International scholarship interview is not a test

Contrary to common belief, an international scholarship interview is actually not a test. It is rather a mechanism by which the scholarship provider check the originality of your application and that they are dealing with the the same person who is sending the application form. The photograph and other information you have put in your application is checked against you when you are attending the interview. The scholarship provider is to make sure that they are going to give an opportunity to the right person and to them there is no place for people who are not frank. The interview is the only way for them to do this.

Because it is not a test, preparation for an international scholarship interview should be quite different from the one that is for a scholarship test. It should be also less stressful to candidates than when they are approaching a test.

The main purpose of an international scholarship interview is for the scholarship provider to meet you as a candidate. They want to see whether you are considerable for a scholarship opportunity or not. They want to see whether you are ready when given such opportunity or not. You should be very clear about this that the scholarship provider does not want to see a person who is lack of certainty, determination, and self esteem. They do not want to give the scholarship money to people who look to them unmanagable and irresponsible. These are some individual characters that they want assess in people who are applying for an international scholarship.

When and where is the scholarship interview?

Once you receive a letter from the scholarship committee inviting you to attend the interview, the first important thing to be aware about is the location of the interview. It will be clearly indicated in the letter about when and where the
interview is going to be held, so you will have a straight information about these. The next step is to prepare yourself based on the information provided in the letter. Is it your city or do you have to travel to certain city to attend the interview?

If the interview is planned to be held in the city where you are now residing, then you are much more luckier than others who maybe have to travel to your city for the interview. It is not just about benefit of not having to travel and tiredness due to travelling, but it is also about other benefits. The interview will be in your own city, so your know exactly which building it is the interview venue as stated in the letter, how to get to the building and the venue, etc. You do not have to allocate time specifically for these and thus you can use your time to prepare other things.

What about if you are in the opposite position and have to travel to attend the interview? The first thing is to be honest to youself about how much you know about the city and the interview venue (building, street name, etc.). If you are not much sure about these, then you have to take steps to solve this matter. You can ask some people around if there are ones who are familiar with the city and its building and or you can consult with the internet. The more information you get the better. The most important thing in this step is to know where the building as the interview venue exactly is, how far it is from the place where you are going to stay or how much time you need from you place of stay to that building, etc.

The next crucial step is to decide the best way for you to get to the city. Use the most convenient way so that you are much less affected by the negative effects of travelling. Take an airline transportation if you have to or the most direct road route. Which ever transportation means you decide to use, you have to book transportation ticket as early as possible. Securing your ticket early will make you feel good and there is sometimes a disqounted price, too, for early bookings.

And when are you going to leave for the interview? It is you who knows the best. The only thing to remember is that it is strongly advisable to have sufficient time for you in your destined city to recover from travelling and most importantly to check the interview venue. This is very important! Allow a day or two before the interview day to inspect the bulding, time you need from your place to the building, room location, interview schedule, etc. All these is to make sure that you can get to the interview venue on the interview day on the right time with the very best feeling inside you. Again, it is important to allow sufficient time for you to make sure everything is ok before the interview day.