The Yale School of Nursing assessment format

For its Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing (GEPN), the route for applicants without a nursing background, Yale School of Nursing's application includes the Kira Talent Assessment, which Yale describes as a chance to share more about yourself beyond the written application. Its FAQ lists an "asynchronous interview and written prompt" for GEPN, MSN and post-master's certificate applicants and a virtual interview for DNP applicants.

Item	What Yale says
Delivery	Online, through Kira Talent, after you submit your application
Time to complete	You get 2 weeks from receiving your login
Length	About 25 to 30 minutes, written and video-response questions, in a single session once you begin
Practice	A practice section is available once your account is set up
Question topics, number of questions, per-question time limits, who scores it	Not published
Where it sits in the application	One required piece next to the NursingCAS application, resume, personal statement, three recommendations and transcripts

Because the assessment is asynchronous, with video-response questions, there is no live interviewer to react to you. Practice talking to a camera, and practice finishing a thought in a fixed window. Our guide to the Kira Talent interview covers how those recorded responses work.

What Yale looks for

The university catalog says admission review is holistic and based on "evidence of motivation, academic ability, personal understanding of and propensity for advanced practice nursing, letters of recommendation, and potential for continued constructive use of the professional education." That is Yale's published statement of what admission review weighs overall. Yale does not say how the assessment is scored or which of these it targets. See the catalog admission requirements.

The GEPN route in brief

Program shape: a full-time, intensive prelicensure year, then two more years in a chosen MSN specialty track, three years in total, with no prior nursing experience required, per Yale's GEPN page.
Prerequisites: four prerequisite courses. Two must be done by application time and all four by August 15 before the first term, per the FAQ.
Deadlines: for fall 2027 entry the priority deadline is November 1 and the regular deadline is April 1. The application opened August 6, 2026.
GRE: not required unless your cumulative undergraduate GPA calculated by NursingCAS is below 3.0.
Complete files only: Yale says only complete applications are reviewed, and the assessment is one of the required pieces.

How to prepare for the Yale assessment

Use the practice section. Yale tells you to explore the platform and complete it before the real assessment.
Plan for one sitting. Once you begin you must finish in a single session. Pick a time with no interruptions and a stable connection.
Prepare your why. A nurse practitioner route is a long commitment. Be ready to explain why nursing, why this three-year path, and what you have seen of advanced practice.
Write briefly and clearly. Yale does not publish time limits for the written questions, so practice a short, structured answer: claim, example, takeaway.
Do not script. Recorded answers sound stiffer when memorized. Know your three stories and speak from headlines.

Yale nursing practice questions (written by us, not Yale)

Yale does not publish the assessment questions. These are ours, built from the criteria in its catalog. Answer the video-style ones aloud on camera in about two minutes, and write the others in ten minutes.

Why nursing, and why now?
What do you understand about what advanced practice nurses do that a registered nurse's role does not?
Tell me about a time you cared for or supported someone through a hard health situation.
Describe a moment when you changed your mind after hearing a different perspective.
What has your academic or work history taught you that will help you in an intensive program?
A patient refuses a treatment you think is clearly right. What should a nurse do?
Tell me about a team you worked in that struggled. What was your part?
What is a health problem in your community that you would want your nursing career to address?
Describe a time you had to learn something difficult very quickly.
What would your recommenders say is your biggest area to grow in?

For more practice with recorded delivery, see our Kira Talent interview guide and our nursing school interview tips.

A drill for a recorded assessment

Record yourself answering three questions from the list, two minutes each, with no notes.
Watch with the sound off first: is your posture steady and your eye line on the lens?
Write one question in ten minutes on paper and check for a clear opening, one specific example and a closing sentence.
Repeat in a single sitting of about 30 minutes to mimic the endurance of the real thing.

Confetto's nursing school interview prep uses AI mock interviews that ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward. The question bank has over 500 questions, and you can start with a 7-day free trial.

Yale School of Nursing assessment FAQ

Does Yale School of Nursing hold interviews?

For GEPN, MSN and post-master's certificate applicants, Yale lists an asynchronous interview and written prompt on Kira Talent. DNP applicants have a virtual interview, per Yale's FAQ.

How long is the assessment?

About 25 to 30 minutes, with written and video-response questions, and you must finish it in one session.

How long do I have to complete it?

Two weeks after you receive your login details.

Can I practice first?

Yes. Yale recommends exploring the platform and completing the practice section.

Does Yale require the GRE?

Not unless your cumulative undergraduate GPA calculated by NursingCAS is below 3.0.

Considering a campus-based route? See our guide to the CU Anschutz nursing interview, or our nursing school interview prep page.

Sources: Yale School of Nursing Kira Talent Assessment, admissions FAQ, GEPN and the Yale catalog admission requirements pages.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Yale University or the Yale School of Nursing. Everything here about the program comes from its public admissions pages, checked in October 2026. Formats and dates can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.