October 2026 HESI A2 Study Guide

Find out which subjects you sit

This is the single most valuable thing you can do before revising. Elsevier publishes a menu of subject exams; your nursing programme picks from it. Studying a subject you were never assigned is the most common way HESI candidates waste a fortnight.

• Check your programme's admission page for a named subject list.
• If it is not published, email admissions and ask which components you sit and how long you get.
• Ask whether they require a minimum on each subject, or only an overall figure.
• Confirm how many attempts you get and how long you must wait between them.

The full subject menu lists every component a programme can assign, and marks which of them our course covers.

What order to study in

Sit a mixed set across your assigned subjects first, before revising anything. An evening spent finding out where you actually stand is worth more than an evening spent revising the subject that feels weakest, which is usually not the one costing you the most marks.

1. Confirm your subject list with admissions.
2. Sit a timed mixed set and read every rationale, including on the questions you got right.
3. Give the weakest two subjects most of your remaining time.
4. Move to full-length timed sets in the final fortnight.

The six-week HESI study plan sets that out week by week, and the HESI cheat sheet collects the facts worth carrying into the final few days.