How South Central College uses the HSRT in admissions
South Central College requires a minimum HSRT score of 74. ASN: 74 minimum (verified June 2026). PN minimum: contact SCC directly — not confirmed on current admissions page..
Published minimums are floors, not targets. Competitive applicants typically score 5–10 points above the minimum. Aiming for 80 or above is advisable at South Central College.
About the South Central College nursing program
South Central College in North Mankato offers two nursing pathways with different HSRT requirements: the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) requires a minimum score of 74, while the Practical Nursing (PN) certificate requires a minimum of 70. Both are hard gates — fall below and your application is ineligible regardless of GPA or other factors. One requirement that catches applicants off guard: SCC only accepts HSRT scores earned at the South Central College campus. Scores from other testing institutions are not accepted. If you are traveling from outside Mankato, plan your testing trip carefully — you cannot take the exam closer to home and submit those results. The Allied Health and Nursing programs at SCC have a strong regional reputation, reflected in sustained student interest in the program across application cycles.
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). 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 South Central 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 South Central 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
- 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 South Central 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 South Central College
Registration for the HSRT is coordinated through South Central 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.
