I just took the HESI... Advice

[PinkSparkles]

Hi everyone! I took the HESI exam yesterday. I got an overall score of 83.14%. The score required for my school is 75%, so I think I did well.

Here is the breakdown of the subject areas, my scores, and my tips for each:

Reading Comprehension (90%)

Overall, the readings were very simple to understand. I will admit, when I was studying, I dreaded this area, because the practice passages I had were just way too dry and difficult, and rather lengthy. The passages on the HESI are no more than maybe 2 paragraphs at most, so don't sweat it!

• Know the meaning of words used in sentences
  
• Know how to identify main ideas of the passage
  
• Make sure you understand what you're reading, because you must know what is implied in the passages and what you can conclude from them.
  

Grammar (98%)

I didn't really study for this section, but the sources I used for really stressed on identifying grammatical components (such as prepositions, clauses, euphemisms, etc.) Don't stress about those, because you just need to focus on sentence structures and misused words in sentences.

*BE careful in this section, as the questions may be tricky asking "which is correct" and "which is not correct"

Vocabulary and General Knowledge (88%)

Basic, day to day words. Nothing overwhelming! Some medical terminology, but study the book and you'll be good to go. I didn't really study for this section.

Math (98%)

Basic math! Do as many practice problems as you can possibly do, and you'll finish the 55 questions in no more than 20 minutes. This was the section I breezed through.

Know your conversions (cups, pints, quarts, etc.), know military time, be VERY comfortable with working with fractions, percents, ratios.

Biology (68%)

I only had 2 days to study for the HESI, hence the low scores you are about to see throughout my entire science section. I took Biology first, thinking I would do best in this section. WRONG, lol. It really is basic stuff, I am not going to lie. Use the HESI A2 2015 book and you'll do great, I promise. Know cell parts and functions, photosynthesis, meiosis, mitosis, etc.

Chemistry (68%)

Honestly, this section was much more simplified that I thought it was going to be. I would say to definitely brush up on your concepts and understandings of atoms, reactions, bonds, and laws. I had maybe one or two problems to solve during this section, so I would not stress about the problem solving.

A & P (72%)

Ironically, this is the section I thought I would do worse on. Don't get me wrong, it's still a bad score, but I did better on this than the other sciences. All I would advise is to know where the major organs are, what they are responsible for, hormones and glands, and circulatory system and blood flow.

The high scores I got for math and English really did save me, let's be honest. But if you utilize proper test taking strategy, plan at LEAST one week ahead to study, and use the HESI A2 2015 Study Guide book, as well as the McGraw Hill's Evolve HESI A2 practice tests, expect to get a wonderful score on the test and even the science sections.

I thought the HESI 2015 book did a great job at explaining the general concepts in the sciences. It does have errors in the book, but for the most part, it's great. I also purchased the McGraw Hill one, and it looked like a wonderful tool, although I did not get around to using it.

These are my tips! I honestly wish each one of you taking this test the best. Trust me, don't stress! You will be fine!

XOXO