Winona State University

My time at Winona State was great! I spent 2 years at the Winona campus and once I was accepted into the nursing program I moved to the Rochester, MN campus. At first, I was sad to move to Rochester, but it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. Being close to the Mayo Clinic, and doing ALL my clinicals at Mayo was a great experience and made me stand out when applying for my first nursing job. The nursing program was challenging but shaped me into the strong nurse I am today. I... Read More was very impressed with the professors, all very knowledgeable and sincerely cared for my success. I passed my board exam on the first try. The Winona Nursing Program set me up for success. I wouldn't change a thing looking back at my time at Winona State!

Attending Winona State University (WSU) was a great decision for me! First, the city of Winona is small, but beautiful. It is nestled in between the beautiful bluffs on the boarder of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The gorgeous, picturesque bluffs are absolutely stunning when the fall color peaks in autumn. It would be worth your drive to visit during this time and drive up to the Garvin Heights overlook to take in the beauty of this area! Campus is in a great part of town, near downtown and near a lake... Read More with a nice walking path around it. A great feature of the campus is that there are no streets going through campus! The campus buildings are beautiful and there is a lot of nice landscaping. The cute gazebo in the center of campus is an awesome meeting location for students. The quality of the nursing program is superior, and I would recommend this program to anyone. The professors were easy to get in touch with, helpful, and passionate about their careers. The clinical rotations were flexible, and included rotations in LaCrosse, Winona, and even the famous Mayo Clinic! As the program neared completion, students were encouraged to choose final clinical preceptorships in the hospital of their choice. Many students that were from the Twin Cities Metro area actually carried out those clinicals there since we were only required to meet on campus one day a week. We all appreciated how clinical focused this program was, so we graduated with a lot of hands on experience to start our careers. I couldn't be happier with my nursing degree from Winona State University. To this day, I still talk about how great my college experience was and I encourage others to look in to WSU.

Winona State University is a hidden gem located within a mile of the Mississippi River in Minnesota. The campus is quaint, requiring minimal travel between buildings (important for cold snowy winters). During my three and half years, I was fortunate to have collaborated with colleagues and professors within my program and others. The small classroom sizes allowed me to make personal connections with my professors and work closely with my cohort. The psychology program in particular offered internships,... Read More research experiences, and volunteer opportunities that helped prepared me for my graduate studies. Winona State University and the psychology program faculty have an invested interest in ensuring the success of all their students. I highly recommend Winona State and the psychology program for those seeking a more intimate setting while gaining a rewarding experience and education.

I recommend Winona State University to students debating on attending college, or looking to transfer to a new school. The environment at this school feels small, but there are always new people to meet. It is perfect for learning about yourself and your future goals. Winona State has very personable class sizes, that allow you to get the education you pay for. While any student loans are a burden, Winona State is fairly affordable. Even more, the University has a laptop program for students to complete... Read More their homework. Students will always have access a recently dated laptop in order to be more successful in school. The school takes students' ideas for education and recreation at a serious level in order to better their campus.

Winona State was an affordable college to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. My first two years were on the actual Winona Campus where I made friends with classmates in A&P, Micro, and Chemistry. It has become more competitive over the years and I was there when Winona State-Rochester started doing the RN to BSN program (which I have heard is pretty easy). Going to Rochester allowed me to have my clinicals at Mayo Clinic and is what led me to getting my first job at Mayo. If you plan on traveling... Read More outside of Minnesota to work it would probably be a good idea to end up on the Winona Campus- where you practice rural care and placing IVs. Mayo Clinic was a great place for me to learn my critical thinking skills but going to rural hospitals let others place IVs and have a little bit more independent care.

Winona State University is located in the picturesque bluffs of Winona, MN. The campus is small and intimate with only 5 minutes maximum to walk from one end of campus to the other. Yet while being small, there are between 8,000-9,000 college students so you will always see new faces every day and have the opportunity to meet and connect with new people. The classes I took were overall rewarding with some being more rewarding and challenging than others. I believe some classes felt almost too easy... Read More but I'm also in a major where precision isn't the most important thing versus understanding concepts and being open minded. I believe it prepared me enough to feel that I could either go and take my license test or go on to graduate school. All of the professors I have interacted with are very friendly, and when you take the time to talk with them in office hours, they will remember you even 4 years later. The food at the cafeteria gets old but that is the same with any school. We thankfully updated the library to include Caribou Coffee and Einstein bagels. Finally, the faculty members of the campus are all very warm and kind. I have worked with many and have had overall positive experiences with everyone, including great conversations with the university president. I recommend this college for the great atmosphere, beautiful location, wonderful professors and solid education.

Winona State's Master in Educational Leadership offers a broad look at leadership and encourages students to explore their own styles. The real strength of this program is in the concentrations. Students can choose from a wide variety of concentrations. The program starts with the core leadership course offered in the classroom. Then when students pick their concentration those classes are offered online. This is a huge advantage because relevant faculty teach the concentration courses and are people... Read More who are doing the things they are teaching you. The program really has a great balance.

The HERS department at WSU does an incredible job at creating opportunities to generate an outstanding resume. Because of Winona's smaller size, you are able to make strong connections with the professors. This not only allows for letters of recommendation, but a remarkable learning environment best suited for each student. Winona State also has very low tuition rates to ensure the most "bang for your buck" when it comes to attending a university. The area includes a small down-town and lots of outdoors... Read More related activity. Winona State University is the perfect stepping stone for any student looking to become and independent and successful adult.

Winona State University's Education Department provided me with a great deal of learning opportunities to better prepare me for the teaching world. The initial application process to get into the program was fairly rigorous and included some stress and I was not sure I would qualify to get in. Once I was accepted into the program I knew that Winona State was the place for me. My advisor was tremendously helpful in providing me with the information and classes I needed to graduate on time (4 1/2 years).... Read More The early courses were fairly basic and not incredibly informative, but once I got into the required courses for my licensure, I got more and more excited to get out into the teaching world and have my own classroom. Two of my favorite classes were my most challenge, they were both Reading classes. These classes challenged my thinking but also gave me an opportunity to better understand why we teach the way we do. My student teaching experience was the most valuable. As a student without a vehicle it was very important to me that I was placed in an area that was somewhere close. Winona State took this into consideration and placed me nearby. I by far learned the most during my semester student teaching and during the classes that went along with that experience. The feedback that I was given by my supervising teacher and my University Supervisor is something I still recall to this day.