HESI A2 vs TEAS: Which One Will I Sit?
6 min read · Updated
The HESI A2 and the ATI TEAS compete for the same job: deciding who gets into a nursing program. Your school will accept one, the other, or occasionally either. You do not get to choose, so the first thing to do is find out which.
The differences that matter
| HESI A2 | ATI TEAS 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Elsevier | ATI |
| Structure | Modular — your school picks the sections | Fixed — everyone sits the same test |
| Length | Varies; core four is about 3.5 hours | 170 questions, 209 minutes |
| Science | Separate A&P, Biology, Chemistry, Physics sections | One combined Science section |
| Vocabulary | Its own 50-question section | Folded into English & Language Usage |
| Grammar | Its own 50-question section | Part of English & Language Usage |
| Scoring | Percentage per section, plus a cumulative score | Percentage overall and per section |
| Unscored items | Not used in the same way | 20 of the 170 are unscored pretest items |
Which is harder?
Neither, in general — but they are hard in different places, and which one suits you depends on your background.
- If your science is strong, the HESI's dedicated Anatomy & Physiology section plays to it. The TEAS gives science far less room.
- If your science is weak, the TEAS spreads the damage — one weak area inside a combined section costs you less than a whole section scored on its own.
- The HESI's separate Vocabulary and Grammar sections mean 100 questions on English mechanics. On the TEAS that material is compressed into 37.
- The TEAS is one long sitting. The HESI's modularity means fewer sections, but each is scored in isolation, so there is nowhere to hide a weakness.
If your schools want different ones
This happens more often than people expect when applying to several programs, and it is worth planning rather than improvising.
- List every program you are applying to and which exam each accepts.
- If most want one exam, sit that first and prepare properly for it.
- Check whether any of the others accept either — that can quietly remove the problem.
- Only sit both if a program you genuinely want requires the one you have not taken. Preparing for two exams at once tends to produce two mediocre scores.
The content overlaps more than the format does
Reading comprehension, basic math and grammar carry across almost entirely. If you have already prepared for one, you are not starting from nothing on the other — the work is in the structure and the sciences, not the fundamentals.
If it turns out you need the TEAS rather than the HESI, prepare for that one properly. Sitting the wrong exam well is worth nothing.