HESI A2 cheat sheet: what to put on it, and why you cannot bring it in

Can you bring notes or a cheat sheet into the HESI A2?

No, not for a remotely proctored exam. The HESI remote exam rules published with ProctorU say the desk must be completely cleared of books, notes, drinks and snacks, and that scratch paper is no longer allowed. You get a whiteboard, or one sheet of paper inside a transparency sleeve with a dry-erase marker, which must be erased at the end.

Calculators follow the same logic. No graphing, scientific or handheld calculator is allowed, and the HESI platform supplies a built-in one. Elsevier's A2 faculty guide also shows that schools switch the calculator on or off when they schedule the exam, so ask your program whether yours is enabled before you decide how to practice math.

Start with the sections your school actually tests

The A2 is not one fixed test. Elsevier's faculty guide shows programs choosing which exam sections go into each time slot, with the estimated duration changing to match. That is why two schools can give very different instructions for an exam with the same name.

Two real examples: the University of Arizona College of Nursing asks MS-MEPN applicants for Math, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Biology, with a combined score of 75 percent or higher. Tarrant County College lists Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Grammar and Math at 55 questions each, plus a 30-question Anatomy and Physiology section not every program requires. A cheat sheet built for Arizona would waste space on grammar; one for Tarrant County would waste it on biology.

Math: the conversions and setups to write down

Write the conversions you would otherwise have to work out: 1 kg = 2.2 lb, 1 inch = 2.54 cm, 1 oz = 30 mL, 1 tsp = 5 mL, 1 tbsp = 15 mL, 1 cup = 8 oz, and 1 g = 1,000 mg. Add the temperature formulas, F = (C x 1.8) + 32 and C = (F - 32) / 1.8, and the Roman numerals I, V, X, L, C, D and M.

Then add three setups rather than more facts: a proportion (a/b = c/d, then cross multiply), percent change (the difference divided by the original, times 100), and military time (add 12 to any afternoon hour, so 3:45 p.m. is 1545). Our HESI A2 math conversions guide has worked examples for each one.

Grammar and vocabulary: rules, not word lists

For grammar, give each rule one line: a verb agrees with its subject even when a phrase sits between them; who is a subject and whom is an object; its is possessive and it's means it is; affect is usually the verb and effect the noun; a pronoun matches the number of the noun it replaces.

Vocabulary does not compress the same way. A word list cannot be squeezed onto one page, so put only roots and affixes there (hyper- above, hypo- below, brady- slow, tachy- fast, -itis inflammation, -ectomy removal) and keep the words themselves on flashcards. Our HESI A2 vocabulary guide covers what the list includes.

Science: A&P, biology and chemistry facts worth one line

For anatomy and physiology, write the directional terms in pairs (anterior and posterior, proximal and distal, superior and inferior), blood flow through the heart (right atrium, tricuspid valve, right ventricle, pulmonary valve, lungs, left atrium, mitral valve, left ventricle, aortic valve), and one hormone per major gland: pancreas and insulin, thyroid and thyroxine, adrenals and cortisol.

For chemistry, keep to rules you apply: atomic number equals protons, mass number equals protons plus neutrons, pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic, ionic bonds transfer electrons while covalent bonds share them, and a balanced equation has the same count of each atom on both sides. Biology gets mitosis versus meiosis, base pairing (A with T, C with G) and the levels of organization from cell up to the whole body.

Sources

HESI Remote Proctoring Guide (ProctorU, Guardian browser). Cleared desk with no books or notes, no scratch paper, whiteboard or sleeved sheet erased at the end, built-in calculator only.

Elsevier HESI A2 Exam Process Faculty Guide. Programs select exam sections per time slot and toggle the calculator on or off for students.

University of Arizona College of Nursing: HESI Admission Assessment. School example: Math, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Biology required, combined 75 percent or higher.

Tarrant County College: HESI A2 Exam Information. School example: Reading, Vocabulary, Grammar and Math at 55 questions each, 30-question A&P not required by all programs, on-screen calculator.