Practical advice, expert viewpoints, and inspiring stories for aspiring nurses and prenursing students.
Flashcards are one of the oldest study tools out there and continue to be a popular choice for nursing students preparing for the HESI exam. However, do they really move the needle on your score, or are they just a comforting study habit that feels productive without providing results? This guide will explain when flashcards are helpful, when they are not, and how to use them most effectively.
Chemistry is typically one of the more daunting parts of the HESI exam, particularly for students who have not taken a chemistry class in years. The good news is that the HESI exam is not advanced or highly specialized. It is based on basic chemistry concepts that relate to health care. This guide breaks down the essential chemistry fundamentals you need to know, in simple, accessible language.
HESI exam vocabulary questions can be unpredictable, as there is no official word list given to you by the test makers. However, certain types of words—medical terminology, general academic vocabulary, and common healthcare terms—recur repeatedly on HESI exams. This guide breaks 100 valuable words into bite-sized categories, so instead of facing a daunting and random list, you have a focused starting point for vocabulary review.
Grammar might not seem like a big deal compared to math or anatomy, but it is also one where small, easily missed errors tend to repeat across nursing students' HESI attempts. The good news is that most of these mistakes are predictable, so a focused review can bring about rapid, noticeable improvement. In this guide, we will walk you through the most common grammar mistakes on the HESI exam and how to avoid them.
Thirty days of real progress to improve your TEAS score, but only with a plan. Students who don't follow a regular schedule of study or cram every night or every day, usually end up with mediocre grades. Below is a realistic week-by-week plan that follows the actual format of the exam.
Dozens of nearly identical titles with thousands of practice questions and practically flawless ratings can be found when you search for "TEAS 7 study guide." The true issue that students confront is not a shortage of resources, but rather figuring out which of those possibilities are actually created for the current exam vs generic, mass-produced content that uses the same phrases. Instead of depending solely on star ratings, consider how to assess what is truly in front of you.
Biology is one of the science sections on the HESI exam and can be intimidating just because the subject matter is so broad. Biology is a broad topic, covering everything from cell structure to genetics, but the HESI exam usually focuses on basic principles rather than obscure, highly specialized information. This guide explains the basic biology topics you are most likely to see on your test, in easy, plain language.
Many nursing students want a quick and inexpensive way to evaluate where they are currently at before spending time and money on paid prep courses or books. Free HESI practice test questions are exactly that, a good starting point to test your readiness in key subject areas without any up-front commitment. This guide tells you how to make the best use of free practice questions and what to look for in good materials.
Completing the TEAS is just half the story: the other half is comprehending the score report that follows into your account. It can be difficult to view the results and determine if you performed well, given the differences between raw scores, composite scores, percentiles, and proficiency labels. The section-by-section breakdown of how TEAS scores are derived, and how to parse your TEAS report without any confusion.
Early testing seems the good choice – until you find out that your score is outdated and from three months prior to your application deadline. One of the most inconsistently applied policies in nursing admissions is TEAS score validity, and a late test will mean an expensive, last minute retake. The real facts about the pros and cons.
A very common mistake among applicants: assuming that a program's published minimum is the typical score for all of its admitted students. One of the most common ways applicants underestimate their needs is by setting a published cutoff as their criteria. This guide decodes realistic average scores by program type, allowing you to set your target score based on actual competitiveness, rather than just the published floor.
A raw percentage is just one aspect of the situation; two students may have quite different levels of confidence in their overall status while achieving the same composite % on the TEAS. One of the most misinterpreted figures in the entire score report is your percentile rank. This is what it actually measures, how to properly read it, and where individuals make mistakes.
One of the most stressful queries that nursing students ask is "Is my TEAS score good enough?" and the answer, of course, is "no single number. One program's score may not pass another program. How to understand your score, which benchmarks are important and how to make sense of it?
You could learn the anatomy, algebra and grammar rules in 6 weeks and still find yourself in trouble on the TEAS test day because of something unrelated to your subject matter: a different ID, an unapproved item, an unapproved test site, etc. Some of the most frequent, and totally avoidable, causes of a delay or invalid attempt on a test. Everything you need to know prior to strolling in.
The application of a test designed to assess a student's readiness for nursing school can be quite confusing. What is your testing approach? Are you registered directly with ATI or via your school? What if you make a mistake in the middle? This is all the process, step-by-step with the decision points that can trip up first-time test takers.
As students near graduation, nursing students hear the same phrase repeated with increasing urgency, “Don’t forget about your HESI Exit Exam.” For many students, this exam may be the last surprise hurdle between them and their diploma. In this guide, you will learn what the HESI Exit Exam is, why its mandatory for nursing schools, and how to prepare for it strategically.
The first question asked by every nursing student after finishing a HESI exam is a simple one: “What do these numbers really mean?” HESI scoring is a bit different from your regular school test where a percentage clearly translates to a letter grade, and it is contingent upon which version of the exam you are taking. This guide will show you how HESI exams are scored and what your scores mean, and how to feel confident interpreting them.
If you are applying to a nursing program, chances are you have come across the term “HESI A2” somewhere in your admission requirements. For many first time test takers, it is not entirely clear what this exam really is or how to prepare for it. This guide will take you through everything you need to know about the HESI A2, from what it tests to how to approach it with confidence.
The great news is that passing that first TEAS isn't the norm, as many test takers retake it to get their desired score. But it is the confusing part that there is no one definitive answer to "how many times can I take it?". There's no limit on the number of attempts you can make on ATI; rather, it depends on your individual nursing program and testing site. Here are some things to do about that.
When it comes to the length of the TEAS exam, the answer isn't as easy as it sounds, and a wrong answer could cause trouble on test day. Other students only prepare for the day of the exam, and show up too early for their appointment. Others make a study plan based on the time for each section, but aren't aware how the time is split up, and consequently end up with an excessive amount of time in one section and too little in others.
Reading comprehension is often ignored in favor of subjects like math or anatomy on the HESI exam, but it plays a bigger role in your overall performance than most students realize. Your reading skills have a direct impact on how you understand the questions in all the other sections. Improving here can boost your score across the entire exam — not just this section.
There should be a straightforward answer to the question, “How much does the TEAS exam cost?” It doesn't, and that's why a lot of people get frustrated by the checkout cost during registration, when they see that it's more than what they saw in a quick search. The reality of TEAS pricing is that the base fee differs depending on where and how you test, and there are a slew of extra costs you might have to cover, such as transcript fees, rescheduling fees, study materials, etc. — these costs aren't always clearly explained in the price.
When you have a TEAS score lower than you would like, it can be a disappointing day, but it usually isn't the end of the world, doesn't seem to be. There is no universal definition of what it means to fail and, most of the time, failing simply means that your overall score was not sufficient for the program to which you are applying — that is, you did not fail some universal standard. Here's the next step you should take.
Anatomy and Physiology is one of the most content-heavy sections of the HESI exam. You can expect questions covering everything from cellular structures to entire body systems. The problem is not that many nursing students do not understand each individual concept but rather which concepts to focus on when there is limited time to study. This guide focuses on the main topics in anatomy and physiology that are likely to be on your HESI exam so that you can study focused instead of trying to memorize an entire textbook.