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Nursing School Interview Questions and How to Prepare
Common nursing school interview questions by type, what each tests and how to approach it, plus the MMI, panel, group, video and Casper formats programs use.
Nursing school interviews for BSN, accelerated and direct-entry master's programs ask why you want to be a nurse, how you would handle patient care and ethics scenarios, how you work on a team and under stress, and why the program. They test judgment and motivation, not clinical knowledge. The format varies by school: recorded video, group, panel, MMI or Casper. Below are 24 common questions by type, each with what it tests and how to approach it.
Interviewing for a nursing job instead? Hiring managers ask about your clinical experience, the unit and the shift. This page covers admissions interviews for nursing school.
Common questions by type
The wording below is ours, not any program's. UT Health San Antonio, for example, tells applicants that “specific questions are not shared in advance”. Open a question for how to approach it.
Motivation
What it tests: Whether your reason for nursing is your own and rests on a real picture of what nurses do. The first question has its own guide: how to answer why you want to be a nurse.
Why do you want to be a nurse?
Build it on one specific moment, what you saw a nurse do in it, and why that work fits you. It gets its own guide below.
Tell me about yourself.
About two minutes, in order, ending at why you are applying to nursing school now.
What does a registered nurse do that others on the care team do not?
Name two or three parts of the RN role, such as assessing patients, teaching them and coordinating their care, and tie one to something you saw.
Why this path, and why now?
Career changers and second-degree applicants: connect what you did before to nursing, and say why an accelerated or direct-entry program fits where you are.
Patient care scenarios
What it tests: Judgment, communication and safety. Before licensure they test how you think, not clinical knowledge.
A patient refuses a medication. What do you do?
Find out why, explain without pressure, respect the patient's right to decide and bring in the nurse or provider responsible.
A family member is upset about how long care is taking. How do you respond?
Stay calm, acknowledge the worry, find out what they need and get someone who can update them. Show you listen before you act.
Tell me about a time you helped someone who was scared or in pain.
One real time, what you noticed, what you did and what it taught you about caring for people.
You are asked to do something you have not been trained to do. What do you do?
Say you would not do it alone, ask for help or supervision, and explain that patient safety comes before speed or pride.
Try one now: "A patient refuses a medication. What do you do?" Show you would find out why before anything else, and that respecting the patient's choice and bringing in the right person both matter.
Ethics and professionalism
What it tests: Integrity, patient privacy and speaking up for safety, often as a short dilemma with no perfect answer. The ANA's courses on its Code of Ethics for Nurses teach how to “navigate ethical challenges while practicing with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity and worth of every individual”.
A classmate posts a photo from a clinical site on social media. What do you do?
Name the problem, patient privacy, talk to the classmate first and know when it goes to your instructor.
You make a mistake that nobody noticed. What do you do?
Report it right away, put the patient first and say what you would learn from it. Honesty is the whole point.
A patient's wishes about treatment differ from what you would choose. How do you handle it?
Respect the patient's values and choices, make sure they have what they need to decide, and keep your own views out of their care.
You see a nurse skip a safety step. What do you do?
Speak up respectfully in the moment if the patient is at risk, then raise it through the right channel. Avoid both silence and blame.
Teamwork and communication
What it tests: Whether you can work with people you did not choose, listen, and explain clearly.
Tell me about a time a team you were on did not get along.
One real team, your part in fixing it and the result. Speak fairly about the others.
Describe a time you explained something complicated to someone.
Show how you checked they understood, which is what patient teaching asks of a nurse.
How do you handle feedback you disagree with?
Listen first, ask what you can learn, then say how you raised your view respectfully. Use a real example.
What role do you usually take in a group?
Be honest, give an example, and show you can step back as well as lead.
Stress and resilience
What it tests: Whether you can handle a demanding program and hard moments, and know how you recover.
How do you handle stress?
A specific high-pressure time, what you did in it and a habit you keep to stay well. Skip "I work well under pressure" with no story.
Nursing school is demanding. How will you manage it?
A concrete plan, such as your schedule, support and work hours, backed by a time you handled a heavy load before.
Tell me about a time you failed.
A real setback, what you owned and what you changed afterward. Spend most of the time on the change.
What is your greatest weakness?
A real one that would not put patients at risk, and the steps you are taking to improve it.
Why our program
What it tests: Whether you have done your research and see yourself in this program, not just any program.
Why our program?
Two or three specifics from the program's own pages, such as its format, clinical sites or community, tied to your goals.
What will you bring to your class?
One quality or experience, with an example, and how it helps classmates or patients.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
A setting or patient group you are drawn to and what you want to learn first. Direction matters more than certainty.
Do you have any questions for us?
Ask about something the website does not answer, such as how students are supported in their first clinical rotation.
Interview formats programs use
Each program sets its own interview, so read every invitation. Here is what real nursing programs say on their own admissions pages. The full list by school is in our nursing school interview guide.
Recorded video (Kira Talent)
UT Health San Antonio: “Applicants are required to complete an online interview and writing sample through Kira Talent”, made up of four video questions and one writing sample of up to 300 words. Yale's Kira assessment: “The assessment takes approximately 25-30 minutes to complete and includes both written and video-response questions.” Yale gives you two weeks to finish it, in one sitting. See how Kira video interviews work.
Group interview
UW-Madison, accelerated BSN: “All applicants who meet the eligibility criteria will be invited to participate in a virtual group interview.” Three faculty members interview three or four applicants at a time, and “Each applicant has about one minute to answer each question.” CU Anschutz holds a Zoom interview day from about 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain time. “The day includes small group interviews where you will respond to questions as a group and individually, group discussions, and presentations from various CU Anschutz Nursing offices.” George Fox: “As a group, you will review two case studies (no nursing knowledge required) and present your solutions to the observer.”
Panel or faculty interview
Rush lists this among the requirements for its direct-entry master's for non-nurses: “Faculty interview (by invitation only).” Sumner College, BSN: “Our admission process considers a combination of factors, including TEAS exam scores, a panel interview, and essays that allow you to share your unique story.”
Multiple mini interviews (MMI)
The University of Cincinnati College of Nursing announced in November 2017: “Students applying for admission for fall 2018 will go through the Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) process.” “The MMI interviews themselves focus on six separate attributes or prompts.” Each prompt has a different interviewer, so practice one prompt at a time and reset between them.
Casper situational judgment test
CSU Long Beach requires it of all BSN applicants: “Casper is an online, open-response situational judgment test that takes 90-110 minutes to complete.” MSU Denver requires it for its traditional and accelerated options, and says it “asks what you would do in a tough situation, and why”. See which nursing programs use Casper.
No interview
Duke, Master of Nursing: “Interviews are not required for the program.” Duke asks four written questions in the application instead.
What programs say they look for
Few programs publish a rubric, but the ones that do name the same few qualities.
- UT Health San Antonio ties its interview questions to four core values: commitment to service, intellectual curiosity, integrity and a collaborative disposition.
- OHSU weighs motivation and understanding of the nursing profession, which it describes as “Awareness of the diverse roles nurses have in society.”
- George Fox scores its group interview on focus, encouragement and participation, discussing and listening, prioritization and time management, and critical thinking and problem solving. Practice with our time management interview questions.
- University of Cincinnati, on its MMI: “We look for things like critical thinking, communication, empathy and ethics.”
How to prepare
- Find each program's format. Read the admissions page and the invitation. A one-minute group answer, a timed video and a faculty conversation need different practice.
- Know the RN role. Be ready to say what a registered nurse does in plain words, with something you saw yourself.
- Prepare six to eight stories. Caring for someone, a team conflict, a mistake, a stressful stretch, a time you led and a time you changed your mind. Most behavioral questions draw on one of these.
- Practice out loud, timed. Say each answer out loud and time it to the format. Record yourself once for video interviews and listen back.
- Research why this program. Note two or three specifics per school and how they connect to your goals.
- Bring your own questions. Two or three questions the website does not answer, so the last minute of the interview helps you too.
Our nursing school interview practice asks these questions and follows up on your answers. For the rest of your application, see how to apply to nursing programs and the nursing school resume guide. Applying to a graduate program as an RN? See CRNA school interview questions and FNP and NP program interview questions. For the upset patient or family question, see how to handle a difficult patient, for a quick "about you" question, describe yourself in three words, and for a behavioral one, a time you went above and beyond.
Sources, all checked October 28, 2026
Sources: admissions pages of UT Health San Antonio, Yale, UW-Madison, CU Anschutz, George Fox, Rush, Sumner College, CSU Long Beach, MSU Denver, Duke and OHSU, the University of Cincinnati's announcement of its nursing MMI, and the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses. All checked October 28, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Do nursing school interviews ask clinical questions?
Usually not for BSN, accelerated and direct-entry programs, because you are not a nurse yet. They ask about motivation, scenarios, ethics and teamwork. George Fox even says no nursing knowledge is needed for its group case studies. Graduate programs for RNs, such as CRNA, ask far more clinical questions. See CRNA school interview questions.
How long is a nursing school interview?
It depends on the format. Yale's recorded Kira assessment takes about 25 to 30 minutes, UW-Madison's group interview gives each applicant about one minute per question, and CU Anschutz's Zoom interview day runs from about 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain time.
Do all nursing schools interview applicants?
No. Duke's Master of Nursing does not require an interview and asks four written questions instead. Others use Casper or a recorded video in place of a live interview. Check each program's admissions page. See formats and dates by program.
How many questions are in a recorded nursing school interview?
Programs set their own. UT Health San Antonio's Kira interview has four video questions and one writing sample of up to 300 words, and it does not share the questions in advance. See how Kira Talent video interviews work.
Is a nursing school interview like a nursing job interview?
No. A school interview decides admission and asks why nursing, how you handle people and pressure, and why the program. A job interview is for nurses and centers on clinical experience and the unit.
More nursing program guides
Applying to more nursing programs? How other programs interview and select: