NP program applicant needs advice!

[NPs4health]

Hi! Could someone please give me some advice/tell me about their NP admissions interview for grad school? I just got a letter from the FNP program I applied to and it doesn't say much--just when I need to be at the interview and that there will be two people present. So I'm not sure what questions to expect and what to bring and it's making me super nervous! It seems like I've waited all eternity to go into grad school(although it's only been 1.5 yr). Any advice/suggestions from your experience would be helpful!

THANK YOU!!:nuke:

[VivaRN]

Mine was pretty low-key. The questions were about why I chose the school and the program, my thoughts on academic dishonesty, and what professional organizations I belong to. If they are interviewing you they obviously consider you to be qualified.

good luck!

[emtneel]

I don't think i had an interview at either of the schools i was accepted to... Both were horrible in notifying students if they were getting accepted.. I think I finally out 1 month before i was going to move from Colorado to Miami if i got accepted. I just called and said look if I am going to move i need written confirmation that i am accepted.

That seemed to be the norm with all the students I talked to at both schools.

[Spacklehead, MSN, NP]

I had an interview with the coordinator of the NP programs. She questioned me about why I wanted to go the FNP route; what I was looking to do upon graduation; what my goals were; what my nursing experience/background consisted of, etc.

Prior to the interview, I did some research about critical issues facing NPs in the state where my program was located, and I asked questions related to those issues; as well as asking about what to expect from the clinical experiences, and the type of NP experiences/backgrounds of the professors who were going to be educating me in the NP role.

I have found that being knowledgeable about the NP role and having relevant questions to ask can only help you more during your interview.

Good luck!

[aviator411, RN]

My interview was very informal. Two others interviewed the same day. There were very few questions other than a few about my plans such that the curriculum could be tailored to my needs. I'm sure it varies somewhat depending upon whether or how well the program reps know you. I'm a second career BSN student at the school so had already gotten to know most of the people, including the FNP program secretary a couple doors down the hall from one of my frequent classrooms. It was more like a visit than an interview. But the other two applicants seemed to get treated similarly and they were from other cities.

These programs rarely bother to interview people they're not willing to admit and my impression (based on conversations with the program secretary) is that none of the graduate programs are anywhere close to as competitive as the second career programs where there are often 5 to 10 applicants for each seat in the class.

Go in with some idea about what you want to accomplish. You should have some familiarity with issues affecting the NP profession. All grad schools want to produce graduates who will go out and "change the world" of advanced practice nursing. Think about some things you could do to bring about positive change for the profession and it's patients. Know what the obstructions to such progress are and be willing to assume a role in helping overcome them.

Good luck!

[christvs, DNP, RN, NP]

For my NP program I met with the program director and she asked me questions such as: tell me what your RN experience has been like, why do you want to be an NP? What are your strengths and weaknesses? And then I got some "How would you handle this situation" type questions...dealing with conflict at work, patient management, etc. And then she asked me to name an example of how I helped achieve a positive outcome for a patient at work, due to my nursing efforts. Hope this helps!