Job Discussion Forums

geekyguy · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2005 2:58 am Post subject: College Interview Questions

I've been asked to help a Senior III prepare for an oral interview for a university abroad. We have about a month to prepare for the interview in Chengdu.

What specific kinds of questions should she prepare for? Thanks.

KES · Joined: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 722

Question: What is plaguarism?

geekyguy · Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2005 10:20 am Post subject:

Wow. Thanks so much. I really appreciate your thoughtful insight.

I can also thank you for saving me the embarassment of misspelling it. I was always under the impression that it was plagarism. Thanks for clearing that up.

Jackass.

brsmith15 · Joined: 12 May 2003 Posts: 1142 Location: New Hampshire USA

Geeky,

I've done a fair amount of this. Gosh knows what she'll run into, but have her think through,

1. What is your major reason for wanting to study abroad?
2. Do your parents approve and support your choice?
3. What subjects most interest you?
4. What do you hope to bring back to China in the way of new knowledge and information?
5. How much do you know about the culture of _________?
6. What do you plan to do after graduation?

Rarely have I seen these interviews get a tad trickier, but they might get into

1. What's your strongest character trait?
2. What's your weakest?
3. Describe a major mistake you made once? What did you learn from it.

Then there's the financial stuff. Can she support herself? Has she researched how much it costs to live in ________?

If it's a US uni, they're more interested in money -- Can she pay. If it's a UK place, there's more emphasis on academic excellence.

And...........before I'm flamed I'm a US citizen (as well as Canadian) and have dealt with unis on both sides of the Pond.

ivytony · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:37 am Post subject:

ekirving · Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Location: Back Home :-(

geekyguy · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:19 pm Post subject:

c-way · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 226 Location: Kyoto, Japan

Is is by chance Nanyang Technological University,
I have two students at the moment taking interview classes for their interview the first of May.

Other questions to cover:
What are your extracurricular activities and hobbies?

How do you feel about moving to another country and being away from your family?

If accepted to the University, what would by your area of study and why?

Why do you want to attend our university?

What do you plan to gain from attending our University?

What do you hope to do with your degree after you finish school?
(or any sort of variation of what do you want to be when you grow up?)

In preparation for these students I have looked up their university's website and gone to various other websites for interview tips.

With only a month to prepare, I'm not trying to teach them English as much as I am teaching them how to interview. Of utmost importance....
Dress for the interview

Speak clearly

Be on time

There are plenty other pointers that you will want to pass along but the speaking loudly and clearly one seems to be the one that these chinese girls need most, especially since they will be nervous and apt to clam up.

I also feel it is especially important to boost their confidence as much I can before the interview so they will feel a little more comfortable. One way I do this is to simply make the student say aloud "I will do good". Tacky as it sounds researchers have studied the effects of saying and hearing something over and over again and found that it does have an effect. Something to think about if you question the power of prayer.