Western Carolina University (WCU) FNP_Fall 2020

ncmountainnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2020

I applied as well and haven't heard anything yet. I never found any information about timeframe of notifications or acceptance rates. Hopefully we hear something soon!

ncmountainnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2020

I just received an email inviting me to an interview!

caffeinatednurse, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2020

I also applied and received an invite for an interview a couple of days ago.

828RN, BSN, RN · Mar 5, 2020

Congratulations @ncmountainnurse and @caffeinatednurse! I haven't heard anything yet but, fingers crossed, hopefully I will soon. :) Best of luck to both of you on your interviews!

SN2751, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2020

I also applied, and have yet to hear anything! Hoping that's not a bad sign, as WCU is my first choice school. Have you heard back yet 828RN?

Also was looking at a forum from a past application cycle for WCU, and it looks pretty competitive based on my findings. I saw one post from 2017 saying they got ~130 applicants, interviewed 40, and accepted 25 I believe it was.

Best of luck, and everyone please keep me posted on how interviews go, etc!

ncmountainnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2020

For those accepted, I also received an email about a teleconference interview via Zoom. It does not specifically say that the face-to-face interviews are cancelled though. Is it a safe bet to assume that all interviews will now be done virtually due to COVID-19? I have reached out to the school with this question but have still not received a response.

SN2751, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2020

20 hours ago, ncmountainnurse said:
For those accepted, I also received an email about a teleconference interview via Zoom. It does not specifically say that the face-to-face interviews are cancelled though. Is it a safe bet to assume that all interviews will now be done virtually due to COVID-19? I have reached out to the school with this question but have still not received a response.

Hey, I too got an email inviting me to an interview via Zoom. In the email it stated that they were not holding in-person interviews at this time. I do agree it is rather ambiguous though because once I scheduled the interview I received an email stating the in-person location of the interview. However, another day passed and I received an additional email stating that my interview would be via a provided link to Zoom. That clarified things for me! I hope that helps, and good luck with your interview!

caffeinatednurse, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2020

They sent out an email saying that they hope decisions will be sent out in the next 2-3 weeks.

Good luck everyone! I hope we all get in.

ncmountainnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2020

Just received admission decision letter. I was accepted!! @caffeinatednurse Hope you were as well!!

RebeccaRN · Mar 31, 2020

Congratulations @ncmountainnurse that’s awesome!
Unfortunately, I wasn’t accepted this time but plan to reapply next year.
Any advice? How many years experience do you have? Did you graduate from WCU with your BSN? Suggestions for the interview. I hate that it occurred via zoom. :-( Thanks for any suggestions and wish you the best of luck!!

ncmountainnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 31, 2020

@RebeccaRN I have will have 2 years of experience in June. I did complete my BSN at WCU as well. The Zoom interviews really weren’t ideal for me either. It was much harder to read the situation and adjust as needed.

To prepare, I looked up some common interview questions for FNP program interviews. I wrote down these questions and some bullet points to focus on. I read them aloud to myself and elaborated as needed prior to the interview. A mock interview with a family member or friend would be helpful as well. I also think it is important to think about some situations you have been in as a nurse that could be used for situation-based questions and how you would react. For me, it is much harder to think back about situation-based questions on the spot.

I think asking important questions that you have for the interviewers is essential too. I would estimate that I spent almost as much time discussing my questions for them as I did their questions for me. I had more confidence during this part of the interview because I was asking the questions. Sometimes, you can even take their answers to your questions and spin them to elaborate about why you are a perfect fit for the program!

I honestly thought my interview could have gone much better but with the circumstances (Zoom interviews), I tried to make the best of it.

Best of luck to you next year!!