Have you applied for a scholarship and now waiting for the interview? Or are you planning to apply for a scholarship and you want to have foreknowledge of scholarship interview questions? If your answer is “YES” then we assure you that you are at the right place. Here we bring you the list of top 20 scholarship interview questions and their suggested answers.
What is scholarship interview?
Reaching the stage of interview is always great in one’s scholarship expedition. Calling you for an interview is an indication that you are selected for the award. Scholarship interview is a form of oral screening given to a scholarship applicant to further ascertain his credibility and eligibility for the award. The scholarship committee, during the interview, would want to be aware of how the scholarship would materialize your career goals. Therefore, you need to answer some interview questions before you can claim your scholarship award.
But you need not panic over it, we are here to guide you on the most asked questions during scholarship interviews and what should be the answers to them. Read below.
Know how to write a good scholarship application letter.
Question: 1. Tell us about yourself
This is quite an open – ended question, and it is the most popular among all scholarship interview questions. It is usually the first question. When the interviewers asked you to tell them about yourself, please resist the temptation of going deep into your personal life on the process of answering them. This is to avoid saying certain things that are not relevant to purpose of the question. You must be brief and concise in saying things that relate to your academic background, goals, accomplishments and values. See suggested answer below.
Answer:
I take personal interest in people and their careers. That is why I plan to study Human Resource Management and become a Talent Acquisition expert. I am already a certified Senior Human Resources Professional by HRCI. When I am not working, I enjoy reading personal development books and watch history documentaries.
You see, as brief as this and within the context of the purpose upon which the question is asked.
Question 2: What is your greatest strength?
This is one of the most common college scholarship interview questions, where you point a positive attribute of your personality to light. What makes the answer sound even more impactful is an example of where you applied your strength. See the answer below.
Answer:
A strength that I am proud of is my industry. When I am passionate about a particular project, I ensure I use all the resources at my disposal to bring it to fruition. During my Project Proposal, for instance, though it took me a lot of energy and resources both financial and non-financial, I utilised the necessary data analytics tool and obtained substantial findings. My supervisor was impressed to see that I accomplished the impossible.
Question 3: Why do you deserve this scholarship?
Now, this is where you spell the gospel truth. It is a tough question but the best way you can amaze your interviewers is by abridging what is stated in your scholarship application letter and essay. You must have explained the reasons for applying for the scholarship. It would be easy to pinpoint major statements from your essay. Do not import new reasons here to avoid being as a fraudster or an unserious person. See our suggested answer below.
Answer:
Psychology in Nigeria is considerably undervalued. The puritan society is made up of a logical number of people with psychological trauma. Yet, the sector of clinical psychology has not been explored as a solution to a plethora of traumatized incidences. Thus, I would like to proffer satisfactory psychotherapy for every patient that needs my attention.
Question 4: Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
The purpose of this particular question is to ascertain how goal-oriented you are. Every Postgraduate or even undergraduate student has a vision for himself or herself before pursuing their scholarship opportunities. So the interviewers would want to know about your plan for actualizing your future goal. In this scenario, you explain your passion, link it with your future goals and relate how the scholarship will benefit you if awarded.
Answer:
As a lover of numbers, I always enjoy advising business persons based on their financial status. My counselling so far to business persons has not disappointed. That is why I am planning on establishing my own audit company in 5 years from now. I am currently getting all the required certifications and licenses to accomplish this dream. So a masters degree in financial accounting will equip me with the necessary knowledge to pursue and actualise my future goals.
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Question 5: What is your greatest weakness?
This is quite a challenging scholarship interview question. Here you are expected to explain a weakness that has been challenging your academic life. Ensure you are sincere but at the same time, point out how you are practically trying to improve on your weakness. This would show that you are self aware and that you are striving for personal effectiveness. Back up your claim with an example that buttresses how you are working on developing yourself.
Answer:
From my experience so far, I have noticed that stress management is my greatest weakness. When I am stressed with overwhelming projects or passing deadlines. I tend to get anxious and may procrastinate as a result of looking for an exit. My boss once asked me to conduct interviews for three executives within two days I was so overwhelmed that I ended up conducting just one. However, since I have been taking time management classes and have adopted diverse methods on multitasking duties, I have recorded tremendous progress.
Question 6: Who is your Role Model?
It is expected that at this stage of life you must have someone you look up to. Someone whose combination of his or her personality and achievement inspires you. It could be a relative, it could be a friend, a senior colleague or a celebrity. Either way, you have to mention and explain why you admire him or her and perhaps relate an example of his or her virtues that so attracted your admiration. In this way, the University board can see how you are capable of representing the values of your sponsor and Role Model. Candy Hammer, for instance is your Role Model. See the suggested answer below
Answer:
Candy Hammer is my Role Model. She has authored a lot of a lot of personal development books that shaped my perspective and incentivizes, making me to become a better version of me. I once sent an email of appreciation to her, she replied and we later had a one-on-one life coaching session. I was happy to meet this humble lady and my love for her records increased. Ever since, I am thrilled but mostly motivated than ever to incite personal development to people around me. I want to become someone’s Role Model one day.
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Question 7: Talk about a time you overcame a challenge
As a scholar, you are required to be adaptive to situations and the this question is to see how you can overcome an unwelcoming situation. Your answer will depict how you are capable of responding prudently to challenges. Were you bullied? Were you a victim of theft? Have you had self-esteem issues? Have you been wrongly? If yes, how did you react? You are to explain how you dealt with the situation, leaving an optimistic note. Let us say, for instance, you have been a victim of theft. See your suggested answer below.
Answer:
There was a day I was getting back home. On my way, I was robbed at gunpoint. It was quite terrifying. I was very mortified and even so, the next day I had my final exam. When I got home safe and sound, I made a decision to not focus on the traumatizing experience I had some minutes earlier and prepare for my morning exams. And so I did. I applied emotional intelligence, wrote my exam satisfactorily and then filed a police report. Luckily to me, successful investigation was carried out. The robbers were apprehended, arraigned and my stolen items retrieved. I think they are still serving their jail term now.
Question 8: Why did you choose this school?
You must be aware of what your school of choice has to offer before applying for the scholarship. You would be asked this question to test your decision. The board would want you to to express your zest for the program and understand your reasons for pursuing a degree in the school. Remember what interests you in the school. The board would also be using your answer to know people’s rating of the school. Be concise and sincere. Let us say you are a Business Management or Marketing Management student, your answer would be as suggested below.
Answer:
As a tenacious marketing expert, I have always wanted to intensify my earning ability with knowledge. Although there are many schools who offer post graduate marketing degrees, this is the only University that teaches marketing with a global orientation. The title of the program “International Communication and Marketing Management”, triggered my interest as it embodies my intention of becoming a Brand Manager of multinational company.
Question 9: What activities are you involved in?
This question is asked to ascertain what you do outside your study hours. Other activities such as sports, dancing, involvement groups can be explained here. Your extracurricular activities would define how interesting you are. They also reveal how much of a team player you are. Let us say playing Chess is your hobby.
Answer:
Playing Chess is something I really enjoy. It furnished my strategic and critical thinking. This activity has helped me to predict the movements of the opposing side. Therefore, the game has instilled in me the desire of learning forecasting techniques. This activity has a considerable contribution in my goal of studying statistics and becoming a professional statistician.
Question 10: Tell us about a personal achievement that makes you proud
This is an interesting interview question for scholarship applicants. Think of what has been a personal struggle but overtime you overcame it. This can be characterized as a personal achievement. You may narrate a short story of a shortcoming you had to deal with and indicate how proud you are of yourself and possibly how you conquered it. In your career development journey, see our suggested answer below.
Answer:
I have always loved the idea of career development. But I am quite timid. One way to pursue my career development is by networking with people in my field. That is quite a Herculean task. I was before very shy and ashamed of integrating with people and getting initiated with them, I was always embarrassed. But at a time, I picked up the challenge and decided to be more sociable. So I started with virtual networking and later became proficient at starting and sustaining conversations with colleagues and veterans in the corporate events. Now, I can proudly and validly say that I am a social man that can blend and survive in any social environment.
Other scholarship interview questions
It is important to know that the above 10 listed interview questions are not the only possible questions asked in a scholarship interview. Other questions are:
- What are your career goals?
- Describe your biggest mistake
- Tell us about your leadership experience
- What is your favorite book, movie or song?
- What was your favorite subject in school?
- How will you use the scholarship money?
- Can you give an example of a time you experienced difficulty at school?
- How would you describe a good school environment?
- What is your definition of failure?
- How do you set academic and career goals?
- How do you deal with deadlines or multiple tasks?
- Tell me about a time you work with or led a team
- How do you deal with stress?
- How do you build relationships with other members of a team?
- Describe yourself in three words
- What would you do if there was a breakdown of communication in your study team?
- How do you start a project?
- Tell us what you have done to prepare for this scholarship
- If you are an animal, what animal would you be?
- Do you have any questions for me?
- Is there anything you would like to add?
- What is the most significant conflict you had with another classmate and how did you resolve it?
- Describe some times when you were not very satisfied or pleased with your performance
- Tell me about a time when you went above your duty to do a project
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at school
- Can you give me an example of a time you solved a problem
- What would you do if you had a bad lecturer?
- What does motivation mean to you?
- How do you minimize the risk of errors in your assignments?
- Describe the Internet to someone that is just waking from a 50 years comma.
Questions to ask interviewers
Having known the scholarship interview questions and their suggested answers, it is important as a candidate to know the possible questions you may ask the interviewers. Interviewers get more impressed if you have the confidence to ask them some questions during an interview. However, it is necessary you seek their permission to so ask before asking. This is to avoid being seen as a stubborn candidate. If they permit you, you may ask the following questions:
- What are my career prospects from this course of study?
- What is the University expecting from me?
- Do you have any advice as I prepare for college?
Apply for University of New South Wales International Scholarships.