Updated
UW-La Crosse PA Program Interview: Questions & Requirements
Key facts (2026-27)
- Format
- On-campus interview by invitation
- Where
- In person on campus in La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Also required
- Casper situational judgment test (final acceptable test date July 19, 2026) and $50 UWL program fee due by August 1, 2026
Dates for 2026-27
Mid to late August by email
Interview invitations
Friday, September 18, 2026 and Monday, September 28, 2026
Interviews
Early November
Offers and decisions
Checked November 2026 against UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Application & Admission Timeline and UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Application Process. Confirm details in your invitation.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) Physician Assistant program requires both an online Casper situational judgment exam and an admissions interview. The program invites 90 applicants to fill 28 seats per UWL's Admission Data page. Run in partnership with Emplify Health by Gundersen, Mayo Clinic Rochester, and Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic, the program closes its CASPA application on August 1, 2026 and sends acceptance notifications in early November. Sources: UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Welcome & Overview, UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Application Process, UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Admission Requirements. Last checked November 3, 2026.
What the UW-La Crosse PA interview process looks like
Every applicant to the UW-La Crosse PA program completes two evaluation stages beyond the written CASPA file: the standardized Acuity Insights Casper assessment before the deadline, and an admissions interview if selected. The program has interviewed 90 candidates and admitted 28 students in every cycle since the Class of 2021.
For the Class of 2028 (matriculating in May 2026), UWL received 718 CASPA applications, interviewed 90 candidates, and admitted 28. By our calculation from UWL's Admission Data table, about 12.5% of applicants are invited to interview (90 of 718), and 31.1% of interviewed candidates are admitted to the 28-seat cohort (about 3.9% of all applicants). Check your invitation email from the program for your interview schedule, room or platform instructions, and session structure.
Before interview invitations go out, you must take the Casper exam, a standardized 65-85 minute online, open-response situational judgment test that costs $70 (which includes one program distribution) and measures behavioral competencies and attributes for people-centered professions. For the 2026-27 cycle, the final acceptable Casper test date is July 19, 2026, ahead of the August 1, 2026 CASPA deadline. Acuity Insights Snapshot, Duet, and official GRE scores are not required. For more details on the test, see our guide on whether the UW-La Crosse PA program requires Casper.
To practice answering interview questions out loud before your date, Confetto offers AI mock interviews for PA school applicants with follow-up questions and rubric-based feedback. Start your free week.
| Class (Entry Year) | CASPA Applications | Students Interviewed | Students Admitted | Avg Cumulative / Science GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2028 (May 2026) | 718 | 90 | 28 | 3.95 / 3.93 |
| Class of 2027 | 628 | 90 | 28 | 3.90 / 3.86 |
| Class of 2026 | 499 | 90 | 28 | 3.91 / 3.89 |
| Class of 2025 | 418 | 90 | 28 | 3.90 / 3.87 |
| Class of 2024 | 491 | 90 | 28 | 3.92 / 3.90 |
| Class of 2023 | 492 | 90 | 28 | 3.92 / 3.89 |
How UWL selects interviewees and who gets preference
UWL's Selection Criteria page separates what gets you an interview invitation from what earns a final seat in the class. Academic preparation is the primary criterion in the initial review. The Class of 2028 entered with a mean cumulative GPA of 3.95 (low 3.83, high 4.00), a mean science GPA of 3.93 (low 3.73, high 4.00), a mean Casper Z-score of 0.89 (range -0.48 to 2.85, and UWL has no minimum cut-off score for Casper), a mean age at application of 21.8, and a mean of 1,650 direct patient care experience hours.
Alongside your GPAs, patient care hours, and Casper score, the committee weighs non-academic factors and two institutional preference pathways when choosing the 90 interviewees.
- Interview selection factors: CASPA cumulative GPA, CASPA science GPA, Casper score, direct patient care hours, and non-academic factors including leadership, involvement, mission alignment, and adding diversity to the campus community (candidates from underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized communities and military veterans are encouraged to apply).
- Partner employee preference: Current employment at Gundersen Health System (Emplify Health), Mayo Clinic, Marshfield Clinic (Sanford Health), or UWL, with at least 12 months of employment at the time of application submission.
- UWL student and alumni preference: Current UWL students enrolled at least part-time (more than 6 credits) who are on track to earn a bachelor's degree before the program starts, or UWL graduates who earned their degree within 12 months of application submission.
- Final acceptance factors: Written application and three references, background predictive of future practice in the service areas of the program's partner institutions, knowledge of the PA profession and its role in the healthcare system, interpersonal skills, quality and extent of healthcare experience, rigor of undergraduate education, and strong GPA scores.
Mission, the tri-partner clinical network, and regional fit
UWL's PA program is a collaboration with three regional health systems: Emplify Health by Gundersen and the Gundersen Medical Foundation, Mayo Clinic Rochester and the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, and Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic.
From UWL's Program Profile page, the mission statement is: "In collaboration with nationally renowned partners, we develop exemplary PAs, in an inclusive culture, who equitably optimize the health of our region." The program vision commits to selecting students with the academic background, interpersonal skills, and maturity to be outstanding PAs, educating students who excel in the supervised practice of medicine, and developing clinicians grounded in professional ethics, cultural sensitivity, and evidence-based medicine.
During your second year, you complete eleven 4-week supervised clinical rotations (44 weeks total) across rural and suburban clinics and hospitals within those partner health systems in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Seven rotations are required core rotations (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Women's Health/OB-GYN, Pediatrics, Behavioral Health, and Emergency Medicine) and four are Specialty Medicine rotations.
For the Class of 2026, 48.1% of graduates accepted initial employment in the regions served by the partner institutions (above the 30.0% benchmark, with a 41.9% five-year average), and 29.6% accepted their first job directly within the partner institutions. When interviewers evaluate whether your background is "predictive of potential for future practice in the service areas of the program's partner institutions," they check whether you want to serve rural and suburban patients in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
12 UW-La Crosse PA practice interview questions
We wrote these 12 practice questions around UWL's published final acceptance criteria, its Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), and its tri-partner clinical model. The worked example answers are written by our team, and the applicants are invented so you can see how to structure your own experiences. To compare these with broader national prompts, see our guide to the top 40 PA program interview questions.
- 1. Mission and partner fit: Our program is a partnership between UW-La Crosse, Emplify Health by Gundersen, Mayo Clinic, and Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic. Why does this collaborative model fit your career goals better than a single-university PA program? (See the worked example answer in the practice block below.)
- 2. Regional practice: Nearly half of our Class of 2026 graduates took their first PA job in the regions served by our partner institutions across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. What in your background shows that you are likely to practice in the service areas of our partner institutions after graduation? Example answer: "I grew up in a town of 4,000 people in central Wisconsin, where my grandparents drove 40 minutes to a Marshfield Clinic outreach site for their primary care and cardiology follow-ups. For the past 14 months, I have worked as a certified nursing assistant on a medical-surgical unit at an Emplify Health by Gundersen hospital, caring for patients transferred in from rural clinics across western Wisconsin and northeastern Iowa. On my shifts, I see how much it helps patients when their inpatient team and their hometown clinic share a unified record and care plan, and how hard it is when rural clinics are short-staffed. My family lives here, my clinical foundation is in these health systems, and my goal is to stay in this tri-state region after graduation to practice rural family medicine where continuity of care matters most." Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.
- 3. Knowledge of the PA profession: Walk us through a moment from your direct patient care hours when you watched a PA and a physician collaborate on a complex patient. What did that interaction teach you about the PA's role on the healthcare team? Example answer: "In our outpatient cardiology clinic, I roomed an older farmer with heart failure who had gained 8 pounds in 4 days and had new renal lab changes on his morning metabolic panel. The PA completed a focused history and physical exam, reviewed his home weight log with his wife, and drafted an adjusted loop diuretic plan with repeat lab work in 48 hours. Before discharging him from the room, the PA stepped into the hallway and consulted the supervising cardiologist for 2 minutes between patients to confirm the potassium replacement threshold and the exact criteria that would require a direct hospital admission. That visit kept the patient out of the emergency department and showed me how PAs expand access to timely, patient-centered care while using physician collaboration when clinical complexity rises." Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.
- 4. Health equity and mission: Our mission is to develop PAs who "equitably optimize the health of our region." Tell us about a barrier to care you witnessed in a clinic or hospital and what a PA can do to reduce it.
- 5. Clinical year travel and adaptability: During the 44-week clinical year, students complete eleven 4-week rotations across partner sites in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, and travel is required for many sites. Tell us about a time you had to step into an unfamiliar environment and build trust quickly with a new team.
- 6. Shared decision-making (PLO2): A patient in a rural family medicine clinic refuses a recommended screening test because of cost and distrust of medical guidelines. How do you maintain a therapeutic relationship and approach shared decision-making?
- 7. Interprofessional collaboration (PLO4): Tell us about a disagreement or miscommunication you experienced on a healthcare team during your patient care hours. What was your role in resolving it while keeping the patient first?
- 8. Cultural sensitivity and vision: Describe a time you cared for or worked with someone whose background or health beliefs differed from yours. How did you adjust your communication?
- 9. Academic rigor and time management: UWL's pre-clinical year starts in the summer right after Memorial Day with Human Gross Anatomy, Applied Gross Anatomy Lab, and Physiology, followed by a 22-credit fall semester. How has your undergraduate coursework prepared you, and what will you change about how you study?
- 10. Professional ethics (PLO10): You are on a clinical rotation and realize you forgot to ask a key history question that your preceptor now asks you about during your case presentation. How do you respond in the moment?
- 11. Evidence-based medicine (PLO11): Tell us about a time you realized a habit, study method, or clinical workflow you were using was not working. How did you evaluate the problem and what change did you make?
- 12. Maturity and stress tolerance: UWL's technical standards note that PAs must function effectively under stress and where clinical problems carry uncertainty. Tell us about a high-pressure shift where you did not have all the answers right away. How did you handle it?
A two-week preparation plan for the UWL PA interview
This two-week checklist is our team's suggested plan to organize your stories around UWL's acceptance factors before your interview date.
- Days 1 to 3: Reread your CASPA personal statement, program-specific narratives, and experience descriptions. Pick four concrete patient encounters from your direct patient care hours that show maturity, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, and calm under pressure.
- Days 4 to 5: Review the structure of the 12-month pre-clinical year in the Health Science Center and the eleven 4-week rotations across Gundersen, Mayo Clinic, and Marshfield Clinic. Write down two specific reasons why rotating through those health systems fits your goals.
- Days 6 to 8: Practice answering "Why PA?", "Why UW-La Crosse?", and "Where do you see yourself practicing?" out loud with a timer. Keep each answer concise to leave room for follow-ups.
- Days 9 to 11: Practice 4 to 6 situational prompts out loud covering shared decision-making (PLO2), team collaboration (PLO4), and professional ethics (PLO10), where you weigh multiple perspectives and commit to a clear next step.
- Days 12 to 14: Run a full timed mock interview out loud, prepare two thoughtful questions for the program about the pre-clinical curriculum in the Health Science Center or clinical rotation sites across the three partner systems, and review your interview day instructions and attire.
UW-La Crosse PA admissions requirements, prerequisites and deadlines
Show details
For how UWL's rules compare with other programs nationally, see our breakdown of PA school requirements. Beginning with the summer 2026 cycle, UWL's Admission Requirements page specifies a minimum of 500 hours of direct patient care experience at the time of application submission. All prerequisite courses must be completed before starting the program, though you may apply with courses in progress. UWL has no statute of limitations on prerequisite age, but considers academic aptitude within the last 4 years. Biochemistry must be completed at a four-year institution, and AP credit requires an official undergraduate transcript listing the specific courses and credits granted.
Once you have checked your prerequisites and timeline, you can rehearse for both Casper and your interview day on Confetto's PA school interview prep page. Start your free week.
| Category | Official UW-La Crosse Requirement / Data |
|---|---|
| Degree & Cohort Size | Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS). 24 months full-time in-person (108 credits), starting in summer after Memorial Day. Admits 28 students per year (ARC-PA maximum approved class size is 31). |
| PANCE Pass Rate & Graduation | 99% five-year first-time taker average PANCE pass rate. 100% first-time and all-taker PANCE pass rate for the Class of 2026. For the Classes of 2025 and 2026, 27 of 28 entering students graduated (0.964 graduation rate, 0.035 attrition rate). |
| Minimum GPAs | 3.00 minimum cumulative GPA and 3.00 minimum science GPA on a 4-point scale as calculated by CASPA. Applications below 3.00 are not evaluated. |
| Direct Patient Care (PCE) | Minimum 500 hours of direct patient care experience required at application submission (revised for summer 2026). PA shadowing is favorable but does not count toward PCE. |
| Prerequisite Coursework | Biology (11+ sem hrs, 2+ labs): 200+ level Human Anatomy (1 sem) & Human Physiology (1 sem) OR 2-sem combined A&P, plus 200+ level Microbiology (1 sem). Chemistry (11+ sem hrs, 2+ labs): General/Intro Chemistry (2-sem sequence), 200+ level Organic Chemistry (1 sem), and 300+ level Biochemistry or Molecular/Cellular Biology at a 4-year school (1 sem). Math & Psych: Precalculus/Calculus (1 sem, or College Algebra & Trig), Statistics (1 sem), and Psychology (1 sem). |
| Deadlines & Fees (2026-27) | CASPA opens late April 2026. Final acceptable Casper test date: July 19, 2026. CASPA deadline: August 1, 2026 (must be "complete" by deadline, verification not required by Aug 1). Three references in CASPA. Non-refundable $50 program application fee with the PA Program Application Fee Form (no online or phone payment). Acceptance notifications in early November. |
Practice question
Our program is a partnership between UW-La Crosse, Emplify Health by Gundersen, Mayo Clinic, and Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic. Why does this collaborative model fit your career goals better than a single-university PA program?
See an example answer
Training across Emplify Health by Gundersen, Mayo Clinic, and Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic gives me clinical exposure ranging from rural outreach clinics to tertiary referral hospitals within one integrated region. While working as a certified medical assistant in western Wisconsin for the past year, I saw how often primary care providers in small communities coordinate diagnostic workups and specialist referrals with teams in La Crosse, Marshfield, and Rochester. A patient might have their initial labs and imaging done close to home, see a specialist at a referral center, and then return to their local PA for ongoing management. Completing my eleven 4-week rotations across those three partner systems means I will learn how they coordinate care, handle transfers, and serve patients across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa before I graduate. Because my goal is to practice primary care in this region, training directly with the clinicians and health systems that serve these communities prepares me far better than a single-site program could. Example answer written by our team. The applicant is invented.
Names all three clinical partners accurately, connects them to a specific experience from direct patient care hours in the region, and shows how the 11-rotation structure prepares the applicant to practice in the partners' service areas.
Frequently asked questions
Does the UW-La Crosse PA program require the Casper exam or the GRE?
UW-La Crosse requires the online Acuity Insights Casper situational judgment exam, while Snapshot and Duet are not required. The program eliminated the GRE requirement starting with the 2023-24 application cycle.
How many patient care experience (PCE) hours are required for UW-La Crosse PA school?
Starting in the summer of 2026, UWL requires a minimum of 500 hours of direct patient care experience at the time of application submission, and PA shadowing does not count toward that total. Qualifying roles must involve direct medical responsibility for patients through paid work, volunteering, or clinical research.
How many applicants does the UW-La Crosse PA program interview and accept?
The program has interviewed 90 applicants and admitted 28 students in every cycle from the Class of 2021 through the Class of 2028. The ARC-PA maximum approved entering class size is 31.
What is the minimum GPA for the UW-La Crosse PA program?
You must have at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA and a 3.00 science GPA on a 4-point scale as calculated by CASPA, or your application will not be evaluated. For the Class of 2028, admitted students had a mean cumulative GPA of 3.95 (range 3.83 to 4.00) and a mean science GPA of 3.93 (range 3.73 to 4.00).
Does UW-La Crosse give interview preference to UWL students or Gundersen, Mayo, and Marshfield employees?
Yes. UWL's interview selection factors include current employment of at least 12 months at Gundersen Health System (Emplify Health), Mayo Clinic, Marshfield Clinic (Sanford Health), or UWL at application submission, as well as current UWL students enrolled in more than 6 credits on track to graduate before program start or UWL alumni who graduated within 12 months of applying.
What is the UW-La Crosse PA program PANCE pass rate?
The five-year first-time taker average pass rate on the PANCE is 99%. For the graduating Class of 2026, both the first-time taker PANCE pass rate and the all-taker PANCE pass rate were 100%.
Sources
- UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Welcome & Overview
- UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Application Process
- UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Admission Requirements
- UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Selection Criteria
- UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Admission Data
- UW-La Crosse PA Studies: Program Profile
- UW-La Crosse 2026-2027 Graduate Catalog: Physician Assistant Studies MS