United States · Entrance exam
The HESI A2 is the entrance exam many nursing and health professions schools use, made by Elsevier. It isn’t one fixed test. Your school picks the sections you take, sets the time and decides what score it wants. You can test at your school, at a Prometric center or online with a remote proctor. This guide explains how it works, what it costs and how to book. There’s a free practice test further down.
Key facts
How it works
Topics
Basic math used in health care: fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, conversions and military time.
Reading short passages and answering questions about the main idea, details, meaning and the writer’s purpose.
Common words and health care terms you’ll meet in nursing and health professions programs.
Standard written English: parts of speech, agreement, pronouns and commonly confused words.
Basic biology: cells, cell processes, genetics and the molecules of life.
Basic chemistry: atoms, the periodic table, chemical reactions and acids and bases.
How the main body systems are built and how they work, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and hormones.
Free practice test
Here are 20 original questions in the HESI A2 style, mixed across math, reading, vocabulary, grammar, biology, chemistry, and anatomy and physiology. The real exam’s length depends on the sections your school picks. We use 75%, so 15 right, as a practice target. That’s our own goal, not an Elsevier pass mark, because each school sets its own. After each answer you can ask the tutor to explain it another way.
Sample of the exam: same format, 20 questions.
Test day
Study options
Elsevier makes the official review book, Admission Assessment Exam Review, with more than 200 practice questions online. Plenty of people also use apps and other books. We’ve compared the main options, with prices checked in October 2026.
| Option | Price | Free to use | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official and free | |||
Admission Assessment Exam Review (Elsevier)Official · book and online practiceElsevier’s own HESI A2 guide, now in its 6th edition. It has a pre-test, a post-test and more than 200 practice questions on Evolve, with rationales. There’s no physics chapter in this edition. | $45.99 paperback, $42.99 eBook (list) | Nothing, but libraries and schools often have copies | |
Elsevier HESI A2 student guidesOfficial · PDFStep-by-step guides for registering, testing at a Prometric center, testing remotely and getting your results. Read the one that matches how your school runs the exam. They don’t list question counts or time limits, because your school sets those. | Free | Everything | |
HESI online remediationOfficial · after your examAfter a HESI exam, Elsevier gives you study content for the areas you scored low on, in your Evolve account. It’s handy if you need a retake, since it targets your own weak spots. | Free | Study packets for the topics you missed | |
| Apps and websites | |||
Pocket Prep HESI A2App · iPhone, Android and webAbout 1,475 questions across math, reading, vocabulary, grammar, biology, chemistry, and anatomy and physiology, with explanations. The most-rated HESI A2 app on the App Store, with 4.7 stars from about 5,600 ratings. | $15.99 a month, $39.99 for 3 months, $95.99 a year | 35 practice questions | |
HESI A2 Test Prep MasteryApp · iPhoneFrom Higher Learning Technologies. More than 1,800 practice questions, 125 quizzes and 340 vocabulary flashcards. 4.7 stars from about 1,500 ratings on the App Store. | $15.99 a month, $35.99 for 3 months, $95.99 a year | Limited access to all content | |
Prepia HESI A2 Exam PrepApp · iPhonePractice questions, a full exam simulator and a study plan. 4.8 stars from about 1,200 ratings on the App Store. There are several price plans, so check which one you’re choosing before you pay. | Subscriptions from $7.99 a week, or $16.99 to $24.99 a month | A free trial | |
Mometrix HESI A2 Secrets Study GuideBook and videosA popular alternative to Elsevier’s book, with practice questions and a video walkthrough for every math practice question. It isn’t official. | From $24.99 eBook or $29.99 paperback | Nothing free is listed. Video lesson codes come with the book | |
| Video | |||
Khan AcademyWebsite and app · videos and exercisesNot made for the HESI A2, but good for fixing weak spots. Use the pre-algebra courses for math, biology and chemistry for science, and grammar for the grammar section. There are no ads. | Free | Everything | |
Prices and ratings checked October 2026.
Explore
FAQ
It depends on your school. The HESI A2 is made of separate sections, and each school picks which ones you take and how long you get. Elsevier doesn’t publish one fixed number of questions or a pass mark. Your school sets the score it wants, so ask your admissions office for its exact rules.
Elsevier doesn’t publish one public price. Your school orders the exam. Either it pays and may charge you a fee, or it has you pay Elsevier directly through a payment link it emails you. Remote proctoring can add its own fee, and Prometric charges to reschedule or cancel late. Ask your school for the total before you book.
Yes, if your school offers it. As of October 2026, Elsevier’s remote options use a live proctor, either through Prometric’s ProProctor or through ProctorU, depending on how your school set it up. You need a computer with a camera, microphone and speakers, and a private room with the door closed. Your school decides whether remote testing counts.
You can’t sign up on your own. Your school sends you a registration link. You use it with an Evolve account to register for the exam, then pick a time slot. If your school uses Prometric, you book the exact date and time on Prometric’s ProScheduler. Make sure your Evolve name matches your ID.
Only if your school turns it on. Schools choose whether the on-screen calculator is available when they set up the exam. Elsevier’s guides only mention that on-screen calculator, so don’t plan on bringing your own. Ask your school what it allows.
Usually, yes, but your school sets the rules, like how many tries you get and how long you wait. Elsevier has a separate version for second-time testers, so a retake won’t be the same questions. Some schools only accept scores from a set time window, so check before you test again.
A bag holds 2.5 liters of fluid. How many milliliters is that?
2,500 mL There are 1,000 milliliters in 1 liter, so you multiply by 1,000. 2.5 × 1,000 = 2,500 mL.
What is 3/4 + 2/3?
1 5/12 Use a common denominator of 12: 3/4 = 9/12 and 2/3 = 8/12. 9/12 + 8/12 = 17/12, which is 1 and 5/12.
A liquid medicine contains 250 mg in every 5 mL. How many mL contain 400 mg?
8 mL Set up a proportion: 250 mg / 5 mL = 400 mg / x mL. Cross-multiply: 250x = 2,000, so x = 8 mL.
A patient’s dose is due at 1545 in military time. What is that in regular time?
3:45 p.m. Military time counts the hours from 0000 to 2359. For times after 1259, subtract 12 hours: 1545 − 1200 = 3:45 p.m.
Read the passage: “Hand washing is one of the simplest ways to stop the spread of infection. Germs on the hands can pass to door handles, phones and food, and then to other people. Washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds removes many of these germs. When soap and water aren’t available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a useful substitute.” What is the main idea?
Washing your hands is a simple, effective way to reduce the spread of germs. The first sentence states the main idea, and every other sentence supports it: how germs spread, how washing removes them, and what to use when you can’t wash.
Read the passage: “Hand washing is one of the simplest ways to stop the spread of infection. Germs on the hands can pass to door handles, phones and food, and then to other people. Washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds removes many of these germs. When soap and water aren’t available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a useful substitute.” According to the passage, when is hand sanitizer a good choice?
When soap and water aren’t available The last sentence says sanitizer is a useful substitute when soap and water aren’t available. That’s the only situation the passage gives.
Read the passage: “The city clinic opened in 2019. It serves about 300 patients a week. The waiting room is the most pleasant in the county. Most visits last less than 30 minutes.” Which sentence is an opinion?
The waiting room is the most pleasant in the county. “Most pleasant” is a personal judgment. People could disagree, and you can’t prove it. The other sentences can all be checked with records.
What does exacerbated mean in this sentence? The patient’s cough was exacerbated by the cold weather.
made worse To exacerbate something is to make it worse, usually a problem, symptom or condition that is already there.
What does bilateral mean?
Affecting both sides Bi- means two and lateral refers to the side, so bilateral means on both sides, like bilateral knee pain.
What does edematous mean in this sentence? The nurse noticed the patient’s ankles were edematous.
swollen with fluid Edema is swelling caused by fluid building up in the tissues, so edematous means swollen with fluid.
Choose the word that completes the sentence: Each of the students ___ a textbook.
has The subject is “each,” which is singular. “Of the students” is a phrase in the middle that doesn’t change that, so the verb must be singular too: has.
Which word in this sentence is an adverb? The nurse quickly checked the chart.
quickly An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. “Quickly” tells you how the nurse checked, so it describes the verb.
Choose the word that completes the sentence: Between you and ___, the test was easier than I expected.
me “Between” is a preposition, and the pronoun after a preposition takes the object form. That’s “me,” not “I.”
Which part of the cell makes most of the cell’s ATP through cellular respiration?
Mitochondrion Mitochondria carry out the aerobic steps of cellular respiration, turning glucose and oxygen into ATP, the cell’s energy currency.
In DNA, adenine pairs with which base?
Thymine In DNA, adenine (A) always pairs with thymine (T), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C).
A solution has a pH of 3. How is it described?
Acidic On the pH scale from 0 to 14, 7 is neutral. Anything below 7 is acidic and anything above 7 is basic, so a pH of 3 is acidic.
What does an element’s atomic number tell you?
The number of protons The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus. It defines the element: every carbon atom has 6 protons.
Which chamber of the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood out to the body?
Left ventricle Oxygen-rich blood returns from the lungs to the left atrium, moves into the left ventricle and is pumped out through the aorta to the body.
What is the functional unit of the kidney?
Nephron Each kidney has around a million nephrons. They filter the blood and form urine.
Which organ makes the hormone insulin?
Pancreas Beta cells in the pancreas make insulin. It helps move glucose from the blood into cells, which lowers blood sugar.