How Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College uses the HSRT in admissions
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet requires the HSRT as a step in admission to its Associate Degree Nursing program. The exam is 35 questions in 50 minutes and costs $45. It must be taken at FDLTCC; scores from other institutions are not accepted. Scores are valid for two years, and the highest score in that window is used for admission consideration.
No published minimum. Because admission is competitive, aim for a strong overall composite rather than a bare passing score.
HSRT testing at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
- Location: FDLTCC campus only (Cloquet, MN); scores from other institutions are not accepted
- Fee: $45 (non-refundable)
- Format: 35 multiple-choice questions, 50 minutes time limit. Unanswered questions scored as incorrect. You can navigate forward and backward during the exam.
Retake policy
Scores are valid for two years; the highest valid score is used. Confirm current retake limits with the nursing program.
About the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College nursing program
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is a tribal community college in Cloquet, Minnesota, in the Duluth area. Its Associate Degree Nursing program uses the HSRT as a required entrance exam. The test is administered only at FDLTCC, runs 35 questions in 50 minutes, and costs $45; scores remain valid for two years, so applicants can test early and reuse a strong score across application cycles. Because the HSRT measures reasoning rather than science content, preparation centers on argument analysis and inference, not memorizing nursing facts.
About the HSRT exam
The Health Sciences Reasoning Test is developed by Insight Assessment. Unlike the TEAS or HESI, it does not test science, math, or vocabulary. The Standard HSRT reports an overall score plus eight critical thinking skills: analysis, interpretation, inference, evaluation, explanation, induction, deduction, and numeracy. The HSRT-AD form reports six of those skills (it does not report interpretation or explanation separately). Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College lists its HSRT as 35 questions with a 50 minutes time limit. Programs choose which HSRT form they administer. The Standard HSRT is 38 questions in 55 minutes, and the HSRT-AD is 35 questions in 50 minutes. Confirm with Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College admissions which form and time limit you will sit.
Minnesota nursing programs adopted the HSRT after the MANE consortium dissolved, shifting toward holistic admissions models that emphasize critical thinking ability over content knowledge. Research in nursing education suggests that reasoning ability, more than prerequisite GPA, predicts clinical performance and NCLEX success.
How to prepare for the HSRT at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Because there is no content to memorize, HSRT preparation looks different from TEAS or HESI prep. Effective preparation involves:
- Understanding the skill areas the HSRT reports (eight on the Standard HSRT, six on the HSRT-AD)
- Taking a baseline diagnostic to identify your weakest subscale
- Practicing argument analysis, inference, and logical reasoning with original HSRT-style practice questions
- Completing full-length practice exams under realistic conditions (50 minutes time limit at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College)
- Reviewing every wrong answer by skill area, not just overall score
StudyBuddy is a dedicated HSRT prep platform: 1,331 questions across eight skill modules (one per reported skill) and a mixed-reasoning module, 70 interactive lessons, and 10 timed mock exams in the Standard HSRT format (38 questions, 55 minutes). It is designed to build the reasoning skills publicly described for the HSRT. Our questions are original practice material and do not reproduce the proprietary exam. If Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College uses the HSRT-AD, the same course applies, and the pace per question is about the same (about 86 to 87 seconds).
Registration at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Registration for the HSRT is coordinated through Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College's admissions office. You will receive a direct link and access code to the Insight Assessment online testing platform. Do not attempt to register independently, the test requires a program-issued access code.
Contact: fdltcc.edu/degrees-certificates/degree-programs/nursing/
