HESI A2 vs TEAS: Which Nursing Entrance Exam to Take

The single most important thing about HESI A2 vs TEAS is that you usually do not get to choose: take the exam your target nursing program requires. Some schools require the HESI A2 (published by Elsevier), others require the TEAS (published by ATI), and a few accept either. Both are pre-admission tests that screen applicants on math, reading, science and English, and both weigh heavily in competitive admissions. This guide compares them side by side so that once you know which one your school wants, you know exactly what you are walking into.

Whichever you sit, you can turn your own study guide or notes into unlimited drills with an PDF to practice test generator, which is the fastest way to test yourself on the content each exam covers.

HESI A2 vs TEAS at a glance

Both exams cover similar ground but package it differently. The HESI A2 breaks content into eight academic sections your school picks from; the TEAS uses four fixed content areas. Here is the side by side.

What is the HESI A2?

The HESI A2, or Admission Assessment, is Elsevier's nursing entrance exam. It has eight academic sections: Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, Grammar, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics, plus non-academic modules like Critical Thinking and a learning-style survey. Its defining feature is flexibility: each program decides which sections applicants must take, so one school might require five sections and another only four. Scores come back as a percentage per section, and many programs want a composite around 75 to 80 percent. Because the required sections vary, the first step is always confirming your school's list, then drilling those exact areas. You can build HESI A2 practice questions from your own study guide for just the sections you need.

What is the TEAS?

The TEAS, now the ATI TEAS 7, is ATI's Test of Essential Academic Skills. It has four fixed content areas: Reading, Math, Science, and English and Language Usage, with about 170 questions (150 scored) over roughly three and a half hours. Everyone who takes the TEAS sees the same four areas, which makes it more predictable to prepare for than the HESI A2's pick-your-sections format. The Science area leans heavily on anatomy and physiology, so that is where many candidates spend the most time. Scores are reported as a total percentage and by content area, and programs set their own required minimums. You can turn your review material into TEAS practice test questions to drill each of the four areas.

What is the difference between the HESI A2 and the TEAS?

The biggest differences are structure and consistency. The TEAS is fixed: four content areas, the same for everyone, which makes prep straightforward. The HESI A2 is modular: eight possible academic sections, and your school chooses the subset, so two applicants can sit very different exams. The HESI A2 also breaks English into separate reading, vocabulary and grammar sections and separates biology, chemistry and physics, while the TEAS bundles more into its four areas. Content overlap is high, though, since both test math, reading, science (especially anatomy and physiology) and English usage. The practical difference for you is which one your program accepts and how its sections are organized.

Which is harder, the HESI A2 or the TEAS?

Neither is universally harder; difficulty depends on your strengths and which sections your school requires. Many students find the HESI A2 math approachable but its science sections detailed, especially anatomy and physiology, biology and chemistry when a program requires all three. The TEAS is often called slightly more reading and reasoning heavy, and its science area is dense with anatomy and physiology. Because the HESI A2 can include more separate science sections, students weak in science sometimes feel it more. The honest answer is that the harder exam is the one covering your weakest subjects, which is exactly why targeted practice on those areas moves your score the most.

Which one should you take?

Take the one your target program requires. Check each school's admission page: if it names the HESI A2, prepare for the sections it lists; if it names the TEAS, prepare for all four content areas. If you are applying to several programs and they split between the two exams, you may need to sit both, in which case start with whichever has an earlier application deadline. Do not spend energy deciding which is easier in the abstract, because the choice is almost always made for you by the schools on your list.

How to study for either exam

Both exams reward active recall over passive rereading. Close the study guide, answer practice questions from memory, then review what you missed and drill those topics again. The slow part is writing enough fresh questions, which is where an AI generator helps: upload your study guide, class notes or summaries and it writes exam-style questions with an answer key, so you test yourself on material you have not already memorized. If your notes are handwritten, you can convert your handwritten pages into searchable text first so the generator can read every page. Focus your sessions on your weakest sections, since that is where a few extra points can lift you past a competitive cutoff.

Bottom line

The HESI A2 and the TEAS test very similar skills in different packaging: the HESI A2 with eight pick-your-sections modules, the TEAS with four fixed content areas. Let your program decide which you take, confirm the exact sections and cutoff it wants, and then drill those areas hard with practice questions built from your own material. Aim to clear your target school's required score comfortably on practice runs before you sit the real thing, and you will walk in ready.