Diagnostic Medical Sonography Admission Requirements

Pre-Core

Required Action

1. Provide Proof of Residency to Registration & Records Department 
2. Complete All Required Pre-Core Courses and Meet Minimum Grade Requirements 
3. Complete Testing and Meet Score Requirements 

All Pre-Core requirements must be met before a student is eligible for a seat in core program courses. 

Proof of Residency

Students are added to the waiting list based on their program admission date and residency. Residency is broken into three categories: in-district, out-of-district State, and non-State. Once you provide documentation of your residency, you cannot change your residency for waiting list purposes.

Provide proof of residency via one of these methods:

• Showing address verification documents in person with the Registration & Records Department
• Emailing address verification documents via Blackhawk email to registration@blackhawk.edu

Address Verification will be allowed using one of the following documents:

• State issued photo ID (Driver’s License, Operators License, or Identity Card)
• Tax Return Document (Most Recent Filing)
• Vehicle Registration Document
• Bank Account Statement with Address
• Voter Registration Documents

Courses Required Prior to Moving into Core Ready Status

English Composition I (801-136)

• 3 credits - Minimum grade of C

General Anatomy & Physiology (806-177)

• 4 credits - Minimum grade of B

Mathematical Reasoning (804-134)

• 3 credits - Minimum grade of B

Medical Terminology (501-101)

• 3 credits - Minimum grade of B

Survey of Physics (806-139)

• 3 credits - Minimum grade of B

All required courses will be subject to the College’s Course Age Limit policy. Course age is locked at the time a student becomes Core Ready and is not re-evaluated as long as they remain on the waiting list. Students admitted to the program who completed courses prior to the 2025-2026 school year may be allowed to grandfather in previous grades. Ask your advisor for more information. 

Testing Required Prior to Moving into Core Ready Status

All testing needs to be completed by the status evaluation dates. It is recommended to complete all Pre-Core coursework prior to taking the test, as the course content will prepare you to be more successful. All testing must have been completed within the past 3 years for a student to move from Pre-Core to Core Ready.

HESI - Health Education Systems Inc. Admission Assessment

• Composite: 80%
• A&P: 80%
• Grammar: 80%
• Math: 80%
• Reading Comprehension: 80%
• Vocabulary General Knowledge: 80%
• Critical Thinking: 800

DAT - Differential Aptitude Test

• DAT - Abstract Reasoning: 80%
  • The ability to see sequences in shapes and patterns (15 items)
• DAT - Space Relations: 80%
  • The ability to visualize 2D shapes in 3D (15 items)

Testing Information can be found at blackhawk.edu/Admissions/Placement-Testing

Note: If you took the TEAS exam prior to February 7, 2025, provide your scores to Blackhawk for review to see if the HESI requirement can be waived.

Core Ready

Core Ready means you have completed all the Pre-Core requirements and are waiting for a seat to become available in the program’s core courses.

General Education Courses - Required for Graduation

Students may take these courses during Pre-Core or Core Ready status. If not completed prior to Core Active, students should meet with their advisor to determine the best time during the core program course structure to take the remaining general education courses. Courses are listed in their order of priority.

Introduction to Psychology (809-198)

• 3 Credits - Minimum grade of C

Introduction to Sociology (809-196)

• 3 Credits - Minimum grade of C

Speech (801-198)

• 3 Credits - Minimum grade of C

All required courses will be subject to the College’s Course Age Limit policy. Course age is locked at the time a student becomes Core Ready and is not re-evaluated as long as they remain on the waiting list. Students admitted to the program who completed courses prior to the 2025-2026 school year may be allowed to grandfather in previous grades. Ask your advisor for more information.

NOTE: Students will need to complete additional tasks (e.g., background checks, immunizations, drug screening, etc.) after they are notified of an available seat in program’s core courses. Additional information will be provided by the program faculty once a seat is offered.

Waiting List Process

Students are ordered on the waiting list based first on RESIDENCY and then by ACCEPTED APPLICATION date.

Priority Acceptance Date

• Summer start: Oct. 1

Residency Priority:

1. In District students who had an accepted application for the program by the priority date for the semester in which their core courses begin.
2. In District students who did not meet the priority date and Out of District State students (students with legal residency in Wisconsin)
3. Non-State students (students with legal residency outside of Wisconsin) – These students cannot be placed on a waiting list and will only be offered a seat in core program courses after all State students have been offered a seat, if seats remain. (International students are considered non-state students.)

Accepted Application Date:

This is the date the student’s application is complete and they are fully accepted to Blackhawk. If a student is accepted to Blackhawk under one program and then changes their program at a later date to a program with a waiting list, the student’s accepted application date will be the date they officially add the program to their record. Students should work with their Academic Advisor to make any program changes so they fully understand the impact on the waiting list process.

When are students selected for entry to core program courses?

• Students must be CORE READY prior to the first Monday in February to be considered for a seat in core active courses that begin in summer.

NOTE: All communications about the waiting list will be sent to the student’s Blackhawk email (provided at the time of College acceptance). There are actions to complete within specific timeframes, which will be communicated through email. Students can also proactively communicate with their Academic Advisor if they want to change their program or academic path.

Questions can be directed to advising@blackhawk.edu or 608-757-7668.

Health Education Systems Inc. Admission Assessment (HESI A2) Information

The Health Education Systems Inc. Admission Assessment (HESI A2) for Allied Health exam will be used as part of the admission process for the following programs in the Health Sciences department: Dental Hygienist, Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Vascular Technician, Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiography, and Surgical Technology.

Students should take the HESI A2 after all pre-core courses are complete. The HESI A2 requirement does not need to be done until just before the goal of being deemed Core Ready. This will allow more knowledge to be available and applied to the admission assessment. All students should study and prepare for the HESI A2 before taking it. 

What does HESI A2 evaluate?

• Anatomy and Physiology: Provides coverage of general terminology and anatomical structures and systems.
• Biology: Covers biology basics, water, biological molecules, metabolism, cells, cellular
  respiration, and photosynthesis.
• Grammar: Contains basic grammar, including parts of speech, important terms, and their uses in grammar, and commonly occurring grammatical errors.
• Math: Focuses on math skills needed for health care fields, including basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, decimals, ratio and proportion, household measures, and general math facts that are useful, for example, when calculating drug dosages and solutions.
• Reading Comprehension: Reading scenarios that are not health related. Provides reading scenarios to measure reading comprehension, including identifying the main idea, finding meaning of words in context, passage comprehension, making logical inferences, etc.
• Vocabulary and General Knowledge: Contains basic vocabulary that is often used in health care fields.
• Critical Thinking: All answers are correct; Each choice reflects a different degree of critical thinking skills regarding general health situations – Problem Solving, Biases and Ethical Dilemmas, Argument Analysis, Analysis of Data.

The cost of HESI A2 is $61, plus eCommerce fee. Exam results are valid for three years.

Students must complete the sections of the HESI specified by their program. If students are pursuing multiple programs, they will need to take all the sections required for each program.

When the HESI A2 is completed, applicants are provided personalized, electronic remediation content at no cost. Remediation content is available for all exam sections. Remediation materials can also be added to a printable study packet for the student to review.

Additional information, links to study guides and practice tests, and registration instructions are found at blackhawk.edu/Admissions/Placement-Testing.

Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) FAQ

What are the DAT tests?

• DAT tests are item-banked and adaptive.
• Tests use item banking so that the test items are selected from a large pool or bank of items.
• Each test contains only 15 items. The test is not timed.
• Each item is assigned a difficulty value. Test takers are presented with different items with the same values.
• The test then adapts based on the response, making it harder and easier.
• Adaptive tests allow the items to be presented at the ability level of the test taker.

What do the DAT tests measure?

• Abstract Reasoning – Measures the ability to solve unfamiliar problems and learn new things quickly.
• Space Relations – Measures the ability to visualize 2D shapes in 3D, and how this object would look if rotated in space.

What is the cost of the DAT test?

Each test has a $30 fee, which is paid at Registration & Records (Beloit-Janesville Campus)

How do I take a DAT test?

Please contact the Testing Center at (608) 757-7666 or testingcenter@blackhawk.edu to schedule your exam. Attach a copy of your receipt of payment from Registration to the email. The testing center will respond to your email with instructions for the test and a link to take it. The link must be used within 30 days of being issued.

Taking the test

• Find a quiet, undisturbed place to take your exam.
• The test may be completed at your home or at Blackhawk Technical College's Beloit-Janesville Campus.
• At Blackhawk, you can use study and testing rooms on campus to take your test. Please let the testing center know when you would like to use this option so that a room will be available.

The DAT should be completed on a desktop or laptop computer with a dependable internet connection. The tests are untimed. According to Pearson’s, the average time taken to complete 15 questions is 10-12 minutes.

How long are my exam results valid?

Three years

If I did not score high enough, how long must I wait before retaking the DAT exams?

Students can take the DAT exam once every three months.

Do I need to retake both exams if I met 80% on one but not the other?

No, students will only need to retake the DAT test which that they did not meet the minimum score.

Core Active

Core Active means you have been offered a seat in the program’s core courses. View Academic Plan