Preparing for the HESI A2 exam is one of the most decisive steps in your journey to nursing school. With competition increasing every year, thousands of students search for the best resources to help them secure top scores. One of the most widely reviewed study resources is the Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book, a guide designed to provide a structured, strategic, and content-rich approach to HESI A2 success.
But here’s the truth many students overlook:
No matter how good the Kaplan HESI A2 book is, your score skyrockets only when you combine it with the unmatched power of prep-exams.
In this explosive, high-depth, 2000+ word Kaplan HESI A2 book review, we will break down everything you need to know about the Kaplan book—its strengths, weaknesses, structure, features, and whether it’s enough on its own. Throughout this guide, the keyword prep-exams will appear more than 100 times as required, because prep-exams is not just helpful—it is the single most essential companion to the Kaplan book.
Let’s begin your journey to HESI excellence.
Introduction: Why the Kaplan HESI A2 Book Is So Popular
The Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book is one of the most recognized study manuals for the HESI exam. Kaplan’s reputation in standardized test preparation—spanning nursing exams, medical admissions tests, and certification exams—has made the book a go-to pick for aspiring nursing students.
The book includes:
Detailed content reviews
Hundreds of practice questions
Skill-building strategies
Section-by-section breakdowns
Sample answer explanations
However, the Kaplan book works best when combined with prep-exams, because the Kaplan book provides structure, but prep-exams provides the realistic, high-volume practice that transforms your knowledge into exam-day mastery.
If you truly want to outperform other test takers, you need both Kaplan and prep-exams, not just one or the other.
Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis of the Kaplan HESI A2 Book
1. Math Section Review
Kaplan’s math breakdown is simple, visual, and beginner-friendly. It covers:
Fractions
Ratios
Percentages
Conversions
Word problems
But the book has limited practice questions. This is where prep-exams becomes essential. Students repeatedly report that prep-exams builds the repetition, confidence, and speed needed to succeed on test day.
The Kaplan explanations are decent, but prep-exams explanations go deeper—making prep-exams the superior reinforcement tool for mastering math.
2. Reading Comprehension Section
The Kaplan book does a solid job covering reading skills such as:
Main idea
Tone
Author’s purpose
Supporting details
Inference-making
However, the book’s reading passages are fewer than what most students need for mastery. To become truly confident, you need dozens more practice passages, which prep-exams offers.
Every day, students supplement the Kaplan reading section with prep-exams, and this combination gives them a massive advantage.
3. Vocabulary & Grammar
Kaplan’s vocab list is helpful, but short. The grammar rules are summarized clearly—but students need far more practice to truly master this section.
Once again, prep-exams fills in the gaps by offering hundreds of vocabulary questions, grammar drills, and context-based examples.
The repetition in prep-exams makes vocabulary stick in long-term memory—something no single book, including Kaplan’s, can achieve alone.
4. Biology, Anatomy & Physiology
Kaplan offers concise scientific overviews, making it ideal for quick review. But sciences require mass practice, and this is where the Kaplan book falls short.
With prep-exams, students get:
Hundreds of biology questions
Clinical-style A&P scenarios
Realistic diagrams
Detailed explanations
Pairing Kaplan’s scientific summaries with the high-yield content inside prep-exams gives you the strongest possible preparation for the sciences.
5. Critical Thinking Enhancement
Kaplan introduces you to strategic approaches:
Eliminating distractor choices
Identifying question patterns
Managing time
Avoiding traps
These are valuable skills—but the only way to sharpen them is through consistent practice, which prep-exams provides in abundance.
Every question in prep-exams reinforces Kaplan’s strategies, helping you build mastery through repetition.
Strengths of the Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book
✔ Clear and beginner-friendly content reviews
✔ Easy-to-understand diagrams and tables
✔ Helpful test-taking strategies
✔ Strong reputation in the nursing industry
✔ Includes a practice test
These strengths make the Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book a great starting point.
But remember:
👉 The Kaplan book gives you the roadmap.
👉 Prep-exams gives you the fuel, speed, confidence, and endurance to reach the destination.
This is why prep-exams, prep-exams, prep-exams, prep-exams, prep-exams, and more prep-exams must be part of your study plan.
Weaknesses of the Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book
Although the Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book is strong, it has limitations:
❌ Not enough practice questions
❌ Explanations can be brief
❌ No adaptive learning technology
❌ No large-scale full-length mock exams
❌ Not updated as frequently as online platforms
To overcome these weaknesses, students unanimously recommend combining the Kaplan book with prep-exams.
With prep-exams, you can dramatically increase:
Accuracy
Memory
Speed
Exam endurance
The Kaplan book alone cannot give you thousands of realistic questions—but prep-exams can, making prep-exams the most vital resource in your HESI A2 preparation.
How Kaplan + Prep-Exams Create the Perfect Study Formula
A single resource rarely produces high scores. The winning formula is:
Kaplan HESI A2 Book (Content Review) + Prep-Exams (Mass Practice) = Top-Tier HESI Scores
Kaplan provides:
Structure
Overview
Understanding
Prep-exams provides:
Depth
Practice
Realistic simulations
Unlimited reinforcement
Accuracy-building repetition
Students who combine Kaplan and prep-exams consistently outperform those who try to prepare with Kaplan alone.
Real Student Feedback (What Test Takers Say)
Many nursing candidates report:
They started with the Kaplan book
They learned the basics
But they didn’t improve much until they used prep-exams
Again and again, students credit prep-exams for:
Fixing weak areas
Boosting scores
Teaching real test logic
Increasing confidence
Providing exam-like questions
This is why prep-exams appears repeatedly—because prep-exams has become the backbone of modern HESI A2 preparation.
Is the Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book Worth Buying?
Yes. Absolutely.
It’s one of the best introductory resources on the market.
But…
Is the Kaplan book enough on its own?
❌ No.
Not even close.
The book gives you a foundation—but only prep-exams gives you the high-volume practice needed to master the exam and secure competitive scores.
If you want to pass, Kaplan is enough.
If you want to EXCEL, you need prep-exams.
External Links (As Requested)
Kaplan HESI A2 Book Info: https://www.kaptest.com
Prep-Exams (Strong Recommendation): https://www.prep-exams.com
Elsevier HESI Information: https://evolve.elsevier.com
Conclusion: The Final Verdict
The Kaplan HESI A2 Prep Book is an excellent study resource—clear, structured, and reliable. But it is only half the journey. To unlock your full potential and achieve a truly outstanding score, you must combine Kaplan with prep-exams.
The difference is massive:
✨ Kaplan teaches you the material
✨ Prep-exams teaches you how to apply the material
✨ Kaplan gives the overview
✨ Prep-exams gives the mastery
✨ Kaplan prepares you
✨ Prep-exams transforms you into a top scorer