HESI A2 advice.

[Murse0341]

Hello all I'm applying to Chamberlain CON and I was told last Wednesday that I am already scheduled to take the HESI this Tuesday. Literally a day and a half away. It's been about 3 years since I did my prerequisites and I have a study guide but I've only looked at it today. I'm involved in a 4 week minimester Calculus class at the moment which has most of my time and focus. As I read through the guide I'm freaking out that I don't know things I should going into the exam. I am somewhat familiar with most of it but remembering the concepts and names of things in the A&P section is what's getting to me. Any advice? It's pretty much the only time I'll have to take the HESI bc I begin my semester at the local university next week.

[AspiringNP/CNM]

Hey Murse0341, I know I was messaging you on another thread, but I thought I'd give you a bit more details here about the sections on the HESI A2.

Math:

PROPORTIONS AND RATIOS (majority of problems). Add/sub/div/multiple Fractions and decimals. Percentages and converting fractions->decimals, Ratios->decimals, memorize basic metric conversions (mg, Gram, kg, lbs, mL, Liters, pints/cups/oz.), I had a military time conversion too.

Reading Comprehension:

This was not too difficult, just practice the ones in the review book and you should be okay. Just know main idea, summary, conclusion, recognizing what the author is implying and what the purpose of the paper is (Persuasion vs. entertainment, vs informative etc.)

Grammar and Vocabulary:

This is basically recognizing what word or phrase is used incorrectly in a sentence and being able to use context clues to figure out the definition of a word. The review book has pages of words you should know definitions too. I had exact problems from the review book on my exam.

Chemistry:

I was most worried about Chemistry because is was the prerequisite class I struggled with most, but it was basic chemistry knowledge. Study protons, neutron and electrons and the structure of an atom, atomic mass, atomic number. Know what affects pH and be able to tell is a solution is acidic or basic by its pH level. Recognize if common compounds are acidic or basic (For example compounds ending in OH->basic, anything that ends with Cl->acidic). Everything it asked me about Chem. was in the review book.

Anatomy/Physio:

Know what each system is responsible for. Specifically focus a little on Anatomic positions, what the main parts of the brain are responsible for (Medulla, cerebrum, cerebellum, NOT the lobes). Know general mitosis and meiosis (Mitosis ends with new cells, Meiosis ends with gametes etc.) Study the main hormones and where they are created (mainly ant. vs post. pituitary gland, and the gonads, and uterus->look at estrogen and progesterone.) Know what osteoblasts do.

Biology:

This was probably the easier science one in terms of how in depth they want you to know on these topics. Know what the cell parts are! What Carbs/Lipids/Proteins/DNA are made of. With DNA know what the DNA strand pairs are (Adenine->Thymine, Guanine->Cytosine), with RNA remember T becomes U in the strands (Thymine->Uracil). The hardest questions were about Cellular respiration(Metabolism), Protein Synthesis and Cellular Reproduction. Read the excerpt on genetics I had one question.

Overall all of the questions I had were mentioned in the review book, I highly recommend googling cliff note explanations on anything that you are somewhat confused about. Don't overwhelm yourself with too many details, if this test is hard for some people I think it's because people over prepare and focus too much of their studying on detailed information and not enough of the simple overview stuff. I hope that helps!

[sgrassler1]

What review book are you referring to? Thanks for the advice by the way!