Harding PA Program Interview: Two-Stage Format and Questions

Stage 1 and Stage 2: how to handle both rounds

Harding treats the preliminary virtual interview as a filter for who comes to campus. Confirm the exact platform and timing in your invitation email, and allow messages from donotreply@webadmit.org and @sendgrid.me. Before your virtual session, pick a quiet, closed room with steady lighting because Harding grades professionalism through appearance and location. Follow every check-in rule in the invite since adherence to guidelines is scored, speak in clear sentences without slang, and connect your goals directly to why you chose Harding.

Applicants selected from the virtual round are invited to Searcy to meet faculty, staff, and current students and tour the facilities. Harding's Early Assurance of Interview (EAI) undergraduates who meet all EAI benchmarks, including a 3.4+ undergraduate science GPA, 3.5+ prerequisite GPA (3.5+ cumulative GPA on the EAI checklist), 250+ HCE hours, 20+ PA shadowing hours, a B or better in completed prerequisites, 4 PA program activities, and GRE scores and a verified CASPA application submitted by September 1 (which includes a $50 supplemental fee waiver), skip straight to a guaranteed in-person interview after their CASPA review. Because cooperativeness and fit for the 36-student cohort are central to the final vote, treat every interaction on campus as part of the evaluation.

After the on-campus interview, the full Admissions Committee places each candidate into one of four statuses by email, with all interviewed applicants notified by mid-March at the latest:

• Acceptance: You receive an offer by email and have about two weeks to submit paperwork and a $500.00 advanced tuition deposit. Offers are contingent on a criminal background check and finishing any remaining coursework or degree requirements.
• Hold: You remain under active consideration for a seat while interviews are ongoing until final selections are made at the end of the season.
• Admission Alternates: At the end of the interview season, selected applicants are ranked on an alternate list.
• Non-Acceptance: Decisions are final, and applicants who wish to try again must reapply in a future cycle.

Harding's mission, Christian worldview, and core values

Alignment with Harding's mission is checked at the Supplemental Application alignment review, both interview rounds, and the final committee vote. From Harding's PA Mission and Competencies page, the mission is: "Developing caring physician assistants who practice competent, patient-centered primary care in diverse environments." The program's stated purpose is to motivate graduates toward "professional excellence, Christ-centered service to others and lifelong learning."

Three themes from the program's goals and core values stand out for your stories:

• Christ-centered service and servant leadership. Harding equips students to deliver ethical care from a Christian perspective and expects graduate students to abide by the Christian principles in the Graduate and Professional Handbook.
• Primary care in shortage areas. One core value states that PAs should "serve where needed, particularly in rural areas, inner-cities and on mission fields where there are health professional shortages."
• Humility and team-based care. In its entering student competencies (adapted from the AAMC Core Competencies), Harding highlights cultural humility, admitting mistakes, asking for guidance when needed, and respecting every member of the health care team.

12 Harding PA practice questions with our example answers

Our team wrote these 12 practice questions to match the evaluation criteria on Harding's PA Admissions and Mission pages, along with a concise example answer for each. The applicants in these example answers are invented. For broader practice, see our guide to <a href="/articles/pa-program-interview-questions">PA school interview questions</a>.

• 1. Virtual Round (Servant Leadership): How have you practiced Christ-centered service or servant leadership in your community or clinical work, and how will you carry that into PA school at Harding? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "For the past 2 years, I have volunteered every Saturday morning at a church-sponsored food and blood-pressure pantry in my hometown. My role started with taking vitals, but I noticed that many older guests skipped their medications when groceries ran low. Working with our clinic coordinator, I helped organize a private resource corner where guests could talk through prescription assistance forms without feeling embarrassed. To me, Christ-centered service means protecting a person's dignity while meeting their practical and physical needs. At Harding, I want to bring that same quiet, dependable attitude to our 36-student cohort, checking in on classmates during heavy exam blocks and serving patients in White County with humility."
• 2. Virtual Round (PA Role): Based on your in-person PA shadowing, what did you observe about the physician-PA relationship that confirmed this profession is right for you? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "During my in-person shadowing at a family medicine clinic, I watched the PA manage her own panel of acute and chronic patients all morning while consulting her collaborating physician for 5 minutes on a complex thyroid case. There was no ego in that hallway conversation. The PA presented a focused history and her proposed workup, the physician added 1 diagnostic consideration, and they agreed on the plan together. Seeing how that trust multiplied the clinic's capacity to see same-day patients confirmed that I want the collaborative autonomy of the PA role rather than practicing in isolation."
• 3. Virtual Round (Primary Care): Our mission focuses on developing PAs who practice patient-centered primary care in diverse environments. Where do you see yourself practicing five years after graduation? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "5 years after graduating from Harding, I see myself practicing outpatient primary care in a rural health professional shortage area in Arkansas or a neighboring state. Growing up in a small town, I saw my grandparents drive over an hour just for routine diabetes and hypertension follow-ups. In my work as a medical assistant, I have seen how a trusted primary care PA can catch complications early, adjust treatments to fit a family's budget, and keep patients out of the emergency room. Training in Searcy and rotating through diverse primary care settings will prepare me to step directly into a rural clinic where generalists are needed most."
• 4. On-Campus (Resilience to Adversity): Tell us about a major academic or personal setback you faced. How did you adapt? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "In the first semester of my sophomore year, my father had an unexpected surgery while I was taking General Chemistry II and working 20 hours a week. I tried to keep my old study routine and got a C on my first midterm. Instead of waiting until the end of the term, I met with my professor during office hours, switched from passive rereading to daily practice problems, and coordinated with my manager to move my shifts to weekends. I finished the course with a high B and went on to earn A grades in Organic Chemistry and Microbiology. That semester taught me to ask for help early and adjust my study system as soon as demands shift."
• 5. On-Campus (Awareness of Self): Tell me about a time you received constructive criticism that was difficult to hear. What did you change? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "3 months into my job as an emergency department technician, my charge nurse pulled me aside and told me that when the department got busy, my tone with patients became clipped and rushed. That was hard to hear because I prided myself on being caring, and I had focused so much on speed that I stopped explaining what I was doing before placing EKG leads. The next shift, I made a rule to pause at the curtain, introduce myself, and state 1 clear sentence about the procedure before touching any equipment. Within a month, my supervisor noted the improvement, and patients were noticeably calmer."
• 6. On-Campus (Cooperativeness and Cohort Fit): Our cohort has a maximum of 36 students who take their didactic classes together. Tell us about a time you worked with a teammate whose style differed from yours. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "In my upper-level Cell Biology lab, I was paired for the semester with a partner who preferred to draft reports the night before they were due, while I like to outline everything a week early. After our first lab felt rushed, I asked if we could grab coffee and set up a shared schedule that respected how we both worked. We agreed that I would build the data tables and methods right after lab, and he would write the discussion section 48 hours before submission so we had 1 full day to review together. We earned an A on every report, and I learned how to set clear expectations without micromanaging a teammate."
• 7. On-Campus (Personal Initiative): Describe a situation in a clinical or volunteer setting where you noticed a gap before being told. What action did you take within your scope? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "While working as a patient care tech on an orthopedic floor, I noticed that afternoon discharges were frequently delayed because staff had to hunt across 3 supply closets for walkers, gait belts, and printed home-exercise packets. Staying strictly within my role, I asked my unit manager if I could reorganize 1 central alcove during a quiet night shift into a dedicated discharge station with a restocking checklist. She approved the trial, and our night techs began restocking it at 5:00 AM daily. It cut down morning delays for the physical therapists and nurses and showed me how small workflow fixes help the whole care team."
• 8. On-Campus (Maturity and Ethics): You make a minor documentation error on a patient's chart during a busy shift, and no one else notices. Walk us through what you do next. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "I would correct it immediately through the proper charting protocol and tell the supervising clinician right away. Last year as a medical assistant, I accidentally typed a patient's pulse ox reading into the temperature line of another patient's intake note right before the PA walked into the room. Even though I caught it 30 seconds later, I knocked on the exam room door, apologized, told the PA so she would not rely on the wrong vital sign, and entered a signed addendum in the electronic health record. Patient safety and personal integrity always come before avoiding a moment of embarrassment."
• 9. Mission Fit (Underserved Care): Harding values serving in rural areas, inner-cities, and mission fields with health professional shortages. Tell us about a patient encounter where access or cost stood in the way of care. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "At the rural clinic where I worked as a medical assistant, an uninsured carpenter came in with an infected hand laceration he had tried to treat at home for a week because he could not afford to miss a day's pay. When the PA prescribed an antibiotic, the patient quietly asked me at checkout which pills were optional if the pharmacy total was too high. I alerted the PA before the patient left, and she switched the prescription to a $4 generic on the local grocery store's formulary and scheduled an early-morning wound check before his shift. That encounter showed me that an evidence-based plan only works if the patient can actually afford to follow it."
• 10. Competencies (Cultural Humility): Describe a time you cared for or worked with someone whose worldview or cultural beliefs differed from your own. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "While volunteering in hospice care, I was assigned to visit a family whose religious traditions around end-of-life pain medication and prayer differed from my own upbringing. On my first visit, I realized I did not understand why the patient's adult children were hesitant about scheduled morphine doses. Instead of making assumptions, I listened quietly and asked the family what mattered most to them about their father's comfort and alertness, then relayed their concerns respectfully to the hospice nurse. The nurse was able to sit down with them and adjust the dosing schedule around their daily family prayer time, teaching me that mindful listening builds trust faster than lecturing."
• 11. Competencies (Recognizing Limitations): As a PA student entering clinical rotations, how do you know when to handle a question yourself and when to ask your preceptor for help? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "As a PA student, my rule is that patient safety and transparency come first. If a patient asks a general health education question that we have already covered with the preceptor in the treatment plan, such as how to take a prescribed medication with food, I can reinforce those instructions clearly. However, if a patient reports a new symptom, asks to change a dose, or presents with findings outside what my preceptor and I discussed, I will tell the patient honestly that I am going to check with my supervising preceptor to make sure we give them the safest answer. Recognizing my limits is part of being a trustworthy teammate."
• 12. Readiness for Rigor: Harding's curriculum is fast-paced, and students are strongly discouraged from working while enrolled. How have you prepared for this schedule? Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented: "I have prepared both academically and financially so that I can treat the 112-credit curriculum as my full-time job from day 1. During my senior year, I intentionally scheduled upper-level science courses with labs alongside my 200-plus health care experience hours to test my time management under a heavy load. At the same time, I worked extra shifts over the past year to build a dedicated savings buffer for living expenses in Searcy and reviewed the federal financial aid process so I will not need outside employment during didactic or clinical semesters."

A two-week preparation plan for both Harding rounds

Here is a two-week plan built by our team around Harding's published criteria:

• Days 1 to 3 (Audit your stories): Write down six stories from your 200+ HCE hours, PA shadowing, and coursework. Tag each to one of Harding's on-campus criteria: resilience, self-awareness, cooperativeness, maturity, personal initiative, and understanding of the PA role.
• Days 4 to 6 (Drill the virtual setup): Record yourself on camera answering Questions 1 to 3. Watch with the sound off first to check lighting, posture, and background, then listen for filler words.
• Days 7 to 10 (Test behavioral follow-ups): Have a partner ask Questions 4 through 11 and push with one unscripted follow-up per question.
• Days 11 to 14 (Cohort fit and questions): Review Harding's mission and competencies pages and prepare two thoughtful questions for faculty and students on campus.

Harding PA admissions requirements, accreditation, and costs

Show details

Harding operates on rolling admissions. For the 2026-2027 cycle, CASPA opens on April 30, 2026, and your application must be marked Verified by CASPA by November 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST, followed by an invited Supplemental Application with a $50.00 fee (waived for current CASPA fee waiver recipients, current McNair scholars, and Harding EAI undergraduates who apply by September 1). Harding requires a minimum 3.00 prerequisite GPA with no exceptions. The graduation requirement is 112 credits. For how these numbers compare nationally, see our breakdown of <a href="/articles/pa-school-requirements">PA school requirements</a>.

Harding's PA Accreditation page states that the ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Continued status with an approximate next validation review of October 2034, and links to the ARC-PA accreditation history page. That ARC-PA Accreditation History document lists the program on Accreditation-Probation following the September 2024 commission meeting, with follow-up reports through September 2026 and a next review in October 2026, while keeping the maximum entering class size at 36 students.

Harding sets a flat-rate semester tuition for each matriculating cohort in the spring before they start, covering lab supplies, malpractice insurance, BLS and ACLS training, and AAPA/ARAPA student dues. Accepted students cannot defer admission to a later year, and the program does not grant advanced standing or accept transfer students.

Ready to practice your virtual and on-campus answers out loud? Confetto gives you realistic <a href="/pa-school">PA school mock interviews</a> with instant rubric feedback so you can walk into both Harding rounds prepared. Start your free week.

Harding University PA admissions and program facts (Sources: Harding PA Admissions, Outcomes, and ARC-PA)

Requirement or Metric	Official Harding PA Detail
Maximum class size	36 students (ARC-PA Accreditation History. First accredited March 2005). Graduation requirement is 112 credits.
Graduation, attrition, and PANCE rates	95.9% overall graduation rate and 4.1% overall attrition rate. 710 total students matriculated as of Fall 2025 and 614 total graduates as of December 2025. Harding's Outcomes page also publishes official five-year NCCPA PANCE First-Time Pass Rates and Exam Performance Summary PDFs.
Degree and GPA minimums	US bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. Required 3.00 minimum prerequisite GPA (no exceptions). Cumulative GPA should be >3.00 (higher grade used if retaken).
Competitive GPA profile	Cumulative: 3.6, Prerequisite: 3.7, Overall Science: 3.5, Last 40 hours: 3.8
Health Care Experience (HCE) & Shadowing	Minimum 200 HCE hours required before CASPA submission (direct care within the last 5 years preferred. Clerical/front desk work excluded) plus 10 hours of direct, in-person PA shadowing (no virtual shadowing, and observing non-PA providers does not count toward this requirement).
Letters & GRE policy	3 letters required through CASPA (up to 5 reviewed: academic, professional/work, and practicing PA references strongly suggested). GRE evaluated if submitted for standard applicants. Required by September 1 for Harding EAI undergraduates.
Prerequisites (minimum grade C, not C-)	General Chemistry I & II with labs (8 credits), Additional Chemistry: Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry (3 credits, no lab required), Microbiology with lab (4 credits), Human Anatomy and Physiology with labs (8 credits, sequences cannot be mixed), Math (3 credits), General Psychology (3 credits), 3-credit Psychology elective in the Psychology department, Medical Terminology (1-3 credits, P/F acceptable for this course only), and 3 credits of Upper-Level Biology at the 300/3000 level for science majors from an approved list. Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, and Upper-level Biology are strongly recommended within seven years prior to matriculation. AP credit counts if posted on official transcripts toward a specific course, CLEP is not accepted, and online courses are typically accepted though in-person courses and labs are strongly preferred.

Practice question

Why did you choose to apply to Harding University's PA program specifically, and how do your personal and professional goals align with our Christ-centered mission?

See an example answer

I want to train where clinical rigor and faith-based service are taught together. Over the last 2 years, volunteering at a rural Arkansas free clinic showed me how much patients in health shortage areas need primary care providers who listen with humility and treat the whole person. Shadowing a family medicine PA there, I watched her take time to understand a patient's financial barriers before adjusting his diabetes plan, and that shaped the kind of clinician I want to be. Harding's mission to develop caring PAs for patient-centered primary care in diverse and underserved communities matches my goal to practice rural primary care after graduation. I also value that Harding's 36-student cohort and faculty mentorship model Christ-centered servant leadership in daily training, not just as a slogan. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.

It directly addresses Harding's Stage 1 and Stage 2 alignment rubric by connecting a concrete primary care experience to the program's exact mission, 36-student cohort size, and Christ-centered service values.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Harding University PA program interview format?

Harding uses a two-stage interview process that begins in July. Qualified applicants first complete a preliminary virtual interview, and the Admissions Committee selects top candidates from that round to attend an in-person, on-campus interview with faculty and staff in Searcy, Arkansas.

What GPA do you need for the Harding PA program?

You must have at least a 3.00 prerequisite GPA on a 4.00 scale with no exceptions, and a cumulative GPA above 3.00 is recommended. According to Harding's PA Admissions page, competitive applicants average a 3.6 cumulative GPA, 3.7 prerequisite GPA, 3.5 overall science GPA, and 3.8 GPA in their last 40 credit hours.

How many patient care and shadowing hours does Harding PA require?

Harding requires at least 200 hours of Health Care Experience (HCE) prior to submitting your CASPA application, plus at least 10 hours of direct, in-person shadowing of a Physician Assistant. Clerical work does not count toward HCE, and virtual shadowing is not accepted.

When is the Harding PA program application deadline for 2026-2027?

The 2026-2027 CASPA cycle opens on April 30, 2026, and your application must be verified by CASPA by November 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST. For Harding undergraduates applying through the Early Assurance of Interview (EAI) program, the CASPA verification deadline is September 1.

Does the Harding University PA program require the GRE?

For general admission, Harding's holistic review evaluates GRE scores if an applicant submits them to CASPA, while Harding undergraduates in the Early Assurance of Interview (EAI) track are required to take the GRE and submit scores by September 1.

Can you defer acceptance or transfer into the Harding PA program?

No. According to Harding's PA Admissions FAQ, the program does not allow accepted students to defer admission to a future year, does not accept transfer students from other PA schools, and does not grant advanced standing.

Sources

• Harding University PA Program: Admissions
• Harding University PA Program: Mission and Competencies
• Harding University PA Program: Goals and Outcomes
• Harding University PA Program: Early Assurance of Interview (EAI)
• Harding University PA Program: EAI Checklist PDF
• Harding University PA Program: Prospective Student FAQs
• Harding University PA Program: Costs
• Harding University PA Program: Accreditation Status
• ARC-PA: Harding University Accreditation History