thinking - this section is much easier for someone who is already an LVN and has a good understanding of prioritization because this section is 100% "what is the MOST correct answer." It's all about prioritization. Each question gives a scenario with 4 possible responses and you choose what you would you think would be the best response. They are all correct, but it wants what is MOST correct. It's not that difficult at all and I've found that leaning on my gut response has helped. Your mileage may vary. This section does not factor into your overall average but you must get at least a 750 out of a possible perfect 1000 to be eligible to apply. So far I've gotten 900, 920, 950, in that order. So as you can see, the longer I've been a nurse, the better I've scored.

All in all the HESI is not that bad. It worked my nerves something serious and this last time I took it, I hadn't taken it in a year and a half and was doing so fully expecting to use it as a new baseline to start from in taking it again, and again until I was satisfied with my scores. I took it August 30th and was happy with how I did, 93% overall, so I will stick with that.

Hope this helps. And good luck!