graciehertel

Hi there! I actually attend GCU as well, and I just took my HESI a couple weeks ago! I also scored pretty low in one of the subcategories within reading comprehension. However, as far as I am concerned, GCU does not factor in the subcategories. I have gone through their handbook, and it only discusses looking at the scores from reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, math, and anatomy. I don't think you have anything to worry about!

Last week, July 31st to be exact, I took my HESI A2 exam and scored a 90.4% overall! I have used this website multiple times in order to gain more knowledge on what to expect for the HESI and tips on how to study for such a daunting exam. Seeing how much of an impact some of these articles had on me, I am hoping that through my own personal experience I can help others prepare for the HESI. I will provide tips to help future test takers avoid any test anxiety and provide them different ways for how to study! Anatomy and Physiology: 96%This portion of the exam is what made me the most nervous, so I decided to complete it first. This was because I had no idea how specific or broad the questions were going to be. For the majority, I found most of the questions fairly easy and not detailed at all. However, there are very specific questions that are put into the exam that will definitely make you think. For those questions, I based it on what choice made the most sense to me, and past information I had studied from. I believe it is important to stick to studying the general knowledge of each chapter, then going into depth and memorizing every single, little detail. Therefore, do not spend time on studying how muscle contractions work, or how cellular respiration works. Instead, focus on the general concepts of each chapter (ex: anatomy of heart/blood flow through heart, the skin layers/basic function of it, and anatomy of the renal system). For this section, I used my PowerPoints that my professors made (so if you have any PowerPoints from your professors, use them). They provide you with all of the information you need, as well as extra details that you feel may be important for you to know. I also used Elsevier's HESI Admission Assessment Exam Review and the Mometrix study guide. Vocab: 92%The vocabulary section of the exam is very straightforward and easy to study for. You just have to memorize vocabulary words, along with their meanings (it is also useful to study a few synonyms to go along with the vocabulary word). For this section, I surprisingly knew a lot of the words on the exam, but there were multiple questions that I had to guess on. The exam focuses more on everyday vocabulary than medical terminology, but do not let that deceive you into thinking there will not be medical terms on the exam, because there will be. Just not as much as you think there would be. For this section, I used Elsevier's and Mometrix's study guide. I also used the McGraw-Hill's practice test workbook by writing down any of the vocab words I had not studied from the other two books. Another source that I had used was Quizlet (Hesi Vocabulary a2 Flashcards | Quizlet). I found all of these resources to be very useful, and I found multiple words that I had studied from these 4 resources to be on the exam. Math: 86% If you are stressing out about math, don't. It is basic math (ex: ratios, conversions, and fractions). I probably studied the least amount for this section, besides reading comprehension. You are provided with a basic calculator and scratch paper, which is very nice. I suggest focusing on conversions (I had at least 5 of them), fractions, ratios, Roman Numerals, and military time. If you are comfortable with doing all of those, then you should be set for this section! Also, always make sure to double check your answers; it's easy to mistake a number for a different one! Grammar: 92%This was another section I was really worried about. I have never been great at grammar. It has just never clicked with me. However, once I started devoting a lot of my study time towards this section, I was finally able to grasp it! For the most part, I found the questions easy to answer. As long as you study and understand each grammar rule and how it works, you should be good! Just focus on the general concepts for this section such as punctuation, word meanings, adverbs, and adjectives. Personally, I did not like Mometrix's section for grammar. I feel like they added too much-unneeded content. Instead, I would focus on using Elsevier's study guide. I also highly recommend taking practice tests for this section, which you can find online or in McGraw-Hill's practice test book. Reading Comprehension: 86% I definitely rushed through this section, so I believe I could have done better. I chose to do this section last, and I became short on time. I was not looking forward to finding out what would happen if I did not finish. This section was also the section I studied for the least. All you can really do to study for this section is take practice tests and more practice tests. Make sure to read each passage carefully, as well as the questions. Go back and reread in order to answer each question and to ensure you are getting each question correct. When studying, make sure to know the difference between the main idea and details, and practice fact versus opinion questions. I primarily used the McGraw-Hill's practice test workbook. Conclusion:Overall, the test was not as difficult as I expected it to be. I felt very prepared by the studying resources that I utilized, and nothing on the test came to me as a surprise. I studied for over a month for this test. I know everyone is different, so give yourself the amount of time you think you will need in order to be successful! I hope this information will be helpful to anyone who reads this! I am always open to answering any questions. Below, I am going to list every resource that I used to study for the HESI! Thanks for reading! Study Resources:HESI Admission Assessment Exam Review (Elsevier)HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide (Mometrix)3 HESI A2 Practice Tests (McGraw-Hill Education). They also have a study guide/review book as well!PocketPrep (this is seriously the best app ever. I recommend buying the full version. It is so worth paying for, and it prepares you so well for the exam. They have a lot of questions that are similar to the A&P questions, and others as well.)Crash Course A&P videos (Youtube)

Hi there! I actually just took my HESI exam last week! Unfortunately, I do not remember any of the words that I was asked on the test. However, I do remember there being some words that I studied in the HESI review books! A little less than half of the questions were from the review books. Here is a Quizlet, that I found, that contains all the words from two different review books and from the app, PocketPrep (Hesi Vocabulary a2 Flashcards | Quizlet). I found it super useful! I would also study a couple synonyms for each word, just to be safe. There was also some medical terminology within the vocab section. I know for one of those ones I had to take my best guess. Sometimes they'll put the word into a sentence, so it'll make it easier to define the word. Reading comprehension was one of my lowest scores, but I also rushed through it because I was short on time. The passages were a lot shorter than I expected, and there can be at least 3-5 questions per passage. Some questions will ask to define a certain word, state the main idea, figure out what's fact versus opinion, and so on. Just take lots of practice tests, and you will be good to go! I found grammar to be pretty straightforward. Just make sure to review the basics: verbs, adverbs, adjectives, punctuation, etc. I got a lot of questions that asked which sentence was grammatically correct, or which sentence makes the most sense. I also got questions that asked to fill the rest of the sentence in with the choice that makes the most sense. Overall, I found this section to be very easy! For the math section, just review basic math. Make sure to review conversions, ratios, fractions, military time, and roman numerals. You are provided with scratch paper and a basic calculator, so you'll be all set! I made this Quizlet for the required conversions (Conversions Flashcards | Quizlet). I hope all of this helps!

Hi there! I actually just took my HESI exam last week! Some of the review books I used were the HESI Admission Assessment Exam Review (Elsevier), HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide (Mometrix), and the 3 HESI A2 Practice Tests (McGraw-Hill Education). McGraw-Hill Education also has a review book available. I used other resources such as Quizlet (Conversions Flashcards | Quizlet for math and Hesi Vocabulary a2 Flashcards | Quizlet for vocab) and the app, Pocketprep. I found Pocketprep very useful, especially if you purchase the full version. It allows you to take practice tests from every section, and it allows you to do up to 100 questions per test! For A&P, I watched the Crash Course videos on Youtube. I hope this helps!

I couldn't agree with you more. I found a lot of mixed reviews about what study material I should be using. However, I used all my study books/material to prepare for the exam and I scored a 90.4% on it! I used the following to help me study for the HESI: HESI Admission Assessment Exam Review (Elsevier), HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide (Mometrix), 3 HESI A2 Practice Tests (McGraw-Hill Education), the PocketPrep app for the HESI, and Crash Course videos for A&P on Youtube. McGraw-Hill Education also has there own review book, but I only got their practice test book. I was most nervous for the A&P section, but I ended up doing the best on it! I believe the books I used prepared me very well for A&P. Elsevier's book is the best, in my opinion, because they are the ones who actually create the test, so they put exactly what you need to know for the A&P section. Just focus on general concepts and not all of the fine details. A lot of the questions are very general, but there are some that require more critical thinking. For the more difficult ones, just use the process of elimination and remember what you studied! I hope this helps!