TEAS vs HESI, and how to tell which one you will sit
The TEAS and HESI A2 are both nursing entrance exams, but your program picks which you sit. How the two differ in format, length, and scoring, and how to tell.
You do not pick between the TEAS and the HESI A2. Your nursing program does, and the single most useful thing you can do today is check its admissions page to see which one it names. Both are entrance exams that decide whether you are ready for nursing coursework, but they are built by different companies and they are built differently. Here is what separates them, so that once you know which one you sit, you know what you are walking into.
Who makes each, and why it matters
The TEAS is published by ATI, and the HESI A2 by Elsevier. That is not trivia. It is why the two exams behave differently, because each company designed its test on its own terms. ATI ships one standardised TEAS: the same four sections, in the same order, for every test-taker in the country. Elsevier ships the HESI A2 as a kit of subject areas, and lets each school choose which pieces to require.
Same job, different build. Both exams screen for readiness, not knowledge you will use ward-side. Treat whichever one you sit as a preparation problem, since that is what it is.
That difference in philosophy, fixed versus modular, drives almost everything else below.
The core differences
The TEAS is one shape. The HESI A2 is many, because your school assembles it from up to eight subject areas. The figures below are what ATI reports for the TEAS and what nursing programs commonly report for the HESI A2, but always confirm the HESI details against your own program, since it decides the sections and the clock.
| TEAS (ATI) | HESI A2 (Elsevier) | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Fixed and standardised | Modular, chosen by your school |
| Sections | 4, the same for everyone | Up to 8 subject areas |
| Questions | 170 | Up to roughly 326 |
| Time | 209 minutes | Commonly a 4-hour limit, sometimes longer |
| Question types | Multiple choice plus multiple-select, fill-in-the-blank, and ordered response | Mostly multiple choice |
| Score | A Total Score percentage plus a proficiency band | A percentage for each section |
The headline is length and predictability. The TEAS is shorter and identical for every applicant. The HESI A2 can be much longer, but only if your school requires all of its parts, and many do not.
What each one actually tests
The TEAS keeps a balanced footing across four academic areas: Reading, Mathematics, Science, and English and Language Usage. If you want the full breakdown, our guide to what is on the TEAS maps every section.
The HESI A2 leans harder into healthcare-adjacent science. Its subject areas can include Math, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Grammar, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and sometimes Physics, alongside non-academic parts like a learning-style or personality profile that do not affect your admissions score. A program that wants strong science preparation might require Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy and Physiology together, where the TEAS folds all of that into one Science section.
Written by the RedRubric editors.RedRubric is an independent study manual and original question bank for the ATI TEAS 7. We write every question from scratch and map it to ATI’s content outline.