96% on HESI A2 Entrance exam
I want to start off by saying, my institution required what are probably the easiest 4 subjects of the ones offered. I had to take Biology, math, reading comprehension, and vocab. I purchased the HESI A2 3rd edition off Amazon since it had the highest reviews, and I didn't know there was a 6th edition at the time (lol). In addition to this, I studied a bunch of online resources like quizlet, Nurse Hub, some Mometrix stuff, etc. I'll share a few study tips for each and a small rant at the end. Keep in mind, the questions and versions have variations for everyone so your experience may vary.
Biology (96%) 30 questions
This is the section I spent the most time studying. The concepts for the HESI seemed extremely broad, so I studied all of my intro to BIO notes from school along with what was in the HESI book. All of this was utterly useless unless you have zero background in biology imo. The biology section had a lot of random questions that you wouldn't expect to be in there. Quizlet is going to be your best friend. Most of the biology quizlets I used had at least a few random word for word questions in it (EX: I got the aerodynamic bird structure and function question). The first question of the bio section asked me an anatomy question and I thought I was cooked. Almost all of the other questions were very intro to Biology, if you have taken a pre-req course I would recommend studying your notes in depth along with all the reddit-linked quizlets you can find. Know different types of transport, taxonomy, cell structure, VITAMINS, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and familiarize yourself with some animal biology.
https://quizlet.com/711985689/hesi-a2-biology-v1-v2-flash-cards/
Math (98%) 55 questions
As most have pointed out, this is going to be your most straight forward section. The book I purchased was very useful for this section; it has all of the conversions you need to know along with a really in depth brush up on early math and algebra. The questions were very simple with this kind of break down for me: 30% were multiplying or adding fractions, and mixed fractions. You can turn these into decimals with the online calculator provided if it's easier. About 5% of my questions were military time conversions, maybe about 10% word problems, 30% were conversions, and the rest were cross multiplication problems where you solve for x. Remember, you can check your work with every multiple choice answer until you find the right one. If you're really stuck, I would plug in the listed answers to x one at a time and make sure it equals the other side of the equation. You can easily pass this section by checking your work. That being said, I had about 8-10 questions that were not multiple choice and required just a straight answer.
Please, please study these conversions. This is a really simple quizlet that will go through most of them.
https://quizlet.com/931856497/hesi-a2-math-conversions-flash-cards/?i=35jh4x&x=1jqt
Vocab (98%) 50 Questions
I spent a lot of time studying for this section, utilizing every quizlet I could to familiarize myself with high level words. A lot of the words I got were medically-focused, which is good since they stand out. Contrary to what I read online, many of my words were not used in a sentence. I had about 8 questions asking me to choose the right spelling. Some questions ask you to use the right word in a sentence grammatically. Familiarize yourself with root words, suffixes, and prefixes just to give yourself an edge. But almost all of my questions just asked for the definition, or gave a definition and asked me to choose the right word. Luckily, most of these words are ones you'll see while studying but I'm glad I spent the time I did on this section.
https://quizlet.com/72702382/hesi-a2-vocabulary-and-general-knowledge-flash-cards/
Reading Comp: (92%) 55 Questions
Here it is, the worst section. Honestly, without the quizlets I studied, this would have been a nightmare. After I found those, I routinely just read the question and correct answer linked on the quizlet below. From what I understand, you will get a mixture of passages from either v1, v2, or both. I recognized every passage on my test because of these. Don't overthink this section, but also ask yourself what the -HESI- wants you to answer. Many answers seem correct or there could be multiple correct options, however, you really need to examine the context and tone.
https://quizlet.com/491408819/reading-passages-v1v2-extras-flash-cards/?i=3revcx&x=1jqY
Smol rant: the customer service is absolutely abysmal for the site. I haven't seen anyone talk about it, but the website is extremely primitive. I couldn't log in when my session started and getting a hold of people through their chat was an absolute nightmare. Someone eventually had to remote take over my computer and finish the set up process. I was an hour late to start, extremely stressful kick off to the exam.
For me, all 8 sections were present even though I was only required to take 4. When I was finished, I couldn't figure out what to do next. I pressed exit and then the exam closed, no confirmation or anything. I did receive a score after each test, there is a little number after the section name when you finish. This is very helpful to stay on track. Also, have a clock or a watch nearby as you have nothing to help keep time while taking your exam. But it didn't show me an official cumulative score, I had to find that on their website later. Really happy everything worked out, because the process was beyond stressful and there are almost no resources describing how the test taking process works.
Essay over, good luck on your exam. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, you got this.