The Interview
You've made it to the final phase of the scholarship application process, the scholarship interview. Are you still doing your version of the dance of joy? Oh, go ahead! Give it a shout! This is a day you have dreamed about and waited for. All your hard work has given you an opportunity to meet the selection committee face-to-face. You know who you are and what you want. Now it's time to put faces with names. "How do I prepare for the interview?" you ask.
Mock Interviews
As with interviews for employment, mock interviews can be applied to a variety of situations to help you learn how best to position yourself with your prospective interviewers. You've been doing it on paper since day one of the application process. Now it's time to gain some perspective on how to do it in person.
There is more than one way to do anything. Mock interviews can involve people you have handpicked to stand in as your interviewers. For your privacy and peace of mind, choose people who are professionally trained in psychology or counseling. Why? They know how to adjust the pressure levels so you can make the most of the mock interview. Professional academic counselors or advisors are nice folks who care about people, especially students. They know what your interviewers will ask and they also know how to guide, shape, and give feedback on your performance. The value of their comments and feedback on your mock scholarship interview is invaluable. You want people who are in the know, who will push you a little but not to excess, so you can learn how you perform under pressure and what corrective strategies you need to take.
Rehearse
Remember the long list of questions you were asked to respond to in the application? Preparing for the mock interview as well as the real interview boils down to rehearsing the way you responded to those questions. This is not to say that you will be asked an identical set of questions in your interview. You will be asked questions that are very similar, however, in that your response must draw from your life experience, goals, and self-assessment. Anticipate variations of the following prototypical questions:
Tell us about yourself.
What is your greatest achievement and why?
Who is the most influential person in your life and why?
What are your strengths? What do you need to improve about yourself?
What hobbies and extracurricular activities do you participate in?
You know the questions. You wrote the answers. Have your answers changed? Practice the way you respond to these and similar questions. Include poignant examples. The interviewers of the selection committee want to see your composure, your preparedness, your comfort zone, and in general how you fit in with their culture.
Scholarship Culture
How well you match the culture of the funding organization and/or scholarship committee is largely dependent upon how well you researched the scholarship and the committee that oversees the award. Did you do your homework? The more knowledge you have of the backgrounds, history, and accomplishments of the very people seated in front of you, the more confidently you can communicate with them and establish a connection of shared values.
The Day of the Interview
Plan to arrive at least twenty minutes early so you have a chance to unfreeze from the traffic, noise, and stress of finding a parking place less than three miles away from the building.
The scholarship interview is a semi-formal meeting that requires business attire, not jeans and a t-shirt. Even if you don't own a three-piece suit, you can still dress conservatively with slacks and a sweater. Ladies! Wear blouses that cover you. Go easy on the makeup and lipstick. A thirty-second impression takes place the minute you cross the threshold to the conference room. Enter smiling with a handshake. Let the first thing that comes out of your mouth be pleasant conversation about the campus or some interesting aside. Small talk breaks the ice and gives the interviewers another thirty seconds to form an impression of you. Believe it or not, the interview begins as soon as you enter the room. Enter smiling and ready to make some light small talk to ease tension and get the process going.
Have Questions for Them
Approach your interview as a conversation with people you know and have things in common with. The interview is not a confrontation, nor is it designed to turn you into a ball of sweat. You want to show the selection committee who you are, but you also want to show the selection committee that you are interested in them. Express your interest in the scholarship by arriving with your own set of questions for the selection committee. Throw the ball back at them! This is a good way to demonstrate your enthusiasm as well as your courage. Don't be afraid to ask them anything. The more spontaneous the interview can become, the better.