HESI A2: Don't stress- Tips from a recent test taker!
For months, I stalled before scheduling up my exam date. Since I graduated college 5 years ago, I was pretty concerned about being out of practice academically. I ate many "anxiety cookies" in the days leading up to the test.
Members are discussing various aspects of the HESI A2 exam, including which sections to focus on based on school requirements, the reliability of test prep books, tips for studying, concerns about grammar and reading comprehension sections, availability of calculators during the test, and experiences with different study materials. Some members are seeking advice on specific topics like author's tone, chemistry content, and reading comprehension assistance.
Yesterday, I finally took my HESI exam and I couldn't wait to post some tips for future test takers! Here are my scores along with some things I wish I would have known:
How To Pass HESI
McGraw Hill's practice exam booklet is a great way to familiarize yourself with the test format.
By far, the best study guide book is by Elsevier, the company that makes the HESI A2. Buy it, read it and take the practice questions. The guide shows you exactly what you need to study for the exam. The only section I would recommend doing additional studying for is the A&P section.
Scores
Math: 98%
Basic, basic math. You also get a simple calculator on the exam, which is wonderful! Know your conversations (temperature, metric, etc.) and be very comfortable working with ratios and fractions.
Reading Comprehension: 92%
Practice exams hugely helped prepare me for this section. During the test, make sure you read through the passage first and understand exactly what a question is asking before selecting an answer. To be safe, on most questions I wrote out "ABCD" on my scratch paper and went through the passage marking each wrong answer as I read to ensure I chose the correct answer and didn't rush through the question.
Vocabulary: 98%
Whoah there- did anyone purchase the Mometrix HESI A2 study guide? If you haven't: Stay away! If you have: Put it down and breathe a sigh of relief. The book contains a hefty list of medical terminology. I memorized everything from hepatosalpinx to carbuncle and not a single word I learned was even close to the content on the exam. For the vocabulary section, focus on general vocabulary. I'd say most of the content consists of words commonly used in everyday academia.
A&P: 84%
I way, way over studied for A&P, so it's unfortunate I achieved my lowest score on this section. Two weeks before the exam, I pored over the minutia of each chapter of my past anatomy textbook. Unfortunately, I focused on accumulating a knowledge of many details and skimmed general concepts, figuring this information was "too easy" for the exam. Wrong choice. When you're studying for the HESI A2 A&P section, focus on broad, general concepts (hormones, cellular transport, general anatomy, etc.) and don't get bogged down with the little details. I used the following site to brush up on my anatomy: Anatomy & Physiology Class Website. Excellent organization of information! Again, don't focus on the little details.
Grammar: 98%
Studying for this section concerned me. Whereas I know the rules of grammar, the last time I learned the technical terms for grammar rules (indirect object, weak clause, etc.) was years ago. Luckily, the exam didn't focus on identifying parts of a sentence via technical terms. I used the following site to test myself on grammar knowledge after studying and it was really helpful: Grammar Quizzes
Critical Thinking: 940/1000
This section is not included in any of the available HESI A2 study guides, so I was nervous to take it. The Critical Thinking section provides you with a variety of different situations you could encounter as a nurse and asks how you would respond in a given situation.
My advice... before answering a question
Identify the most urgent problem
Select the best response for treating the specific problem
Hope this information helps someone! Overall, the test was much less intense than I expected, so don't stress yourself out too much. Happy to answer any questions!
Thank you everyone for sharing your experience and helping others.
I will be applying to UT-Houston for their Nursing program and I am really nervous, I finished everything as far as my classes but I left with 4 B's (unfortunately) two of those on my hardest classes, Medical Microbiology and Chemistry. The rest I have all A's, I am hoping I can score really good in the HESI and be able to have a good chance to get into the Spring 2017 semester. Wish me luck! I get terrible anxiety while taking tests and I am also ADHD. Hopefully everything would work out in my favor. Please send prayers and positive thoughts I am scheduled to take my HESI test at Lone Star Community College at the end of July.
I am in the same boat! I am applying for UT-Houston for the Spring 17. Just an FYI, Lonestar will only send your scores to a Lonestar school and you have to be a student at Lonestar to take it there. I just took my HESI this morning.
Wait! I thought you could send your scores to any school you wanted through the Elsvier's website, you have to pay a fee and wait a couple of weeks. I'm also a LSC-Kingwood student
Wait! I thought you could send your scores to any school you wanted through the Elsvier's website, you have to pay a fee and wait a couple of weeks. I'm also a LSC-Kingwood student
I am a Kingwood student also.
You may be right, I'm not sure. I want to retake my test and have it only sent to UT but I don't know how to do that without them being sent directly to lonestar
Wait! I thought you could send your scores to any school you wanted through the Elsvier's website, you have to pay a fee and wait a couple of weeks. I'm also a LSC-Kingwood student
OK I just spoke with Evolve and they said to make sure that UT-Houston will accept the HESI taken at Lonestar as some schools have restrictions. So I called UT and I think they are gone for the day.
For anyone starting to study for the HESI A2 check out Nurse Academy | Test Prep Videos for Nurses it is an awesome resource and so far everything is free! They seem to be just starting out, but are uploading free review videos all the time. So far, they have released a bunch of chemistry review videos and have just starting releasing HESI A2 math review videos also. The site also says they are releasing practice tests soon
I'm scheduled to take the HESI a2 this October 21. I have started with the A&P section using the the Elsevier edition 3 book. I passed my AP1 class which essentially revolves around gross anatomy with an A but passed my AP2 class which is more cellular with a B+ as I took it over an accelerated summer with a horrible professor, not pointing fingers. As I go through this AP section on the Elsevier book I feel like there is a ton I mean way too much that I really don't have a problem studying/memorizing but I contacted a friend who recently took the HESi and he told me that there are about 20 something questions for the AP section so i would assume that would cover more of the general side of it.
So for instance the axial skeleton, there are a ton of bones that I knew and memorized for when I took my AP1 class but I highly doubt that the HESI exam will test me on naming every single bone on the cranium, vertebral column and thoracic cavity. What I suppose will need to focus more in depth is the cellular portion of A&P ex: secretions, enzymes, hormones, lymphatic system, endocrine system, nervous system etc, etc....
Fractions is also something that I never got when I was in grammar school (not sure how I made it when I was a kid lol) so this is something that I would have to focus on as well. I'm contemplating the thought of hiring a tutor and have him/her walk me through the most important areas.
Do you guys know of any websites that provide questions that correspond to the ones found on the test? It seems to me like the questions that I find online are either too elementary or way too advanced for me. Thanks guys and good luck!
Thank you once again! I passed! My college only requires that you take the Math and all of the English portions of the HESI. I haven't taken Biology, Chem, or A&P in over 15 years, so I studied them - but not too much. I got a 98% in Math, a 98% in Grammar, a 97% in Vocab, a 90% in Reading Comp. I took the sciences just to see where I would land, and I got a 76% in Bio, 76% in Chem and a 75% in A&P. I over-studied the wrong things in A&P. Overall, I am really happy and proud of these scores for a first-timer that's been out of the game a while!
Hi, I have a question, I took the hesi exam twice already and still didn't score well. I got an 88% in math, 74% in reading, 54% in grammar and 54% in vocabulary. I have the book and it is very helpful, but I don't know why I'm still struggling. For an example, on the grammar it would ask aquestion like; which word is not use correctly in the sentence ? And I will read the sentence and it makes sense to me so I'm not sure which word is not use correctly. Or it would ask to fill in the blank. For an example, the national anthem blank by? A) was sang b) was sung. Things like that. It is kinda confusing. So I'm here to ask for help. What can I do to improve??
ntcoovert
5 Posts
P.S. I live in Kingwood also:)