HESI Admissions Exam 2013 Advice

[SlimHaunter]

I have a B.S. degree in Neurobiology and Physiology and have recently been rejected from the two accelerated nursing programs I applied to. I got in contact with my undergraduate guidance counselor and she directed me to an RN nursing program that would eventually utilize some of my credits from my degree towards a BSN degree. However, in order to be eligible for such a program, I still had to pass the HESI Admissions exam with flying colors.Make no mistake-this was not a simple task. I had not taken a general biology or chemistry course in five years! The material that was covered for my B.S. degree was far more advanced than General Chem and Bio101. Everything I ever learned in Gen.Chem and Intro.Bio was long forgotten.Which is where my advice comes in. It seems that everyone wants to know what the best HESI exam study material is. I have yet to see a consistent answer to that question. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses when it come to the HESI subject areas. What worked for one person might not work for you. What I do find to be a serious advantage is the recent completion of General Bio and General Chemistry. The HESI bio and chem sections are designed around these two courses! It's best to take the HESI while this information is still fresh in your head, because otherwise, you will quickly forget the purpose of the Golgi apparatus or the value of Avogadro's number. So if you are young and have completed general bio and general chemistry within the last year, trust that your knowledge is more than enough to pass these subject areas of the HESI. If you haven't had general bio or chem courses in the last five-ten years, I would suggest seriously reviewing the basic material and maybe even retaking both courses all together. When it comes to the Reading Comprehension section, realize that there are four main question types: Meaning-word use, conclusions, implications, and understanding. Conclusions and implications seem to be the problematic questions, so focus on those when you are studying. For the grammar section, review the parts of speech and sentence structure. You might know what sounds grammatically correct but if you don't know what part of speech it is, then you don't know enough.Vocab and general knowledge..is mostly common sense. Even if you don't know the exact definition of a word, the answer choices obviously eliminate at least two options. Finally, when it comes to the math section, realize that the highest level of math tested is basic algebra. If you're applying to nursing school, you must have graduated high school and you probably took algebra in 9th grade or before then. It is NOTHING you can't handle. Review the stupid conversions like 2.54cm=1 inch. If fractions are the bane of your existence and you don't know how to multiply fractions or reduce fractions..go on google. Search how to reduce fractions and do basic arithmetic with fractions. You will find something that will help you if you try. And in the end, if you fail your HESI, realize it's not the end of the world. There are other nursing programs that don't require the HESI. And realize that failing the HESI doesn't make you a failure as a nurse. I have worked as a nurse's aid, a tech, a peri operative assistant, a registrar, a health insurance auditor, and a medical secretary in the last seven years while I was doing school. Both of my parents are nurses. None of the material on the HESI has any real value when you're working in the actual field. I bet you every nurse I work with would fail the HESI. It is essentially worthless and is merely used to weed out candidates in a competitive program. Most people have to take it three times in order to pass. So keep your head up because you can definitely do it of you truly have the desire to be a nurse.