Texas A&M Second-Degree BSN Interview: Kira, HESI and Dates
How the Kira Talent step works for Texas A&M's second-degree BSN, who gets invited, and the dates for fall 2027 entry.
Texas A&M's second-degree BSN has no live interview. After the college reviews your NursingCAS application, eligible applicants get an invitation to give timed verbal responses and written assessments on Kira Talent. The Kira answers are one of several extra factors on top of a 3.0 GPA minimum and a 75% HESI score in each section.
Key facts (Fall 2027 entry)
- Format
- Timed verbal responses and written assessments online, through Kira Talent.
- Who is invited
- Eligible applicants, after the college reviews their NursingCAS application.
- Minimums
- A 3.0 nursing science GPA, a 3.0 prerequisite GPA and 75% on each HESI A2 section.
- Program
- 15 months, four semesters, taught at the Round Rock campus for people with a non-nursing bachelor's degree.
- Apply (fall entry)
- NursingCAS opens November 1 and closes January 15.
- Apply (spring entry)
- NursingCAS opens June 1 and closes August 1.
- One program
- You may apply to only one Texas A&M BSN program in each application cycle.
What happens in the Kira assessment
Texas A&M calls this step its secondary assessment. It is online and recorded, with no interviewer on the other end.
- By invitation. Eligible applicants are sent invitations after the college reviews their NursingCAS application.
- Spoken and written. You give timed verbal responses and complete written assessments on Kira Talent.
- Fees before review. All associated Texas A&M fees must be paid before the College of Nursing can proceed with the application review.
Timed means no restarts. Practice answering a question you have never seen, on camera, inside about a minute, then do the same in writing.
How you get a Kira invitation
You first need to clear Texas A&M's minimums. Missing the HESI score in any one section means your application is denied.
Minimum requirements
- GPA. A 3.0 nursing science GPA and a 3.0 prerequisite GPA, on a 4.0 scale.
- HESI A2. At least 75% in each of five sections: math, reading comprehension, vocabulary and general knowledge, grammar, and anatomy and physiology. The exam must be taken within 12 months of the deadline, and Texas A&M accepts no more than two attempts in that time.
- Prerequisites. About 59 semester credit hours in total. At least 40 must be done by the deadline, including 12 hours of nursing science courses, and all must be finished with a C or better by the first day of class.
- Failures. Two prerequisite course failures in the past five years make you ineligible.
What else is considered
- Kira Talent. Your timed verbal responses and written assessments.
- Service and leadership. Community service, and leadership and involvement in extracurricular or professional activities.
- Background. Military service and regional residency.
- Academic history. Any record of academic withdrawals, repeats or failures.
How offers are decided
An offer of admission is conditional pending successful completion of all prerequisite coursework and fulfillment of certain compliance requirements.
- Conditional offers. An offer depends on finishing all prerequisite coursework and meeting compliance requirements.
- Fees first. External applicants pay an extra Texas A&M application fee, and the college does not review your file until all Texas A&M fees are paid. Fee waivers may be available.
- Audited scores. You must upload every HESI attempt to NursingCAS. Leaving one out can get your application revoked.
Dates and campus
The page gives the windows without a year. The spring window has closed, so the next one is fall entry, for a fall 2027 start.
- Fall entry. NursingCAS opens November 1 and closes January 15.
- Spring entry. NursingCAS opens June 1 and closes August 1.
- Round Rock only. You attend every class, simulation lab and clinical at Round Rock. Texas Board of Nursing rules mean you cannot transfer between campuses.
- Other BSN. The traditional BSN is in Bryan-College Station and McAllen. You can apply to only one program per cycle.
How to prepare
Get the HESI done early, then practice short, timed answers out loud and in writing.
- Book the HESI early. Official scores can take up to two weeks to reach the college if you test elsewhere, and you get two attempts at most.
- Have a career-change story. Everyone here has another degree. Be ready to say why nursing now, in two or three sentences.
- Bring service examples. Texas A&M names community service and leadership. Pick one example of each you can tell in under a minute.
- Practice writing fast. Write a clear answer to a new question in a few minutes, with your point in the first sentence.
Know why Round Rock. You cannot move campuses, so be clear on how you will live and train there for all 15 months.
Practice questions
Questions in the style of a Kira video and written station, written for applicants to Texas A&M University College of Nursing. They are practice questions, not the school's own. Open one for what a strong answer does.
You already have a degree and a career. Why nursing, and why now?
Link a specific moment to the decision and show what you did to test it before applying.
Why nursing through an accelerated program, rather than a traditional four-year BSN?
Show you understand the pace and have a plan to handle it, not just that it is faster.
Describe a time you had to learn a lot in a short time. How did you do it?
Name the method you used and the result, which shows you can keep up with a 15-month program.
You are a nursing student on placement. You notice that a handwritten medication order is almost impossible to read, and the nurse you're working with is about to give the dose she thinks it says. What do you say?
Speak up before the dose is given, calmly, and suggest checking with the prescriber.
Nursing often means rotating 12-hour shifts, including holidays, weekends and family milestones. How do you plan to manage expectations with your loved ones while protecting your own well-being?
Give concrete steps you have already taken, not just good intentions.
What do you know about advanced practice nursing roles, such as nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives?
Describe each role in plain words and show you know a BSN and RN license come first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Texas A&M nursing have an interview?
Not a live one. Eligible second-degree BSN applicants are invited, after review of their NursingCAS application, to give timed verbal responses and written assessments on Kira Talent.
What HESI score does Texas A&M nursing need?
At least 75% in each of the five required HESI A2 sections. An applicant who misses the minimum in any one section is denied.
When is the Texas A&M second-degree BSN deadline?
January 15 for fall entry, with NursingCAS opening November 1. Spring entry runs June 1 to August 1.
Where is the Texas A&M second-degree BSN?
Round Rock. Students must attend all classes, labs and clinicals there and cannot transfer to another campus.
How many questions are on the Texas A&M Kira assessment?
Texas A&M says that the Kira step has timed verbal responses and written assessments.
Sources
Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.
- Texas A&M College of Nursing: Second-Degree BSN · read October 25, 2026