Best HESI A2 Study Guides – 2022 Review

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If you are getting ready to take the HESI A2 exam, you will probably agree with this statement:

With all of the different options out there, it’s hard to know which are the best HESI A2 study guides to get the most bang for your buck to help you pass the HESI A2 exam.

Realizing what a problem this is for so many people, we decided to get some people together who have experienced and passed the HESI A2 to assemble some notes on the best guides out there. After spending dozens of hours reviewing, researching and discussing the HESI study options out there, I wrote this article to summarize the best HESI A2 books and study guides out there in case you are looking to get one right now.

Best HESI A2 Study Guides

Like all HESI A2 study guides, some guides are core review books while others consist of flashcards and practice tests. The HESI A2 study guides in this list represent some of the best HESI A2 Study Guides in case you are looking to get one right now.

1. Admission Assessment Exam Review – Best HESI A2 Study Guide

The HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review from Elsevier tops our list as the best HESI A2 study guide out there. It’s not to say that the other HESI A2 study guides are not good or that your performance on the HESI A2 exam might be enhanced by using one of more of them. However, the Admission Assessment Review has one feature that none of the other ones have – it is made by HESI. One can mince words about which HESI A2 study guide has better questions or fewer errors but, at the end of the day, we would rather roll with the HESI A2 study guide that is actually made by the people writing the test. While the HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review more or less stands on its own regardless of its writer, using this HESI A2 study guide, in our opinion, will increase your chances of seeing questions and material on your HESI A2 exam that you also saw while studying from this guide.

The HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review contains sections on reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology and physics. Overall, we found the writing to be clear and concise and the material covered to be comprehensive (let’s hope so given the editor). Like most HESI A2 study guides (at least the core ones), it includes sample questions, explanations, illustrations and practice exams. A feature of the Admission Assessment Review that we found helpful were the hint boxes that offered examples and tips that help refine knowledge about specific concepts.

Another nice feature of the Admission Assessment Review is that includes a pre-test. It’s always nice to know where your weak points are before you start the studying marathon so that you can focus your efforts in the highest yield way. The included post-test helps you finish off your studying with a review of where you are at with good answer rationales that break down the information. The companion site includes two long practice exams.

The HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review has a nice vocabulary chapter for anyone who needs to brush up on their medical terminology. The math section is also a strong point. Overall, the Admission Assessment Review is a pretty study guide with full color and nice illustrations that even an experience practitioner would find useful.

The science sections of the HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review definitely leave something to be desired. In particular, the anatomy and physiology section felt quite weak and anyone uncomfortable with that area will definitely want to consider getting another resource to help shore up knowledge. Also, we wished that the HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review had more practice questions tied to each section as it would help the reader laser in on weak areas more effectively.

Mild criticisms aside, we think that the HESI A2 Admission Assessment Review should be strongly considered as a core HESI A2 study guide for anyone looking to ace the HESI A2.

2. HESI A2 Study Guide – Best HESI A2 Vocabulary

The HESI A2 Study Guide: HESI Exam Prep and Practice Test Questions is a good HESI A2 review book that most feel is a standalone resource for HESI A2 exam preparation. While it was not written but the HESI writers themselves, the HESI A2 Study Guide is a long, detailed guide that is well-organized and comprehensive.

Overall, the HESI A2 Study Guide is laid out nicely and highly readable. The formatting is good and there are nice tips and suggestions throughout the book to add perspective to the material. The HESI A2 Study Guide is better than most at building understanding while one is working to memorize the information which leads to longer term application and understanding. This HESI study book also provides a great HESI A2 vocabulary review for anyone looking to spend more time on their vocabulary in preparation for the exam. The images are also well done and higher quality. Because the HESI A2 Study Guide often follows real nursing curriculums, this might be a study guide that extends its life beyond the HESI A2 exam date.

The question and answer section in the HESI A2 Study Guide is high-quality and helpful. We found that the questions actually resembled the HESI A2 test questions. In fact, some of the questions are harder than questions found on the actual HESI A2 which is nice in that the exam will feel less hard on the actual day. The questions come with helpful, detailed answers. The practice test is also quite good and the answer key is in a different part of the book for those of you who want to sneak a peek while practicing.

One weak point of the HESI A2 Study Guide: HESI Exam Prep is that the chapters could probably use a few more questions to help prep you on the material. The Anatomy section, in particular, leaves a lot to be desired. That section of the HESI A2 Study Guide needs more graphics and images and questions that better reflect what is on the actual HESI A2. Most people will probably like feel the need to supplement their prep in anatomy in particular in order to do well on that portion of the HESI A2 exam. Unfortunately, the anatomy section does feel on par with the official study guide from Elsevier so one will have to look elsewhere for additional anatomy preparation.

3. McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice Tests – Best Practice Tests

McGraw-Hill occasionally shows up with useful advanced study guides and their HESI A2 Practice Tests volume is a good resource. The McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice Tests study guide is different from some of the other HESI A2 study guides. While some HESI review guides provide a comprehensive review of the information tested and then provide questions to test you on the material, the McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice just contains three practice tests.

That being said, we like the McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice Questions as a helpful test-taking addition to a core HESI A2 study text. After all, it is one thing to memorize the information and a totally different thing to apply the information on the day of the test with all of the emotions and stress that you will be feeling. The value of the McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice in this regard is that it provides a variety of questions that are highly similar to actual HESI A2 test questions. In fact, we have heard that questions in some of the practice tests have actually appeared on the HESI A2 exam when people finally took it. In particular, the McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice excels in the science and math sections and the answers typically come with good explanations as to why one choice is better than the other.

The McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice Questions HESI A2 study guide is by no means perfect as far as practice tests go. Some might feel that certain sections, such as vocabulary and anatomy, contain questions which are far too hard as far as practice for the HESI A2. However, from our point of view, having questions which are too hard is probably a good thing as it is better to struggle through hard questions at home and have an easier time on the day of the HESI A2 test rather than the opposite.

The biggest weakness, in our opinion, of the McGraw-Hill HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide is that there are infrequent errors in the answer key. While errors are present in almost every study guide out there given the volume of information, it always leaves a bad taste as it makes any study resource seem less reputable than it actually is. If you are using one of the practice tests and something does not make sense, make sure to look it up online to see if another answer is out there. In spite of that, if you can get past those infrequent errors, the HESI A2 Practice Questions guide is actually a good resource.

4. HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide – Best Strategy Guide

The HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide is a little different than the other HESI A2 guides as it is put together by Mometrix. Mometrix, on last review, is a smaller, family-owned company which adds a bit of a personal touch to the HESI A2 study resource process. They claim that they are open and responsive from a customer service standpoint but we did not actually put it to the test.

Rather than focus on just trying to outdo the other study guides by being the most comprehensive HESI A2 resource, the HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide pitches itself as one that will help you improve on your HESI A2 test taking skills. They say that the guide includes contributions from master test takers who, among other things, analyzed important areas of content in the context of actually taking the HESI A2 test to put together the guide.

And so, the “secrets” revealed in this HESI A2 guide are special tricks and tips to taking the test itself. Examples of strategies they describe are how to use the question text to eliminate answer choices, how to filter answer choices by what the other choices are, and how to read the actual text of the answer choices themselves to easily eliminate specific choices quickly. We agree that there are ways to do this and the HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide does help with building competency in selecting the right answers. Overall, the HESI A2 study guide is clear and concise and explanations are easy to comprehend.

Some might feel that the HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide focuses too much on strategies for picking the correct answer rather than focusing on the HESI A2 material itself. The HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide does feel a bit thinner from an information standpoint when compared to other HESI A2 study guides. Additionally, the HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide also seems to cover material not seen on the HESI A2 at times. We also felt that the HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide needs to be supplemented with additional practice materials. Finally, there are some typographical errors through the HESI A2 Secrets Study Guide book which takes away from the overall perception that this is a quality HESA A2 prep resource.

5. Hesi A2 Flashcard System – Best HESI A2 Flashcards

Success on the HESI A2 exam comes from both a mastery of the HESI A2 information and from being able to recall that information on the day of the test. After all, if you cannot remember what you “memorized” under stress, it does not matter how much HESI A2 material you read. Flashcards are a great way to test rapid recall of facts and the HESI A2 Flashcard Study System is a good choice for anyone who wants to work on this skill in preparation for the test day.

The flashcards in the HESI A2 Flashcard Study System are broken down by section and well-organized. Concise and yet detailed, they are actually quite enjoyable to use.

The other valuable aspect to the HESI A2 Flashcard Study System is that they enable learning on the go. It is not fun to lug around heavy HESI A2 study books. Also, it is often hard to absorb information from a dense text in any meaningful way when you have 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there. The HESI A2 Flashcards are small enough to carry which makes them highly portable. These HESI A2 flashcards are something you can quickly whip out and use to review a few critical HESI A2 study facts. Some also suggested using them before you started your study process just to see where you are at ahead of time.

Unfortunately, the flashcards in the HESI A2 Flashcards Study System are made of lightweight paper stock and, as a result, are not meant to last a long time. It is not a huge problem for anyone who takes care of their study flashcards and one could even get them laminated if necessary. Some might also feel that the anatomy section of the HESI A2 Flashcards Study System is weak and that there might be too much detail on each card.

6. HESI A2 Practice Questions

After absorbing lots of information for the HESI A2 test, taking practice tests is the best way to get ready for the HESI A2 and HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide can help with that.

The HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide offers lots of practice questions to prepare you for the HESI A2. Additionally, this HESI A2 study guide includes detailed answers to the questions to help build your ability to tease out the right answers from the wrong ones. Additionally, this HESI A2 study guide includes a section to help you think through your test-taking strategy ahead of time.

Repetition by doing question after question through the HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide will help you identify weak points and areas that you need to brush up on. We found that many of the questions in the HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide actually seemed to be harder than the actual HESI A2 exam questions themselves.

The anatomy and vocabulary practice sections of the HESI A2 Practice Questions are strong points of this study guide.

The HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide is a little light in terms of math practice. For example, if you are weak at conversions, we would not recommend this study guide to get better at them. Also, it would have been better if there were more fill in the blank practice questions. The HESI A2 Practice Questions study guide treats the HESI A2 test with a multiple choice focus but that is not all there is on the exam.

Additionally, like many volumes, there were incorrect answers infrequently in the HESI A2 Practice Questions guide. For example, although the grammar section is fairly helpful overall, it does contain errors. Unfortunately, incorrect choices seem to exist in every HESI A2 study guide that we have reviewed and working through that seems to just be a reality of the HESI A2 study process. We would recommend confirming answers from other sources when it seems as if the HESI A2 Practice Questions answer choices are incorrect.

7. 3 HESI Admission Assessment Practice Tests – Best HESI A2 Practice Tests

The HESI A2 Practice Tests 2016: 3 HESI Admission Assessment Exam Practice Tests study guide is designed around the concept of practice makes perfect. To pull that off, the HESI A2 Practice Tests study guide features full-length tests that will help simulate taking the actual HESI A2 exam. In fact, the HESI A2 Practice Tests study guide contains three full tests. The questions in the HESI A2 Practice Tests study guide are modeled off of the question structure, including difficulty and length, of the actual HESI A2 exam.

The 800 questions in the HESI A2 Practice Tests are explained with detailed answers. Topics covered in the set of HESI practice questions include sections like anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry, reading, grammar and mathematics. In the view of practice as a major key to acing the HESI A2 exam, the HESI A2 Practice Tests study guide will help you identify areas that require additional practice.

Like many HESI study guides, the HESI A2 Practice Tests has occasional, but rare, typos and errors in the answer rationales. The math section needs more content, particularly around subjects like conversion. Some might also feel that the questions, at times, do not reflect the types of questions found on the HESI A2 exam itself. Despite these issues, the value of the practice offered by the The HESI A2 Practice Tests study guide far outweigh the mistakes.

HESI A2 Exam – Introduction

HESI stands for Health Education Systems, Inc, and oversees the HESI A2 exam. The HESI company is based out of Texas and is owned by Elsevier. The HESI A2 exam is also known as the Evolve Admissions Assessment with Critical Thinking examination or the HESI Admission Assessment Exam (which explains the A2 acronym). The HESI A2 exam, along with the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) and Nursing Entrance Exam (NET) exams, are pre-admission tests that are used by nursing schools as part of the admission screening requirement. It is important to check with the nursing school to see if they require results for the entire HESI A2 before applying.

The HESI A2 usually costs under $100 but a lot is on the line as you cannot just keep taking the HESI A2 test if you fail. In fact, the HESI A2 test can only be taken once every 2 months (60 days) and only 3 times per year which makes passing the first time quite important if you are under any sort of deadline for applying to school. Additionally, there is a retest fee if you do not pass it. Also, while some schools are lenient on someone retaking the HESI A2 exam multiple times, other schools do not allow it so make sure you are ready, especially if your school does not accept HESI A2 exam retakes. HESI A2 test results are available after your exam.

HESI A2 Exam Information

The HESI A2 exam is set up to test people in several personal assessment areas and in the academic areas of Science, Math and English Language. The HESI A2 test sections usually contain scored items and a handful of pilot questions – new potential HESI test questions – which might be scored on future exams. It is recommended that you arrive at least 30 minutes before the HESI A2 exam and we would recommend that most people show up an hour before so that you have some time to relax before getting settled in to take the HESI A2 test. Most people finish the HESI A2 test in under 3 hours although you do get a four hour block of time in which you can finish it.

The Science component of the HESI A2 exam includes 30 items. Subject matter covered in the Science component of the HESI A2 exam include Anatomy and Physiology, Biology and Chemistry. The Anatomy and Physiology section of the HESI A2 exam tests your understanding of general anatomical structures as well as some overview definitions related to these subjects. The Biology section of the HESI A2 covers overview topics related to biology, including subjects such as metabolism, cells, water. The Chemistry section of the HESI A2 test covers general chemistry, the periodic table, atoms and more.

The Math section of the HESI A2 test focuses on basic math skills and consists of 55 items. This HESI A2 section covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, decimals, ratios and the like. Math is an important part of the nursing profession given the need to administer medications, measure vital signs and the like and this section of the HESI A2 evaluates for basic math competency prior to taking more advanced classes as an enrolled student. This section is scary for a lot of people taking the HESI A2 exam. Although you cannot use your own calculator for the math section, the good part is that there will a calculator available on the screen when you take the HESI exam. Anecdotally, most of the people that we polled had a heavier dose of proportions and ratios on their HESI A2 exams.

The English Language section of the HESI A2 test consists of 55 items. The main objective of the English Language section of the HESI A2 exam is to ensure that you have good comprehension of the English language – an important part of being a nurse. The English Language section of the HESI A2 is broken out into three sections: Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge and Grammar. The Reading Comprehension section consists of various passages that assess your ability to understand the main ideas, put words into the appropriate contexts, and overall comprehension ability. The Vocabulary and General Knowledge section tests you on definitions and words that you might encounter in a healthcare role. The Grammar section assesses your understanding of the application of grammar to speech and ability to identify grammatical errors.

Some might find the HESI A2 vocabulary section to be scary. Vocabulary is tough to begin with and many people taking the HESI A2 might find it stressful, especially if English is not your first language. Fortunately, the HESI A2 vocabulary is not overly challenging and, with investing in the right HESI A2 study guides, you should have a good chance at doing well with it. If you have some months before your HESI A2 study exam, one good way to improve your vocabulary is by reading – even if it is not related to your HESI A2 study preparation. Get a list of the best books of all time and read them all. In the process of doing so, actively look up any words that you do not know and work to understand the language used in the writing itself. Mastering the English language can be a fun process and any vocabulary that you pick up should certainly help you in your HESI A2 study process.

HESI A2 Study Tips & Tactics

Going into the HESI A2 test with specific test-taking strategies will minimize the possibility that you will get tripped up on the day of the test. Here are some strategies that we compiled that we hope will help you with the test:

1. Read the question carefully
A lot of times, people will start reading the test question and assume that they know what the HESI A2 test question is asking. However, make sure that you spend time digesting each portion of the question as you may be surprised at what the question is actually asking.

2. Eliminate bad answer choices right away
This applies to multiple choice HESI A2 test questions. Often, you will find answers to a specific test question that are clearly wrong. We recommend eliminating them immediately and tracking that you did. Not only will this help you focus on the possible correct HESI answers, but it will also give you a small psychological win which will build as you do this throughout the HESI A2 exam.

3. Compare possible answer choices
This applies to multiple choice HESI A2 test questions. Once you have eliminated bad answer choices on your HESI A2 exam, consider what possibilities are left. What is the same about them? More importantly, what is different about them in relevance to the HESI test question asked? In most cases, you will be able to isolate the difference in the answer choices down to one fact or point. Then, you should weigh the importance of that point against the HESI test question being asked. In many cases, doing so will quickly highlight the answer choice that is actually correct.

Most of all, breathe deeply when you are confronted with a question that makes no sense to you on the HESI A2 exam. It does happen, even if you are well-prepared, as sometimes the HESI A2 test preparers are trying out experimental questions for future exams. When you find a question that seems overwhelming, take a deep breath and keep it all in perspective. It’s important to maintain a calm mind so it doesn’t affect your performance on the rest of the HESI A2 exam after all the time you have spent using the study guides.

HESI A2 Practice Tests

There are many good reasons for taking a HESI A2 practice test before the actual exam. First of all, it gives you a sense of what actually taking the HESI A2 will be like after all your hours of studying. It requires one skill to memorize material for the HESI A2 and a completely different one to apply that knowledge during the examination. Additionally, a HESI A2 practice exam will give you a sense for how questions are structured and written on the exam so that you will have some familiarity with them before your actual HESI A2 test day. Finally, for people who take their practice exam seriously, you can simulate some of the anxiety and stress that you will feel on your HESI A2 test day so that it is not completely unfamiliar on the real day.

We have not found any reliable source for free HESI A2 practice tests online but there may be PDFs available through different websites. Also, some nursing schools that require HESI A2 results may have practice questions that you can use for your HESI study preparation.

HESI A2 vs. TEAS

Some people are required to take the TEAS exam instead of, or in addition to, the HESI A2 exam. The TEAS exam, short for Test of Essential Academic Skills, is another exam used by certain nursing schools to screen applicants to their nursing programs. In fact, some schools exclusive rely on TEAS scores for the application process.

Although there are some differences, the good is that the top HESI A2 study guides are often useful as far as studying for the TEAS exams as well. It is definitely worth scoping out whether the nursing schools you are applying to require the HESI A2 exam or the TEAS exam and then studying and taking the exams accordingly. The best TEAS study guides are typically organized differently than HESI A2 study guides.

HESI A2 – NCLEX Thoughts

Is preparing for the HESI A2 adequate in terms of preparing for the NCLEX exam? In most cases, the answer is no. The NCLEX exam is generally more challenging than the HESI A2 and utilizing the best NCLEX prep books and resources to prepare for that exam is recommended.

HESI A2 Study Guide – Final Thoughts

We hope that you found our reviews of the best HESI A2 study guides helpful. The HESI A2 exam is a big step in an important professional journey and having the right HESI A2 study guide so you can be at your best on the big day is essential. Good luck with the HESI A2 exam and moving forward in your professional career!