Why Score Requirements Are Harder to Find Than You'd Expect
Most HSRT-requiring programs publish a minimum score — but "minimum" and "competitive" are rarely the same number. A program might accept anyone above 60%, but the students who actually get seats average 72%. This guide compiles every confirmed HSRT institution, their published thresholds, and the context you need to set a real target.
The HSRT (Health Sciences Reasoning Test) is used by nursing and allied health programs across Minnesota, Texas, New Jersey, and Oregon. Because it's a niche exam with no major test-prep market, published score data is scattered across individual program pages, admissions handbooks, and PDFs that disappear between admissions cycles. We've consolidated it here.
Minnesota Programs — Nursing-Focused
Minnesota has the highest concentration of HSRT-requiring programs in the country, driven by the former MANE consortium and continued adoption by individual community college nursing programs. In Minnesota, the HSRT is primarily used as an admissions criterion for Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and Practical Nursing (PN) programs.
| School | Program | Published Minimum | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anoka-Ramsey Community College | Nursing RN/PN | 74% | HSRT is 55% of admissions score; also weights experiential (31%) and essay (14%) |
| M State (Minnesota State CC) | Nursing RN/PN, Medical Lab Tech, Sonography/Echo | 60–73% | Multiple allied health programs require HSRT; check program-specific page |
| Central Lakes College | Nursing RN/PN | 65–70% | Competitive applicant pool; aim above minimum |
| Northwest Technical College | Nursing RN/PN | 70% | — |
| Century College | Various health programs | Ranked factor | No hard cutoff published; score used as a ranked factor |
| South Central College | Nursing | See program page | Requirements update annually |
| Rochester Community & Technical College (RCTC) | Nursing | See program page | Requirements update annually |
What competitive looks like in MN: At programs with published minimums in the 65–74% range, admitted students typically score 5–10 points above the floor. At Anoka-Ramsey specifically, the HSRT score is weighted quantitatively against other applicants — hitting exactly 74% means you're competing against everyone else who also met that threshold.
Texas Programs — Allied Health-Focused
Texas uses the HSRT primarily for allied health programs — respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, and occupational therapy — rather than nursing. Most Texas programs have not published hard minimum scores, relying instead on a ranked selection process or holistic review.
| School | Program | Published Minimum | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star College | Respiratory Care, Dental Hygiene | Not published | HSRT used as selection factor; confirm with admissions |
| Houston Community College (HCC Coleman) | Respiratory Therapy, Occupational Therapy Assistant | Not published | Part of ranked selection process |
| College of the Mainland | Dental Hygiene | Not published | — |
| Palo Alto College | Dental Hygiene | Ranked selection | Top 45 advance to interview; top 30 selected |
| Texas Southern University | Respiratory Therapy (BS) | Not published | — |
Not sure where your weak areas are?
Take the free 5-minute diagnostic and get a personalized study plan — no account required.
Other States
| School | State | Program | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowan College at Burlington County | NJ | Health Sciences programs | Confirm current requirement directly |
| Central Oregon Community College (COCC) | OR | Allied health programs | Confirm current requirement directly |
| Portland Community College (PCC) | OR | Allied health programs | Confirm current requirement directly |
Why Published Minimums Understate What You Need
Admission to HSRT-requiring programs is usually competitive, not threshold-based. When a program says "minimum 70%," they typically mean: we will not review any application below 70%. The students who actually get seats are scoring higher — often 75–85% at MN nursing programs with published floors in the 65–70% range.
The strategic implication: add 8–12 points to any published minimum when setting your target. If the floor is 70%, study toward 80%. This buffer accounts for test-day variance and positions you competitively against other applicants who also met the minimum.
How the HSRT Is Different From What You Might Expect
Students who've prepared for the TEAS or HESI often report being caught off guard by the HSRT format. Unlike anatomy-and-physiology-heavy entrance exams, the HSRT is a pure critical thinking test. There are no memorization-based science questions. Every item presents a scenario and asks you to analyze arguments, evaluate evidence, draw inferences, or apply logic.
This distinction matters for preparation: the HSRT cannot be studied the way you'd study for TEAS science content. The skills it tests — Analysis, Inference, Evaluation, Induction, Deduction, and Numeracy — require practice with structured reasoning under timed conditions.
Setting a Realistic Preparation Timeline
For most students, 4–6 weeks of structured HSRT preparation is sufficient to reach a competitive score. The key factors are:
- Starting point: Students with strong verbal reasoning backgrounds tend to score above 70% with minimal prep. Students from science-heavy backgrounds often need more time to adjust to the logic-first format.
- Available practice materials: Because the HSRT has no mainstream prep market, practice resources are extremely limited. StudyBuddy is the only platform with dedicated HSRT content — 463 practice questions across all 6 skill domains.
- Study approach: Domain-by-domain preparation outperforms random review. Identifying your weakest domain early (usually Numeracy or Deduction) and addressing it first yields the most score improvement per study hour.