TEAS vs HESI A2: Which One Does Your School Require, and Which Suits You

First question: which does your school actually require

This is not a matter of preference for most applicants. The ATI TEAS is the more widely required of the two, while the HESI A2 is common at programmes with Elsevier curriculum partnerships. Your target school almost certainly names one.

A minority of programmes accept either, and a small number require neither. If yours accepts both, the rest of this comparison becomes a genuine decision. If it names one, prepare for that one and stop reading comparison articles.

Whatever a third-party list says — including this page — confirm with the admissions office directly. Requirements change between admission cycles and the cost of preparing for the wrong exam is measured in months.

The best academic structure does not decorate the clinical reasoning—it makes that reasoning visible.

Structure: fixed versus modular

The TEAS 7 is fixed. Every candidate sits the same four sections in the same order: Reading, Mathematics, Science, then English and Language Usage. It is 170 questions in 209 minutes and you cannot skip or revisit a section.

The HESI A2 is modular. Your programme selects which sections you sit from Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, Grammar, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology and Physics. Two applicants can sit very different HESI exams.

Neither exam is adaptive. Both draw on introductory college-level material rather than nursing content.

Scoring: composite versus section floors

This is the most consequential difference. The TEAS produces a single composite percentage alongside section sub-scores, and most programmes screen primarily on the composite. A strong section can offset a weaker one.

The HESI reports a percentage per section plus a cumulative average, and programmes typically set a minimum on each required section. Your weakest required section effectively becomes your result, because a high score elsewhere cannot lift it above its own floor.

In practice: if you have one persistent weak area, the TEAS is more forgiving. If you are consistent across subjects, the HESI's structure costs you nothing and its generally gentler timing may suit you better.

Content emphasis

Both weight science heavily, and in both the decisive content is anatomy and physiology. The HESI's Anatomy and Physiology section is generally the deeper of the two, expecting more detailed familiarity with structure and function.

The TEAS bundles biology, chemistry and scientific reasoning into one Science section alongside anatomy, so breadth matters more. The HESI separates Biology, Chemistry and Anatomy and Physiology into distinct scored sections, so depth in each matters more where required.

The TEAS includes a scientific reasoning component — variables, controls, reading data — that the HESI does not test in the same way. The HESI includes a Vocabulary and General Knowledge section leaning toward healthcare terminology that has no TEAS equivalent.

Timing and pressure

The TEAS is the tighter exam. English allows roughly one minute per question and Science about 72 seconds, and candidates regularly run out of time in Science. Pacing is a genuine skill to practise.

HESI sections are generally more generously timed, and time pressure is less often the limiting factor. What limits HESI candidates is depth, particularly where Anatomy and Physiology is required.

If you know you are accurate but slow, that is a meaningful argument for the HESI where you have the choice. If you are quick but uneven across subjects, the TEAS composite works in your favour.

What each requires

TEAS expectations vary by programme type. Associate degree programmes commonly look for a composite around 55 to 65 percent, bachelor programmes 65 to 80, and accelerated bachelor programmes 70 to 85.

HESI expectations are usually expressed per section, commonly 75 to 80 percent, with competitive programmes asking 80 to 90. Because these are floors rather than averages, they are less forgiving than the equivalent TEAS composite.

Some programmes set both a composite and section minimums on the TEAS. Read the requirement carefully enough to know which numbers you are actually being measured against.

Choosing when you genuinely can

Take the TEAS if you have one weak subject that a composite can absorb, if you are comfortable working at pace, or if you are applying to several programmes and most of them want it.

Take the HESI if you are consistent across subjects, if you would rather have more time per question, or if your programme requires only a few sections — sitting three sections instead of four is a real reduction in preparation.

Whichever you choose, confirm the retake rules first: the waiting period between attempts and whether the programme counts your highest, most recent or averaged score. That answer should shape whether you sit early or wait.