Beyond the Academic Sections
When most students prepare for the HESI A2, they focus entirely on the academic content—math, reading, vocabulary, grammar, and the sciences. But the exam can also include two non-academic sections: the Learning Style assessment and the Personality Profile. These sections often catch students by surprise because they aren't covered in typical study guides and they don't work like the rest of the test.
The good news is that neither section requires studying, and neither one can lower the score that nursing schools use for admissions. This guide explains exactly what each section measures, whether your school requires them, and how to approach them with zero stress. For a complete picture of how all the parts fit together, see our full breakdown of HESI A2 exam sections, questions, and time limits.
Are These Sections Scored?
This is the most important thing to understand: the Learning Style and Personality Profile sections are not graded the way academic sections are. There are no right or wrong answers, and your responses do not factor into the composite score that nursing programs use to evaluate applicants. You cannot pass or fail them.
Instead, these sections produce a descriptive report about how you learn best and what your study-related tendencies are. The results are meant to help you and your school understand your strengths as a learner—not to rank you against other applicants. If you want to understand how the academic scoring works, read our guide on how HESI A2 scoring works.
The Learning Style Assessment
The Learning Style section is a short questionnaire designed to identify how you absorb and retain information most effectively. It typically asks about your preferences—how you like to receive instructions, whether you prefer reading or listening, and how you approach studying.
The results usually categorize you into one or more learning preferences, such as:
- Visual learners, who benefit from diagrams, charts, and color-coded notes
- Auditory learners, who retain information better by listening and discussing
- Read/write learners, who do best with written notes and text
- Kinesthetic learners, who learn through hands-on practice and movement
The report also offers study recommendations tailored to your preferences. This is genuinely useful information. If you discover you're a visual learner, for example, you might lean heavily on diagrams when reviewing anatomy and physiology or use color-coded flashcards to memorize medical terms faster.
The Personality Profile
The Personality Profile assesses traits relevant to learning and working in a healthcare environment. It looks at characteristics such as how you handle stress, your level of organization, how you interact with others, and your general approach to challenges.
Like the Learning Style section, there are no correct answers. The goal is to give you and your program insight into your tendencies so you can play to your strengths and shore up potential weaknesses. For instance, if your profile suggests you tend toward test anxiety, that's a cue to build in strategies from our guide on staying calm and confident on test day.
Does Your School Require These Sections?
Here's where it gets important: whether you take these sections depends entirely on your nursing program. Each school customizes which HESI A2 sections applicants must complete. Some programs require the Learning Style and Personality Profile sections; many do not include them at all.
Because schools choose their own section combinations, the only reliable way to know what you'll face is to check directly with the program you're applying to. This is the same reason you should always confirm score requirements with your school—read more in our guide to HESI A2 score requirements for nursing schools. When you register, the sections you're required to complete will be built into your specific exam.
How Long Do They Take?
Both sections are relatively quick. The Learning Style assessment usually takes around 15 minutes, and the Personality Profile takes roughly 15 minutes as well, though times vary. Because there's no content to recall, you simply move through the questions at a steady pace.
If your school includes these sections, factor the extra time into your overall test-day expectations. Our test day checklist walks through everything you should plan for so nothing catches you off guard.
How to Approach Them
The single best piece of advice for both sections is simple: answer honestly. Because these aren't scored for admissions, there's no advantage to trying to "game" your answers. In fact, dishonest responses only produce a report that doesn't actually reflect how you learn, defeating the entire purpose.
Keep these tips in mind:
- Don't overthink it. Go with your first instinct on each question—your gut response is usually the most accurate.
- Be truthful. The report is only helpful if it reflects the real you.
- Don't rush carelessly. While the sections are low-pressure, reading each question fully ensures the results are meaningful.
- Use the results. After the exam, review your learning style report and apply the recommendations to your nursing-school study habits.
Why These Sections Exist
Nursing programs use this information for several reasons. Some incorporate it into advising, helping students adopt study strategies that fit their learning style early in the program. Others use it as part of a holistic view of each applicant—seeing the whole person, not just a test score. A few programs use the data to identify students who may benefit from additional academic support resources.
Either way, these sections are designed to set you up for success, not to trip you up. Approaching them with that mindset removes any anxiety.
Where to Focus Your Energy Instead
Since the Learning Style and Personality Profile sections require no preparation, every hour of study should go toward the academic sections that actually determine your admissions score. That means math, reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and the sciences. If you're building a study timeline, our 30, 60, and 90-day study plans show exactly how to allocate your time across these scored sections.
To gauge where you stand, take a diagnostic with our free practice questions across all subjects, then drill into your weakest areas. And to avoid the traps that cost students points, review our list of common HESI A2 mistakes to avoid.
The Bottom Line
The HESI A2 Learning Style and Personality Profile sections are low-stakes, study-free, and impossible to fail. They produce a helpful report about how you learn best, and whether you encounter them depends on your specific nursing program. Answer honestly, don't overthink it, and save your real preparation energy for the academic sections that drive your admissions decision. Confirm with your school which sections you'll need, then build a focused study plan around the content that counts.