Quick Interview Prep Tips

Interview preparations:

Plan it out: List out all of your extracurriculars and super curriculars. For each experience, have examples of what you did and what skills you developed through this. They may not ask you specifically for examples but interviews are ‘show not tell’ situations so always remember to include at least one relevant scenario.

What to include in your plan: Activities you did, why it is relevant to what you're applying for, how are the skills you gained/saw transferable to this degree/career, reflections.

An example question to practice: "What have you gained from your work experience/community work/ hobbies?"

Important general points to mention: team work, leadership skills, time management, problem solving, adaptability, resilience (emotional or physical), stress management, active listening, organisation, strategic thinking.

Here is a reading list/book suggestions to talk about what you know about your subject outside of the school curriculum. Use these to show your commitment to the course and your drive for learning.

Psychology- The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson

Science- Six Easy Pieces/Six Not So Easy Pieces by Feynman, The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body, The Most Beautiful Molecule by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Mathematics- The Higher Arithmetic by Harold Davenport

Engineering- To Forgive Design: Understanding Failure by Henry Petroski, The Maths of Life and Death by Kit Yates

Healthcare- Do No Harm by Henry Marsh, The Smile Stealers by Richard Barnett, Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels

History: The Holy Greyhound by J C Schmitt, Conflict and Stability in 15th Century England by J R Lander Geography- When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce, The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

English-Emma by Jane Austen, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Finance- Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham and David L Dodd

By Aagnya Sakharelia