Prepare for your HESI exam using our free HESI practice test and other prep resources.
Trying to prepare for your HESI A2 exam to get accepted into your nursing program? You came to the right place. BoostPrep has everything you need to do well on your HESI exam. Try out a free HESI practice test below to get started.
All of our HESI practice questions follow the same format and difficulty that you will see on the actual HESI exam.
HESI practice tests are one of the best ways to prepare for the actual HESI exam. Our practice questions include answer explanations to help students understand the concepts better. What’s the point of answering questions if you do not know why they were wrong?
You can try out our free HESI A2 practice test below.
If you want some more in-depth help, learn more about our HESI prep courses. Our prep courses include 1,500+ practice questions, full-length HESI practice exams, complete study guides on every topic, and flashcards.
All of this and more starting at only $49. Learn more.
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HESI Exam Overview
HESI stands for Health Education Systems, Inc. The HESI exam is commonly referred to as the HESI A2 exam. A2 stands for Admission Assessment. The HESI exam is taken by individuals who are in the nursing field or other health professions fields.
The HESI exam is relatively similar to the TEAS exam with the major difference being the TEAS exam focuses more on general knowledge that should have been learned in high school. The HESI exam focuses on topics that are more specific to the medical field, as well as general knowledge.
The HESI A2 exam is made up of different subject specific exams. In total, there are 10 different HESI subject exams. Different schools and programs will require students to take different portions of the exam.
The most common portions of the HESI exam are math, grammar, vocab, and reading. You can view a complete list of HESI subject tests below.
- HESI Math
- Number of Questions: 55
- Time Limit: 50 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, ratios, proportions, fractions, and decimals.
- HESI Grammar
- Number of Questions: 55
- Time Limit: 50 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: important terms, their uses in grammar, common grammatical errors, and parts of speech.
- HESI Vocab
- Number of Questions: 55
- Time Limit: 50 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Student’s grasp of various health care related terms.
- HESI Reading
- Number of Questions: 55
- Time Limit: 60 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Measures a student’s ability to understand reading passages. Usually healthcare related.
- HESI Anatomy and Physiology
- Number of Questions: 30
- Time Limit: 25 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Anatomical structures, general terminology, and systems.
- HESI Biology
- Number of Questions: 30
- Time Limit: 25 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Covers metabolism, cells, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, biological molecules, and biology basics.
- HESI Chemistry
- Number of Questions: 30
- Time Limit: 25 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Covers periodic table, atomic structure, chemical equations, chemical bonding, nuclear chemistry, and matter.
- HESI Physics
- Number of Questions: 25
- Time Limit: 50 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Evaluates a student’s understanding of rotation, gravity, Newton’s laws, acceleration, and more.
- HESI Learning Style
- Number of Questions: 14
- Time Limit: 15 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Questions designed to see how you learn best.
- HESI Personality Style
- Number of Questions: 15
- Time Limit: 15 Minutes
- Specific Areas Tested: Questions designed to learn more about your personality.
The number of exams required by your school will determine how many questions and how long you will be taking your HESI exam. Preparing for this exam will help you get a top score and not stumble on any sections.
Use our HESI prep course to help you get that top score. Our prep course includes in-depth study guides on every topic that will be tested on the HESI exam – don’t waste valuable time trying to make your own!
Our course also includes 1,500+ practice questions, full-length (timed) practice exams, and flashcards.
HESI Section Breakdowns
In total, there are 10 HESI sections. Most schools will not require their students to take all 10 sections. The most common sections are math, grammar, reading, and vocab. Another common section is the anatomy and physiology section.
You can learn more about each individual HESI section below.
HESI Math
The HESI math section consists of 55 total questions. Students will have 50 minutes to answer these questions. If you do the math, you will see that students will have a little less than 1 minute to answer each question.
Students will be allowed to use a calculator on this portion of the exam. It is important to note that students will not be able to use or bring their own calculator. A calculator will be provided.
While there are 55 total questions on this portion of the HESI exam, only 50 will be scored. Make sure you answer all questions to the best of your ability as you will not know which ones are scored and which ones are not scored.
HESI Grammar
The grammar section consists of 55 total questions. Students will have 60 minutes to answer these questions. After doing the math, students will have about 65 seconds to answer each question.
The grammar section has 55 questions in total, but only 50 of those questions are scored. There will be 5 questions that are not scored – students will not know which questions are not scored.
Some common topics students will see on this portion of the exam include important terms, their uses in grammar, common grammatical errors, and parts of speech.
HESI Vocab
The HESI vocab section has 55 total questions. Students will be given 50 minutes to answer these questions. This breaks down to about 54 seconds per question, which is relatively quick compared to the other sections.
Like the other sections, this section also contains unscored questions. There are 5 unscored questions, which brings the total scored questions to 50.
Students will be tested on various health care related terms in this section.
HESI Reading
The HESI reading section contains 55 total questions. Students will have 60 minutes to complete this section of the exam. This breaks down to 65 seconds per question.
HESI reading contains 5 questions that are not scored. Students will not know which questions are not scored. It is important to answer all questions.
Students will be asked to read and understand various passages in this section. Most passages will be healthcare related.
HESI Anatomy and Physiology
The HESI anatomy and physiology is a section that is given by some schools along with the 4 subjects listed above. This section consists of 30 total questions – students will be given 25 minutes to answer all questions. The pace for this section should be about 50 seconds per question.
Like all of the other sections on the exam, anatomy and physiology contains 5 unscored questions. The unscored questions are unknown, so it is important to answer all questions to the best of your knowledge.
Common topics on this portion of the exam include anatomical structures, general terminology, and systems.
HESI Biology
HESI biology contains 30 total questions. Students will have 25 minutes to answer these questions. Students should expect to spend about 50 seconds per question on this section to keep pace.
This section contains 5 unscored question, but students will not know which questions are unscored.
Some common topics tested on the HESI biology section include metabolism, cells, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, biological molecules, and basic biology.
HESI Chemistry
HESI chemistry is made up of 30 total questions. Students will have 25 minutes to answer all questions. The pace for this section is similar to biology and anatomy/physiology sections – about 50 seconds per question.
There are 5 unscored questions on the HESI chemistry section. All of which will be unknown to the test taker.
HESI chemistry consists of questions about the periodic table, atomic structure, chemical equations, chemical bonding, nuclear chemistry, and matter.
HESI Physics
HESI physics has 25 total questions. Students will be given 50 minutes to answer all of these questions. A good pace for this section is about 120 seconds (2 minutes) per question.
All questions on this section will be scored.
Students will be tested on a variety of topics including acceleration, Newton’s laws, gravity, and more.
HESI Learning Style and Personality Style Assessments
Some nursing schools may require students to take one or both of these assessments. These two sections of the HESI are short and have unique questions.
The learning style assessment contains 14 questions and students will have 15 minutes to answer the questions. This sections gives schools a better idea of how you learn.
The personality style assessment contains 15 questions with a 15 minute time limit. This sections gives schools a better idea of your personality.
Preparing For HESI Test
Students can prepare for the HESI test using a couple of different methods. Some methods may work better for some students, it is all a matter of personal preference. However, some methods are proven to work. Check out some of those methods below.
Study Guides
Study guides are one of the best ways to prepare for the HESI A2 exam. Study guides provide a ton of information on all topics. The best study guides are organized, cover everything you need to know, and can be easily accessed. Study guides are a great way to keep you focused and keep your studying on track.
If you do not want to waste your time making your own study guides, use our HESI prep course. The study guides in our prep course cover everything you will need to know for the exam. They cover every topic in-depth and are easy to access.
Students can always take the self-study route, but they may miss information they need to know, or add extra information they do not need to know.
Let us do the work for you. Our HESI prep course will help you get a top score.
Practice Tests
Another proven method when it comes to preparing for the HESI exam are practice tests. Practice tests will help you gauge where you are at with your studying. Try out a free HESI practice test above to get started.
All of our practice question and HESI A2 practice tests include answer explanations to help you understand why an answer was right or wrong. We want to make sure our students grasp difficult concepts.
Users who take one of our HESI prep courses will have instant access to 1,500+ question and full-length practice exams.
Our full-length practice exams are timed exams that help students get a better feel for the actual HESI exam. Adding the time aspect will help students figure out the pace they need when taking the actual exam. At the end of each exam, students will be able to see their answers along with explanations so they can better understand the concepts.
Flashcards
Flashcards are a great way to prepare for any exam, especially the HESI exam. Flashcards server as a fun, different way to memorize and learn the material. Flashcards are especially handy for the HESI vocab section.
Our prep course includes 250+ flashcards to review. Students can use these flashcards to learn the material faster versus traditional learning methods.
HESI Test FAQs
Students who sign up for our HESI prep course will have access for 6 months. Students will make a one-time payment (starting at $49) and never be charged again.
After students sign up for the course, they will have instant access to 1,500+ practice questions, full-length practice exams, in-depth study guides, and flashcards.
All of our courses come with a 100% pass guarantee. If you do not pass you exam, you will receive a full refund. We are confident in our prep courses.
If a student fails the HESI exam, they are eligible to take the exam again. Students can take the HESI exam up to 6 times.
This question depends on the school or institution you are taking the exam at. The cost varies depending on your school. Students should expect their exam to cost around $50. Most schools range in the $35 to $65 range.
Each school or program sets their own requirements for scores. With that being said, many schools follow a similar scoring system of a minimum composite score of 75% and a minimum individual subject score of 70%. However, these are not followed by every institution.
