Need advice on scholarship interview

[Hush]

I am Hush from Taylor's College, Malaysia. I just completed my A-Levels here. Recently, I got the nomination for a scholarship interview to study in NUS in Singapore. That is the ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship. I really wish I can get it.

But, I need advices and guides from those who had been through this. What can I expect from it? How shall I prepare myself? The interview is less than 2 weeks from now.

Your help is very highly appreciated. Thank you very much. I won't forget Recom if I get the scholarship.

Regards,
Hush

[chenchow]

Hi Hush, welcome to RECOM!!! Thanks for joining you.

As I promise you before, I am sure there will be a lot of replies coming. Check this thread in 12 hours' time, and I guarantee you that you will see a lot of replies on this issue.

Hope that those RECOM members who have gone through ASEAN Scholarship interview could share their experience here. Hopefully others who have attended similar scholarship interview to share as well. I will share my experience later in the day too.

Good Luck, Hush!

[jiinjoo]

Hello Hush,

I guess I can give you a rough idea, although I'm not the best person to ask. I can send you some (ok, a lot of i should say) contacts of current nus asean undergrad (and ntu too). It is not that hard to get in, as compared to the JC level or the high school level.

At this level, you should definitely get ready for some "mind-stimulating" questions, a.k.a. IQ questions 8) Most, if not all interviews in S'pore have this IQ level screening. I'm not sure if things has changed since, but somewhere in the system, they only want people of a certain level of intellectual capability to get in. Don't sweat, it's not hard, just tricky.

I'd also say get ready for a face to face interview that will ask you questions that you don't really know at this stage of life. Among the favorite questions I've heard from friends (which you might or might not get) are: Do you intend to stay in S'pore after you graduate? What have attracted you to makes S'pore / NUS? Are you aware that you're bonded for 3 years after you graduate? Some flavor like this. If you want the scholarship, just put yourself in their shoes and you'll know the answer to those questions :wink:

It is hard for them to drill into academics, after all, you're only going to get started on your undergrad, so no point asking you to write code on the spot or derive equations from principles etc. Remember that this scholarship is to grab the best potential from neighboring countries of S'pore, and to retain them in the country for as long as possible such that they continue to fuel the country's growth. If you can give them an impression that you'd like to do that, instead of going there, ta pau everything then go home, your chance will be slightly higher.

Good luck to you too. Send me an ICQ message if you want some contacts. They are all pretty free to entertain you since theyr are having holidays now (until Jan 4th)

[Thirdshifter]

here it is. Honesty is the best policy,. Will get you that scholarship and will make you millions of dollars if you stick to it.

Interviews are not har. The interviewer knows your nervous and all you have to do is act naturally.. don't try to be to cocky. Be humble and polite. Answer everything as simple as posible. A yes or no answer is good enough..

All of the interview that i have been too. THe stupidest question was at Yale, They asked me how does an engine work.

[silverblue]

I know someone told me that he attended a Singapore scholarship interview last time (not sure if it's ASEAN though) and one of the questions was something like this "Describe the functions of a PENCIL for 5-8 minutes."

hahahaha... seems pretty odd but it really requires alot of creativity come to think of it.... ;) Maybe they want to ask these kind of questions just to totally 'throw' you and see how you react to such absurdity (whether u remain calm and continue to do your best, or feel anxious, confused and start to panic...)

So, my advise is that even if they deluge you with 'out-of-the-world' questions, always remain composed, confident and act smart! :) But yeah, don't be snub or cocky though...

Good Luck! Keep us posted on how you did okay!

[chenchow]

I remember seeing a PriceWaterHouseCooper interview, which something like they give you a daily conflict scenario and that put you in a spot and ask you what you should do... I can't really remember about it exactly, but it would be some scenario, which could test your analytical skills, your calmness, your ability to react, communication skills etc, all at one go.

On another thing, which I am not sure whether you would be asked is that Public Service Commissioner (PSC) of Singapore has cut salary by 20%. And that would mean that the salary in Singapore would not be that high. I am not sure whether this is related, but you could get a cue. When I was in JPA interview, the interviewer told me that I will not earn much when I work with government in the future.

Guess, what I reply? I told him that "Sir, you are a good example. If the salary is too low, why you are still working with government? I am sure there are many benefits beyond the salary. Then I start to mention stuff like job security, allowances, SOCSO benefits, low interest rate loans for house, car, computer etc(which may not be that attractive now, since bank interest rate is low, but back then, bank interest rate used to be 13-14% and government interest rate is 4% and it is sliding scale). I told them of many other benefits, including like contributing to country etc...

[1st_Spirit]

I think I have lots of Experience in Interview for now and then...

Well, even I've taken courses in master the skill of interview... Here I hope my little notes would help...

1st of all, you need to know what is the defination or what's the meaning of the particular scholarship you're fighting for... You can do research for its historical background and check out who are the recent awarded students.... It really helps you to understand who you are competiting with and what you can fighting for...

2nd, prepare yourself with the right attitude, I would say that please to be frank and honest, tell them what does this scholarship means to you confidenly and friendly... They are looking for specially and interesting people, believe me they would award this scholarship to a geek or a worm in the book

3rd, prepare some a complete resume and write something about yourself even though its not required... You can always give them somethings to look at before the interview or after the interview... BE SPECIAL, it's where your creativity works

I hope it helps :)

Good Luck

[jiinjoo]

Describe the functions of a PENCIL for 5-8 minutes.

Ah good point - the country there is quite receptive to government prop. I think it was 2000 when they started a big promotion on "creative learning", citing that the citizens are not creative enough. After that, syllabus was cut and classes focus on how to be "creative"; tuition agencies got classes that teach you to be creative, and TV shows repeats the message over and over again in those jingles... Possibly that year you'll have to go in to interviews to show off your "creativity".

But, 8) , last year 2002 a very different campaign has taken off. The Entrepreuneurship campaign. The new problem, say the gahmen, is that everybody is relying on the government to weather the storm, but themselves are not willing to take up risks. Hence the big entrepreuneurship thingy, and technopreuneuship thingy, and tuition agencies teaching you how to take risk etc. Maybe this time you need to show off that you're a daring person who is willing to take risk during the interview :D

知己知彼, 百战百胜

[kijal4]

I think the most sure question they will ask would be "What intrigues you to study at NUS?" etc. If they ask such question, pick a good focal interest and blabber about it. For example, if you are interested with Aerospace Engineering @<hidden> NUS, just say how much you'd like it. Or any other interesting answer. The key is to go through their brochures/website to find out general info about education programs.

But that's just a regular example. I've gone to interview expecting to be asked the reason why I apply for internship at those companies, only to find out they asking me about MOSFET, coloured balls in 2 urns and unexpectedly about Malaysia. It depends.

I am not in Cornell U anymore, but I think Lenny (the EE guy, I think he's senior now @<hidden> Cornell), he's from Sembawang Corp scholarship. I am not sure if he's on Recom, but I occasionally see him on AOL with screen name "ILENNY20"

[silverblue]

Lenny a senior at Cornell?? 8O

hhmm... I don't think there are currently any Malaysians seniors at Cornell... if he was, he'd be registered with the Cornell Malaysian Association. Hmm... mebbe he's graduated already too... 8O

[kijal4]

maybe he's not in CU anymore lah!

when I was in CU, he's like 2 yr below me but been taking classes of my senior level, haha! so he must be gone by now working some place. but for the person asking about the NUS interview, maybe he/she can contact Lenny thru AOL.

[littlebigone]

lenny graduated but he is now doing master's in cornell orie.
I think we know him as Eng hwa

[silverblue]

OHhh... isn't his English name Leonard ?? hahahaha...mebbe lenny is the nickname for that..

well... if that's the guy u r talking about, he's in 2 of the classes that I am taking rite now... and he's doing his masters.. ;) oh, he's an excellent dancer btw... and not to mention really really intelligent! 8O

[Schye]

1. Prepare a complete resume as Dennis stated above so that they won?t have to waste their time to ask you about it again ;)

2. Be Honest. Don?t ever try to lie to them as most of them are very experienced in interviewing. That is their professional and I believe amateur like us shouldn?t take the risk to trick them. Just tell them you don?t know if you have no idea about a topic.

3. Be prepared for unexpected questions.

4. I am not sure about ASEAN scholarship interview but if it happens that it will be in a group discussion,
- expressing you opinions but don?t dominate the whole group. Give the others their chance to talk.
- Try to lead the group.
- Use the material in the room to list the content of your discussion if you all have got a conclusion. I believe there will be white board or blackboard there. Ask for papers if you need one ;)

Those are just my idea and I think the most important one is tell the truth about you and be yourself. The main point of interview is to let others know about you, so be honest to yourself and to others is the best.

[Hush]

Thanks a lot for all the replies. They have been very helpful and give me some ideas about what I should expect. At least, I feel more prepared. Perhaps, now, I would like to ask some more specific questions that I may expect. What are the important points that you think I can highlight if I were asked:

1) Why do you think I should give you this scholarship?
2) Why do you choose to study in NUS?
3) How do you contribute to the uni?
4) Do you have anything to ask us? ( maybe they may ask me in the end of the interview)

Or, if you guys expect other questions, please feel free to post them on Recom here.

Once again, thanks a lot in advance.

Regards,
Hush

[jiinjoo]

- expressing you opinions but don?t dominate the whole group. Give the others their chance to talk.
- Try to lead the group.

Felt like sharing while we're at it. One of the interview that I went for was an interesting one by s'pore EDB. They randomly group the applicants into groups of 20 and ask us to show up at the sentosa golf club house.

For each session, we were asked to play games. We had like crocodile cross the river, simulate a manufacturing plant that produces nuclear waste container, round table discussion to agree on what it takes to be a scholar and come to a concensus in 10 minutes etc.

It is fair to imagine the environment to be like - guinea pigs in a lab - because when we're playing games there're like 10 people surronding us whom we were told to ignore, each holding a pad and scribling away furiously, annotating every small little action that we put forth.

I remember leaving the interview being quite irritated about this whole ordeal. Reason is that it is so hard to coorperate and win the game because everyone wants to talk. Everyone wants to show off their "leadership skills", and their ability to solve problems. Let me describe in more detail, say, the factory manufacturing game:

We're told that we're to simulate an actual fatory, while the examiner is the customer who wanted us to produce nuclear waste containers. Being radioactive, the containers must be properly sealed. We wer given a 3 page long description of requirement which we were told to read through and internalize, ask all the questions we want. We were also given all the materials on the table - green paper, red paper, scissors, glue, tape you name it. Some resource are abundant while others are scarce.

Then the game begin. For 10 straight minute we're suppose to sort out ourselves, someone have to take the scissors to do the cutting, someone has to do the coloring, pasting, and finally someone has to sell it to the customer and the customer either accept or reject the product.

The first 10 minutes, everyone tried so hard to go around saying "you do this, you do that, and i'll take this". It is very depressing because for some reason some people's ego is just way too high. Finding no reason to speak, I simply did whatever I was told to do, frequently switching jobs because after the factory is in "production" for a while, I get different instructions to help move the slower parts of it.

We got a break after 10 minutes (factor closes for the night), to reflect on the day's output. We sold nothing. All the products (some weirdo paperwork that have very specific requirements) are not up to standard because people weren't clear and they tried to patch up the badly folded/pasted products. However, the discussion deviated far from that. People were complaining that all of us are working too slowly, some blamed the fact that we didn't distribute the work correctly, some blame the lack of scissors and went to ask for more (which was futile of course - it was an intended bottleneck in the experiment). I took a deep breath and said to myself, "forget it, I'm interested in working with such people in the future anyway".

So the next 10 minutes went slightly better, since a smaller number of alpha males manage to subdue the rest into doing work and shutting up. We also manage to sell one (the average is supposed to be around 10 per 10 minutes). I have also realize that most of us can't fold exactly, so I took on the folding job.

End of story. Conclusion? None of them got into the next round. I was the only one selected for reasons still unknown to me. For some reason speaking up in that situation only made things worse, maybe that was the cue they were looking for. Disclaimer - this is just my story - don't think your interview will turn out the same way!

Hence I want to add the statement "Try to lead the group" - coz I think if you can't be a good follower, you can't lead. Show that you can do both.( :idea: The opposite is not true! Some great followers are not great leaders)

[silverblue]

Jiin Joo.... that was a very wise thing to do! In my opinion, I think that was exactly what the observers were looking for... I have also been put in this situation before many times and frequently, the observers will definitely expect some chaos because, like what you said, people would definitely wanna outdo each other and appear 'superior' than the others... they think that the only way to 'stand out' among the crowd is to take the lead and be assertive. However, I really agree that 'To be a good Leader, you first have to be a Good Follower'. Sometimes, as the old adage goes 'silence is golden', you will be able to make the best decisions and grasp a better picture by sitting back and observing the scenario with a clearer mind... rather than struggling with all the other 'Type A personality' people to get your voice heard, you may appear wise by keeping calm and acting smart, eventhough it's only following orders.

However, of course this action depends on what type of situation you are in. If you are in a group that is on the other hand very introverted or shy, then perhaps it would be wise to take a little lead and push the group towards the goal. I guess it all depends on what context you are in and that is why it really takes a leader to know when and how to act or react to different situations...

:)

[chenchow]

And one more skill that many leaders do not have is good listening skills.

Jiin Joo, good sharing... Hope that those who have undergone other interviews could share your experience.

I agree fully with the part on following and leading the group at the same time. Be a silent leader. Make your teammates comfortable with you. Be tactful.

Also the listening part mentioned by chenchow is very important as I noticed the Petronas interviewer was looking at me although I was not the one talking at that point of time during the discussion group of 4.
I remembered that I was listening to others' opinions attentively so that I can give a good comment after they have finished talking. Comments should not rebuke people's opinion directly. It should "agree" with others' opinion, but at the same time, make it a much better one.

On top of that, I would like to add something that crossed my mind, but not very elaborate, since I do not have experience in any Singapore scholarship except ASEAN A-Levels interview (which I went just for fun).

1) Prepare yourself fully for physical situations in the interview. For example, bring along a few copies of resume instead of only one copy/set so that you can distribute them to all interviewers (normally at least 2 interviewers to be fair). Then, all interviewers would be comfortable.
The idea is to let them know that you are prepared.

2) Be yourself, as simple as that. Be humble, yet convincing and presentable. The idea is to make people comfortable and pay close attention to you and more importantly, remembers you among others.

3) I attended Yayasan Tenaga interview in Uniten. They asked me specific stuffs about Uniten. I think they are surprised that I know how many classrooms are there in Uniten and most things about Uniten.
The idea is to try to know everything that is related to the scholarship.

4) For the Asean A Level's interview, sometimes, your attitude in managing the interview process shows your IQ/EQ besides the IQ/EQ test result. For example, the boxes in the solution sheet that needed to be shaded were pretty big and there were too many questions at the same time.
The Asean proctor told us that we should not pay too much attention in shading the boxes completely. Just as long as the computer can reads it.
He also said that it shows our IQ/EQ if someone spends too much time on the solution sheet.
After the interview, I heard a few people who could not manage to complete it actually complained that it's hard to shade the answers.
The idea is to be alert, calm and smart at all times in all things during the interview process, even in small little things.

5) Be a nice person! (also Mariah Carey's 5th principle in life - according to the Dean when I had dinner with him. Actually, he just mentioned the artists who was recently in an emergency condition, but it has to be Mariah Carey at that time.)

For interviews like JPA, I don't have much to say because my interview was 9 mins long and they talked more than me (for about 5 mins) at the end to convince me why I should take up US instead of UK.
I told them I would be more than happy to get US (after they stopped).

Ok, that's the idea I got. Good Luck in your interview and do update Recom on how it goes. It would benefit other NUS - ASEAN applicants in future :D

Before interview, I try my best to prepare using all resources I can get.
For me, after interview (until now), I always feel that it no longer matters whether or not I get it, but what is more important to me is, I make new friends there. :)

I should get back to reading as I have 6-hour finals in 2 days.

-Hui Lin ^_^

[huilinchin]

ahh...forgot to login again...sorry yah...

-Hui Lin ^_^

[Schye]

[quote="Anonymous"]I agree fully with the part on following and leading the group at the same time. Be a silent leader. Make your teammates comfortable with you. Be tactful.[quote]

100% agree with all the posts above. It is not that you must lead by giving orders. Try to give opinions such as
- How about...
- may be we should...
Try not to give order directly and use the words WE more than YOU or I. No point arguing all the time and come out with nothing.
I think I need to rearrange my words before to try to lead the group by cooperating and listening.
But I think all the opinions and posts above are very useful and true.
I wish I could have so many advices too...

[chenchow]

On interview, another point would be to make yourself noticed by the interviewer, be it an individual interview or group interview. You should leave a lasting impression to the interviewer, and hopefully a good one, as the interviewer will be interviewing many candidates and how stand out will make the difference.

I would suggest that you get their name card after your interview, saying that it would help you to get contact with them if you have questions. Then send an email or letter of thank to them. That's very helpful. When I conduct interview for international students at Cornell to join the International Students Programming Board, I always give credits to those who send at least a simple thank you note.

I would also suggest that you be nice to everyone you meet, be it the clerk that assigns the interview slot for you, or the one that tells you your turn. There may actually be people watching on your behavior while you are waiting.

When I was interviewing with JPA, when I arrive there, I met an elderly men there and I had a short chit-chat with him. He asked a little about my background and I was sharing with him my experience of studying in Singapore under ASEAN Scholarship. The conversation is informal and goes on for about 10 minutes.

Before the interview started, the interviewers were introduced and to my amazement, he is one of the interviewers, although he did not interview me.

Another point to do would be if they have a gathering of all people before interviewing and you were given the opportunity to ask questions at the end of briefing, I would strongly suggest that you ask a good question, that can showcase your capability. Till today, I am not sure whether the interviewer that I talked with, or the question that I asked during the briefing, or the conversation that I had with the clerks and other students before I enter the interview room, actually helped, but that was what I did and I can safely say that among the about 100 non-Muslims there, I am the only one got the scholarship.

Hope that helps a little bit.

[littlebigone]

this is off topic but wasn't the JPA interview a joke?
I went in there and all they asked me was my IC number...in malay.
They they asked if I had any questions.

[chenchow]

Seriously? My JPA interview was about 15 minutes... i had my JPA interview in English... I was prepared to speak in either language and the interviewer started off asking in English, so I just answer in English...

[huilinchin]

I think it depends on the interviewers.
For mine, it was held in English, but funny thing is, they talked more than I did.

So, I did not gain much from the interview although I prepared for JPA much more than anything else because I wanted only JPA at first.

-Hui Lin ^_^

[silverblue]

I feel that the JPA interviews are somewhat inconsistent. For example, in the JPA interview 3 years ago, a friend told me that the interview was in BM but he didn't know that and started speaking in English. Then he got scolded for not speaking the national language and was asked right on the spot to recite a Malay pantun. When he couldn't, they scolded him even more. Although he scored perfect A1s and was in the national waterpolo team, he didn't get the scholarship.

It is true that at some, the interviewers did not ask much but merely look at the applicant's certs and asked one or two questions. On the other hand, there were also some who conducted fairer interviews, and asked more questions about academic and extra co-curicular activities in high school.

Personally, my interview went well and it was about 10-15 mins. They did asked me a few questions, like why I chose engineering (which I now deeply regret by the way :cry: ) and they actually persuaded me to take up medicine in UK! I felt that was the weirdest thing that they were actually trying quite hard to convince me that I should be a doctor! 8O I am wondering if their real intention was to test if people are firm/certain with their decisions and about what they want to pursue as a career....

But generally, I feel that there were simply too many students that JPA had to interview (it must have been thousands on a single day) and the interviewers were tired. Perhaps the government will be able to improve and standardize these interviews and also carry them out in such a way that we didnt have to wait one whole day for our interviews.

Just a personal experience... :wink:

[chenchow]

I was persuaded the same thing -- to change to medicine... may be what silverblue said was true, as a test of our firmness... They were saying that I got A1 in Biology, so I should take it. Then I go on to explain to them that judging by about 5% getting A1, that would be about 5000 people and we know that many Malaysians who are very interested in doing medicine. If I accept medicine, while I am not deeply interested in it(I am not interested in engineering either, but...) I told them that it would be a disservice to the nation. I strongly feel that only those who are interested in medicine should go into the field.

I told the interviewer that the main reason I apply for scholarship was to serve the nation. As I know many ASEAN scholarships do not want JPA to know that they were holding a scholarship at that moment, I decide to let them know, and I told them that since I am qualified to get ASEAN scholarship, I should make a pretty good candidate for JPA scholarship. I was telling them about preserving talents in Malaysia, and I talk about the needs to have Malaysians who really want to serve Malaysia.

I am not sure whether what I share would help Hush in her interview, but I think all the discussions in this thread would give her an idea of how interviewers would react and the experience for many and I believe that this discussion will be very useful for those F5 people who would be applying for scholarship early next year!

[wwhong]

well i guess it pretty much depends on the interviewer like what others said. but if for scholarship interview, just wear neatly and behave properly in the interview. answer their questions, give them your opinion, ask them back some questions and then go back and pray for the accepting letter to come. one thing is that try to elaborate more of your achievement. dun just tell them like what you had written down on your resume. tell them some real story (yes, interviewers like to hear interesting real experience) instead of telling them "i m good at this or that". tell them a real example where you have demonstrated your quality (how to tell depends on your creativity). yeah, u might wonder will the interviewer believe your story or not but the interviewer also won't believe much when you tell them straight to the point like "u see, i m a good leader". at least i think that works for me that get me a scholarship. when i told them those activities i participated in, they din even bother to look at me but when i started to tell them a real example they paid full attention to me.

[chenchow]

on why they should give you the scholarship? The point that you mention : motivation for me to work harder as competition in NUS is very keen could be a point, but that could be said by any of the candidate and works for them as well right? You could mention that, but it won't give you any competitive advantage...

you should leverage that you come from Sabah, and that is an extra, where you bring the extra bit of cultural perspective to fit into NUS. That would be a win-win situation for you to learn more about others' culture, as well as for NUS to have an even more diverse situation.

I would suggest you talk about your transition from life in Sabah to life in KL, and how that affects you. I would suggest that you talk from the view point of learning, where you need to study much harder than before etc...

On your 2nd reason "provides financial relief as i plan to further my study up to masters and allow you to spend the allowance doing charity that you always wanted to do", again it works for everyone, and while u can mention it, it does not show you as a unique person." Any person going for the scholarship can state that benefit. I would suggest that you turn it around and state that getting the scholarship to NUS, would mean you get to live in Singapore and that would mean you have a lot of opportunities to do charity work over there (praise them a little, but don't over board). Do you do charity before in Sabah or Taylor? Describe one or two major one, by mentioning the key details, and the benefits gotten by those you help and what you learn yourself. So, you can elaborate that you will bring some positive outcome for Singapore...

That was just my personal opinion...what do others think?

[littlebigone]

but...but....isn't that lying? 8O
well in my case it would be :D

[silverblue]

Of course you have to be honest to succeed in interviews from the ethical aspect of it. You also have to be sincere in what you are saying so that you don't say things that you do not believe in or things that you do not mean (now that would be merely 'gosok kasut'). But it is understandable that sometimes, we have to amplify our successes (but not exaggerate) or play around with language a little in order to catch their attention or sound impressive, just so that we stand out amongst the crowd. I'd say try to use simple and concise but powerful yet truthful words when answering their questions.

Here's how you can start:

1) Before the interview, think of all the possible questions that they might ask you and list them all out on a piece of paper
2) Next, write down your answers from the bottom of your heart. (True answers)
3) Then, review them and try to reword, rephrase, add adjectives and powerful words, emphasize important points etc. Make them sound really smart and meaningful yet natural.
4) Then put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer and think about what impressions this answer would give and how it would rate in your interview score. Think of what other candidates would answer to these same questions and how you can enhance yours to sound more unique or outstanding.
5) If after changing your answers, you find that you have deviated too much from your 'true' answers, it's up to you to gauge how much they violate your personal integrity or principles and whether you are willing to proceed with those answers.
6) Finally, get a friend (or better still, someone who's not close to you) to set up a mock interview and see if you can answers those questions naturally and with confidence.

Hope this helps when it comes to dealing with personal integrity! ;)
But then again, most people don't think it's a big deal...

[jiinjoo]

but...but....isn't that lying?
well in my case it would be

Not lying, just hypothesizing. It is something you "hope" to achieve when you're there, whether you will do it or not depends on the you when you're already there and not the you currently.

People change 8)

[chenchow]

Personally, I don't think that it is lying, but rather as silverblue said playing with the words and phrases. She had the intention of doing charity work, so, it is just that instead of saying that getting the scholarship would mean you can get to do the charity work (which looks like you benefit), you turn it to say that by getting the scholarship, you get to do the scholarship (no deviation at all right?) , and that doing of charity may benefit Singapore in this case. So, I don't think that it is a negative aspect.

Another thing which I observe from the interview that I conduct, which sometimes, when people try to be frank on some negative aspects, they get penalized. For instance, someone who tried to interview into a prestigious international students board. In the interview, both candidate A and B are very active at other organization groups and in fact A is even more active than B. During the interview, A do not disclose the fact that he is active at other organizations (say he is not asked about it). B voluntarily mention that he is involved in other organizations, and ask about the commitment involved.

Although the commitment is not too much for both candidates to get involved, a lot of interviewer tend to penalize B for saying that he is involving in other organizations and merely prefer A. Personally, I would choose B, judging from the fact that B is honest and frank. What do you guys think?

Another potential question, that I use to ask the candidates being interviewed by me (of course not scholarship interview), would be to ask them to state their weakest point and ask them to relate on them.

[Schye]

a lie will remain as the truth as long as no one discovers it.

Well, it depends on what is your defination of lying and how far you want to for a scholarship.

[chenchow]

Hi fellow Recom members,

I have a friend Lin Lee, whom I know via Ying Ying. See, Ying Ying is such a very well-networked person! She has just taken STPM. She has applied to universities, like Stanford, Princeton, Michigan etc. She was a former student at Union and she did her F6 at Chung Ling. Another Penangite!

She was chosen to represent Malaysia in International Physics Olympiad, but luck was not on her side, as Malaysia pulled out 2 days before the event, due to SARS, after months of preparation. She had a lot more credentials, so I believe she stands a good chance of entering her dream universities.

But, the main thing is I would like to ask is whether anyone has any suggestion on what Scholarship option that is available for her to apply, to fulfill her dream of stepping into a prestigious university of her dream!

I have asked her to join Recom! and hopefully those Recom members who could help, could try and do so!

[wawa]

Hi everybody,

I'm Lin Lee, as Chen Chow had introduced earlier. Hope you guys can help me out over here in Malaysia.
I've phoned the JPA people this morning and they said that overseas scholarship like the one Chen Chow is on is available only to SPM students. The only other financial aid avaiable by JPA is a loan but its only for students who are in their second year in univeristy. Does anyone know anyone who managed to get a JPA scholarship later than SPM?

Thanks :lol:

[chenchow]

Really hope that those kind-hearted Recom members could help Lin Lee!
If anyone among those Petronas, Tenaga, Telekom scholar could know which officer in those respective scholarship agency that Lin Lee could contact, pls kindly let her know, or post it here! I believe other STPM-leavers would be interested to know too!

On a different note, as you all know, Recom Magazine, ReMag is in progress. The first issue is going to be out in early Feb. So, currently I plan to summarize the information on Scholarship Interview, to be written as an article for that magazine. So, I sincerely request those who has attended any scholarship to share your skills, techniques etc!

To those who wish to write for ReMag, kindly email creative_recom@<hidden> and mention your username. Syamsul will then allow you to access to special forum for this purpose! As of now, _earth, dinna_g and I have each volunteered to write an article. Hope more will contribute!

[chenchow]

I am trying to summarize what have been discussed in this thread for an article in ReMag first issue.

So, if you have attended any interview for scholarship etc, I would appeal to you to share your insights, advice etc. I would definitely cite you for your advice and insights. Thanks.

[taufiq]

make sure you have a deep knowledge
in the course offered and about the company

and then... just be YOURSELF

that's why they make interview session..
to know who you are!
not just to know who you can immitate

[chenchow]

This is from Hush. She started a new thread. I deleted it and put it here. -- ChenChow

Hi, there! I am Hush. Do you guys still remember that I was the one who posted a forum on "Need advice on scholarship interview"? Thank God, I have now been admitted to NUS and I got the ASEAN scholarship. I am offered Engineering course, which is my first choice.

Before I share my experience (as I have promised Chen Chow), I would like to thank those who gave me their precious opinions and advices. They are chenchow, jiinjoo, Thirdshifter, silverblue, 1st_Spirit, kijal4, littlebigone, Schye, Guest, huilinchin, wwhong, wawa, and taufiq. Thanks a bunch, guys!!!

Ok, it all started with the nomination that I got. Very few institutions in Malaysia were selected by NUS to nominate their best five students to attend the ASEAN scholarship interview. Taylor's College (the college that I attended) was one of those. I was so glad and honoured to be nominated by my college to be one of the five students. For bright students out there, work hard if your dream university is NUS. Who knows, you would be the next nominee? Academic results are important if you wish to be nominated (in case your institution is approached by NUS), but they are not the only thing taken into consideration. You have to be outstanding in your ECA. In short, you have got to be an all-rounder.

I was given more than enough time to prepare for the interview. One of the things that I did was posting the forum to seek advices from Recom members who went through such an interview before. Besides JPA interview ( not really an interview though, more like a discussion), ASEAN interview was the second one that I attended. I was still nervous, but at least, I was more prepared when I got so many ideas that you guys posted.

First of all, I think honesty is really crucial. Be yourself and don't lie to the interviewer. The one-to-one interview lasted about 5-10 minutes. I can't really recall because it was about 2 months ago. Some of the questions that he asked were:
1) What do you wish to study in NUS?
2) What is your aim in life, besides the fact that you want to be an engineer?
I also remember that I told him that I was from Sabah. So, I told him that I would be able to adapt to my new life in Singapore since I had been in KL for two years on my own during my college life. I wanted to show him my self-indepence. Perhaps, I got a bonus there. Hehe. Besides that, I said that the scholarship would help reduce the burden of my parents since my elder brother would further his study again.

Besides academic achievement, I believe that NUS wants to award this scholarship to people who have good personalities. Oh, yah, by the way, attire is important too. Wear as if you are going for a job interview. I looked like an office lady at that time.

After the interview, I flied back to Sabah the next day. Chen Chow strongly encouraged me to send a thank-you note to the interview. Guess what? Actually, I did not know who the interviewer was. He did not introduce himself and when I tried asking for his name card with the reason that I might need to ask him questions regarding the interview, he did not have his name card at that time. Guess how I got his name? In fact, before I entered the room, I was talking to a lady outside. I suppose she is one of the managers in that hotel(venue of the interview). She told me his name in our conversation. I took her words seriously. So, when I reached home, I e-mailed to thank him. I acquired his e-mail address through the staff directory on NUS website. Cool, right? I am not sure if the e-mail helped, but I just tried my luck. It does no harm, so why not give it a try? I told myself. Thanks, Chen Chow.

So, before it's your turn, just talk to anyone outside. It may help.

That's what I can recall at the moment. If you guys have any question, just feel free to ask me in case I left out anything important.

Once again, thank you very much for those who helped.

[chenchow]

This is from Hush. She started a new thread. I deleted it and put it here. -- ChenChow

Hi, there! I am Hush. Do you guys still remember that I was the one who posted a forum on "Need advice on scholarship interview"? Thank God, I have now been admitted to NUS and I got the ASEAN scholarship. I am offered Engineering course, which is my first choice.

Before I share my experience (as I have promised Chen Chow), I would like to thank those who gave me their precious opinions and advices. They are chenchow, jiinjoo, Thirdshifter, silverblue, 1st_Spirit, kijal4, littlebigone, Schye, Guest, huilinchin, wwhong, wawa, and taufiq. Thanks a bunch, guys!!!

Ok, it all started with the nomination that I got. Very few institutions in Malaysia were selected by NUS to nominate their best five students to attend the ASEAN scholarship interview. Taylor's College (the college that I attended) was one of those. I was so glad and honoured to be nominated by my college to be one of the five students. For bright students out there, work hard if your dream university is NUS. Who knows, you would be the next nominee? Academic results are important if you wish to be nominated (in case your institution is approached by NUS), but they are not the only thing taken into consideration. You have to be outstanding in your ECA. In short, you have got to be an all-rounder.

I was given more than enough time to prepare for the interview. One of the things that I did was posting the forum to seek advices from Recom members who went through such an interview before. Besides JPA interview ( not really an interview though, more like a discussion), ASEAN interview was the second one that I attended. I was still nervous, but at least, I was more prepared when I got so many ideas that you guys posted.

First of all, I think honesty is really crucial. Be yourself and don't lie to the interviewer. The one-to-one interview lasted about 5-10 minutes. I can't really recall because it was about 2 months ago. Some of the questions that he asked were:
1) What do you wish to study in NUS?
2) What is your aim in life, besides the fact that you want to be an engineer?
I also remember that I told him that I was from Sabah. So, I told him that I would be able to adapt to my new life in Singapore since I had been in KL for two years on my own during my college life. I wanted to show him my self-indepence. Perhaps, I got a bonus there. Hehe. Besides that, I said that the scholarship would help reduce the burden of my parents since my elder brother would further his study again.

Besides academic achievement, I believe that NUS wants to award this scholarship to people who have good personalities. Oh, yah, by the way, attire is important too. Wear as if you are going for a job interview. I looked like an office lady at that time.

After the interview, I flied back to Sabah the next day. Chen Chow strongly encouraged me to send a thank-you note to the interview. Guess what? Actually, I did not know who the interviewer was. He did not introduce himself and when I tried asking for his name card with the reason that I might need to ask him questions regarding the interview, he did not have his name card at that time. Guess how I got his name? In fact, before I entered the room, I was talking to a lady outside. I suppose she is one of the managers in that hotel(venue of the interview). She told me his name in our conversation. I took her words seriously. So, when I reached home, I e-mailed to thank him. I acquired his e-mail address through the staff directory on NUS website. Cool, right? I am not sure if the e-mail helped, but I just tried my luck. It does no harm, so why not give it a try? I told myself. Thanks, Chen Chow.

So, before it's your turn, just talk to anyone outside. It may help.

That's what I can recall at the moment. If you guys have any question, just feel free to ask me in case I left out anything important.

Once again, thank you very much for those who helped.