3 answers
Micah
Student
Liberty, Missouri
1
Question
Asked
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What ways are there to improve the chance of receiving a scholarship to pay for school?
One of my tops schools has a high priced tuition. The most likely way I would be able to go to that school is if I earn one of their scholarships such as their Presidential Scholarship. It requires an essay and then a half an hour interview in January so I was wondering if there was any way I could prepare for the interview. I am prepared to work hard for this and I'm looking for ideas to improve my chance of earning this. #scholarships #interviews #college #college-advice #college-admissions #college-bound #college-prep #college-interviews
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3 answers
Kyle Stack
Consultant
7
Answers
Nashville, Tennessee
Updated
Kyle’s Answer
The best way to prepare for any interview is to research and practice.
Research anyway you can, what type of questions the interview will consist of. Go online, reach out to the that school, similar schools and don't be afraid to ask what to expect in the interview process and how you can best prepare. It's important to know if they're going to ask you STAR questions where you have to explain situations you've experienced in the past, or information questions that ask you to explain yourself and why you're the best choice, or a combination.
Once you know what type of questions you'll be asked, start practicing. You don't want to have the whole answer rehearsed word-for-word. But, you definitely want to know how you're going to answer certain question types with a certain situation, experience, or information about yourself you want to get across.
For example, you'll want to practice how you'd answer if/when you're asked, "What sets you apart from the other applicants?" Don't have a word-for-word answer, but definitely know what major points (my GPA, my extracurriculars, this certain experience I had) you want to get across in a conversational manner.
Have a friend, parent, or someone sit down in "game settings" to ask you actual interview questions so you can practice getting your points across in a conversational and professional manner just like you would in the real interview.
Don't be afraid to look up interview best practices as well.
Good luck!
Research anyway you can, what type of questions the interview will consist of. Go online, reach out to the that school, similar schools and don't be afraid to ask what to expect in the interview process and how you can best prepare. It's important to know if they're going to ask you STAR questions where you have to explain situations you've experienced in the past, or information questions that ask you to explain yourself and why you're the best choice, or a combination.
Once you know what type of questions you'll be asked, start practicing. You don't want to have the whole answer rehearsed word-for-word. But, you definitely want to know how you're going to answer certain question types with a certain situation, experience, or information about yourself you want to get across.
For example, you'll want to practice how you'd answer if/when you're asked, "What sets you apart from the other applicants?" Don't have a word-for-word answer, but definitely know what major points (my GPA, my extracurriculars, this certain experience I had) you want to get across in a conversational manner.
Have a friend, parent, or someone sit down in "game settings" to ask you actual interview questions so you can practice getting your points across in a conversational and professional manner just like you would in the real interview.
Don't be afraid to look up interview best practices as well.
Good luck!
Aleksandra (Trpkovska) Stefanovska
Author & College Admissions Coach at Pain Free To College LLC and Manager, Management Consulting, Advisory, PwC
8
Answers
Washington, Washington
Updated
Aleksandra’s Answer
Micah,
First - congrats on thinking about this, planning for it and starting early!
Second - practicing is a key first step, so the more often you practice answering questions, the better.
Third - I recently published a book called The Pain-Free Path To College. If you have kindle unlimited, you can read for free, or you can get it as a paperback or kindle for a small fee. In the book, there is a chapter on Interviews and it guides students on what to do before, during and after an interview. The book is meant to be a practical guide and based on the feedback thus far, I believe it achieves that goal. (www.PainFreeToCollege.com/book)
Forth, I have a template that I think you will find useful - it's the PainFreeToCollege (PF2C) - College Interviews and Prep questions. It is a google doc, and I can share it here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18q7TGjFr7Gr26_OTnD6V80tZrpJ_QZuxWWbBwu04RZ8/edit?usp=sharing
The template is particularly helpful because it gives you questions to outline/answer, and practice.
If you would like to sign up for tips and templates, you can do so on the website www.PainFreeToCollege.com/book.
Hope this helps!
First - congrats on thinking about this, planning for it and starting early!
Second - practicing is a key first step, so the more often you practice answering questions, the better.
Third - I recently published a book called The Pain-Free Path To College. If you have kindle unlimited, you can read for free, or you can get it as a paperback or kindle for a small fee. In the book, there is a chapter on Interviews and it guides students on what to do before, during and after an interview. The book is meant to be a practical guide and based on the feedback thus far, I believe it achieves that goal. (www.PainFreeToCollege.com/book)
Forth, I have a template that I think you will find useful - it's the PainFreeToCollege (PF2C) - College Interviews and Prep questions. It is a google doc, and I can share it here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18q7TGjFr7Gr26_OTnD6V80tZrpJ_QZuxWWbBwu04RZ8/edit?usp=sharing
The template is particularly helpful because it gives you questions to outline/answer, and practice.
If you would like to sign up for tips and templates, you can do so on the website www.PainFreeToCollege.com/book.
Hope this helps!
Richard A.
physician
2153
Answers
Updated
Richard’s Answer
Do your research. Look up the most common interview questions. If you know who will interview you, look up their research and publication history. Hopefully your guidance counselor can steer you to some resources to stage mock interview sessions.