Today is an important day for a lot of people including myself because JPA Scholarship Interview 2010 starts today. Any readers who are also going to JPA interview, you are lucky. Because I’m the first batch to receive interview in 2010. So I’ll be writing down some important things and my experience, trying to help anyone who are still preparing.
For penangties, I think you all would choose Kepala Batas. It’s not that easy to find so i would recommend you all to at least bring a GPS or go once before the day. Some of my friends and their parents had a hard time finding the place so guys, be prepare. Google Map first or at least asked someone who really know the place well.
Guys, please wear formal: long sleeve shirt (no T-shirt please), black slack pants (no jeans!), TIE (very important), belt and Kasut Batu (those shining and annoying sound shoes, ask from your father).
Girls, please wear Baju Kurung. It’s a very important factor.
THINGS TO BRING:
You all should have printed the surat temuduga from the internet when you know you are coming to interview. On the second page it was the checklist of things to bring, please follow and bring everything they stated. For bottom part, please photocopy and certify the things they said you need to photocopy. And PLEASE PHOTOCOPY BOTH YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER‘s DOCUMENT. I didn’t photocopy my mum’s one and they don’t accept my photocopy set of document. This is crap. LOL.
For the top part, arrange your document and certificate according to the list, put and arrange them in a clear holder. For example, first page, your surat, second page, your ic, third page, your birth certificate… and etc. They will flip through it to give you marks for cocuriculum part.
Other things that are not stated: Well, pen. You’ll need to jot down point when you’re inside for discussions.
Upon reaching the place, first walk around and search for the place where your name is on a board. Sign on the board, find which panel you are in, which is something like a room, then go to the door of the panel, there will be a big table with two secretary there. Sign again. Make sure you sign twice. Then wait.
You will all be divided into group according to where your name is. 5 person in a group normally. It will take around half to one hour for every group. So if your name is really behind, then go for a walk, have your breakfast or drinks if you’re hungry or thirsty, go to toilet and don’t be too nervous.
Well and for myself, I’m the 20th guy in Panel 1. So i actually waited at least 4 hours before my turn. There should be a lot of very good students over there. I met a lot of friends coming back from Singapore (they got Asean Scholarship but yet they still come to this interview), friends that are already in colleges, Top 1 and 2 in Penang Chinese Girl High School, and Ooi Hui Lynn, a girl from CGL who got National Scholarship. She’s one of the 30 lucky people. Why she’s here? Well, may be she wanted some experience? Anyway she’s quite pretty for someone who’s so brilliant, It’s so not fair… =(
Alright, so when it’s my turn, I leave my bag outside (you can bring nothing into the room except pen and a paper that they’re going to give you for your draft) and walk in alongside 4 people. Knock the door first, greet them. Walk to the chair, stand until they tell you so sit. Inside the room, the interviewers are all actually quite nice especially the Ketua. They try to let us relax. Actually the interview is not as stressed or as terrible as some would have thought. But one very important thing, PLEASE BRUSH UP YOUR SPEAKING IN BAHASA MALAYSIA or you’re gonna have a very hard time. (Like I Do)
May be I’m just not lucky but the interviewers asked me to speak in BM a lot. So, I think if you want to prepare, just prepare a very good introduction in BM for yourself, and tell them whether are you in a Pre-U course and which college are you in and they’re going to jot it down. Then followed by your aspiration, a little bit about your family, your cocuriculum activity (only the very good ones), some of your life philosophy (not too much please) and why do you choose the course. You are given only 2 minutes so please prepare well for this and try to impress them in just 2 minutes or they’re going to ask you to stop.
If you’re lucky enough, they’ll ask you which country you want to go. No, don’t be too excited, they’re not going to jot down which country and let you go there, they just want to know how well you speak and analyse. So find some country with good points. I said you’re lucky because at least you are handed another chance to speak and impress them again. Too bad I don’t get this chance.
After the introduction, they’ll give you time to do group discussion. It’s a general question about reasons, measures and effect. My topic is Global Warming on the effect of Nation’s Health and Social-Economics. You can discuss the points with those who are in the same group with you. It’ll be in English. So I think it’s quite easy for most of the people. Try to speak often in the group discussion and stand out among your group’s people, but try not to be too arrogant and kill other’s chance. Group discussion means you speak, let others speak, then you add-on again, let other speak, then you speak again.
And the final part, which is the hardest part for me, is a personal question. In personal question, they’ll ask a very general question: Adakah kemiskinan merupakan faktor utama yang menghalang kecemerlangan dalam akademik?
In this sessions, no discussions is allowed, you gotta brain storm for another 2 minutes and think of your own point. But the points are not very important because they’re not going to care or jot down what you said, but they just want to know HOW you speak, in BM. I think they’re looking for people with charisma, fluent speaker and confidence.
And for this part, they request us to speak in BM, and no bahasa pasar is allowed, only very standard BM. So I actually died on this part. I stopped a lot and some of my points are spoken in English, the interviewers gave me a weird and worried look, so basically I’m gone. So please, be prepared to use a lot of BM, unless you’re just lucky enough to evade interviewers who ask for BM answers.
So in overall, don’t be too nervous because the interviewers aren’t really that bad to shoot you. In fact sometimes they’re just nice enough to agree with your points and laugh together with you. Sometimes they will even share a joke with you. So just be calm, talk more, be GOOD IN SPEAKING BM and be confidence.
And it’s quite weird for me because they didn’t ask anything about my course as what most of the people expected. They only ask me which course I’m taking, but they didn’t ask why and what do I know about the course. So I think I’d advise you all not to memorise a whole essay of your course into the room, just read through and know about your course will do.
So good luck everyone. I don’t think I stand any chance for the scholarship anymore after the interview because I didn’t know that Dentistry actually crash with a lot of people who is taking medicine and we’re going into the same room. So for readers, Good Luck, just be calm and natural =)
