Hey guys! So today we will be talking
about admission interviews to
universities and before we dive in I
would like to start with a little story
of mine. You know when I was applying
for my master's degree in the business
school I had not only to pass IELTS
GMAT and finance and management
internal tests, but also to pass an
admission interview. And that score for
the interview was a part of the general
score for the whole admission process so
it was something quite important and I
tried to prepare myself but to be honest
I didn't really do anything specific but
right now I thought of all the questions
that I was asked when I had my interview
and decided to film this video for you
to help you to prepare for your dream-university admission process! So let's
begin! Well the first question is quite
obvious it's usually "Tell us about
yourself" question and here you must
understand this is a perfect opportunity
to tell people in front of you,
representatives of your dream university,
something interesting and valuable about
yourself. So think of some
extracurricular activities for example,
in your previous university that you
liked particularly or think of your
previous background. Some people change
their masters major. You might also tell
something about your bachelor's major, so
make sure to bring some valuable
information about you on the table, but
this is not a great opportunity to start
talking about your family, your pets, your
friends, your recent iPhone purchase, or a
trip to Oklahoma, because you know, this
is not something that the examiners
would be interested in. However be sure
you're staying concise, you're keeping
your speech short and still quite
interesting for people, for your
counterparts, to get to – you know – asking
something
further about you, because at this point
you are here to make them interested in
you. Then goes another obvious question:
"Why did you apply for this university?"
Well here you must talk about your
previous background which is scientific
this time, and talk about your bachelor
thesis, for example if you had one. Talk
about your recent researches, talk about
something that makes you passionate in
your major and why did you choose that
major. And maybe try to name a couple of
professors in the new university with
whom you are likely to work with, or you
want to work with - and this point is so
crucial because, believe me, examiners
will be so happy that you already know
whom you want to work with, whom you want
to do your next research with. Like this
describes you as a particularly aimed
person for your future, you have
goals, man, this is cool! And of course
this also shows that you're highly
motivated for the position and for the
university. Next goes: "What is your
motivation to study this subject?" And
here you must make your examiners
understand that you have clear goals for
your future findings, like where to
implement those findings of your future
research, and you know I have some
classmates that are highly determined to
make breakthroughs with their master
thesis and this is amazing! Like well I
also have something in mind with my
master thesis, which I think will be
very cool in the future like it's on the
verge of technology and finance,
it's FinTech and you know you should
make your examiners understand that you
do not apply just to have fun and drink
with your classmates, that you are here
to study, to make researches, and to make
the university even better with your
contribution. Next question is one of my
favorite ones and it is "What are your
biggest achievements or failures?"
Here you must talk naturally about
your previous remarkable experiences, but
in a fashion that will not make you
sound as a self-centered person or a
loser. Do practice at home some short
speeches about something that makes you
proud, but don't forget to mention people
who helped you along the way as well,
and something that was not very
fortunate (and here don't forget to
showcase how you learned and what you
learned through it).
Next, next, next! "Tell us about your
leadership experience". Answering this
question, you must show that you're not
only the person who achieves any target
and who is a strong leader, but who also
sees an ally in any person in the team,
like any member literally, who ensures
that every standard is met along the way
and that there is a healthy corporate
culture in the team. Here you also can
mention your previous leadership
experiences, and I for example, had some
of them if – you didn't have any, which I
don't really believe, because how are you
applying for the university, like
you are 20-something and you must
have had some leadership experiences – but
if you didn't have any, make something up.
Because this is very important.
Next up: "What can you bring to the
university, really?" And this one invites
you to sell yourself and it can be
tempting to exaggerate, but do not go
over the top and always back yourself up
with some examples. For instance you can
mention when you have been involved in
some school activity, which made you to
contribute to the schools community, for
example you organized an event or did
something with a debating society, or
something like that. What not to say here
is that you can bring to the school fun,
buzz, wicked sense of humor, or your hamster.
"Well young man, where do you see
yourself in 10 years?"
This question really irritates a lot of
people and it's a typical job interview
question. Why do they ask it on the
admission interview? It's simple, because
they want to see students who are
determined and who see their and goals
in life. And here the worst answer that
you can give is something very general
like making my family proud, being happy,
having a nice job, like things like
that. This is this is very bad,
do not say anything like that. But
instead think of something more specific,
think of the next
step that you will make and which will
bring you to your end goal. Something
that you should not mention in here is
"in the future I will be traveling" or
"I haven't really given much thought".
No, do not answer like that!
Next one: "What was an obstacle you faced
and how did you get through it exactly?"
Think of a time in your life where you
faced a challenge, a real challenge and
when you put in some significant effort
to solve it. It can be anything basically
related to your problems in daily life,
at school or maybe at home with your
friends. Some extracurricular activities,
anything, which showcases that you are
really nice problem-solver and that you
do not panic when you see something is
going on not how you planned it before.
Next you might be asked" to give an
example of the time when you had to
convince other people of your own point
of view". And here I recall some projects
or some work experience that made me to
be very persuasive
and that challenged me to persuade
people to do something that I wanted to
do and again here this is a very narrow,
specific subject, and I do not suggest
you to go general.
If you don't have
anything at all, I dunno, in your daily
life, with your family, with your friends,
extracurricular activities, anything that
you have been up to – make it up! Do not
try to make it up on the interview, but
try to think about it before, so that you
can bring up some ideas. And the last
question we are going to discuss is: "What
did you read on the train?" And although
this seems a little bit weird but in
reality it is designed to spark
discussion about your current interests
and it requires a quick-fire answer, so
you either have to name something that
is connected to your subject of study,
something maybe the opposite to show
that you are a multilateral person, or
something that is more broad and classic.
But do not name anything populist or
discredited or something that you
haven't actually read, or something
like "Twilight", "The Daily Mail",
"Cosmopolitan". No. So, that's It! And don't
forget that the overall impression is
graded as well, so make sure you are
smiley, open, positive, professional,
thoughtful, concise: a person that that
they really want to see in their
university. Of course you might be asked
something completely new to you,
something completely unexpected, but
there is no need to be nervous, because
when you're thoughtfu,l when you're
professional and when you give detailed
answers: very open, direct, straightforward
answers – you will be good. And if you want
some additional preparation, definitely
ask your friends to help you and to ask
some questions, so that you can feel
yourself in that interview environment.
Ans maybe also ask them to give you
grades. Well, I will be very happy if you
decide to leave a like for me or even
subscribe! And as always, I will be
delighted to see you again here.
Ciao!
