University Interview Tips

By En

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If you want to go to university, odds are you’ll have to do an interview to get in. Waiting to get an interview can take ages, (the longest I waited was 2 months), but that’s just the beginning. I remember worrying about what to wear, what to say, and how to impress the interviewers. After five interviews, I started to get the hang of it. Here are the things I learnt and what I feel worked out for me. These can all be transferred to any other interviews, but I’ve put these into the context of  university!

• What to wear-  -
  

What you wear to an interview is more important than anyone realises because it’s your chance to create a good a first impression, and how you present yourself massively impacts what the interviewers think. This was a massive worry for me. I remember panicking about what to wear; do I dress nice? Smart? Casual? What I found was that dressing smart casual worked seemed like the best option that worked for me. I had two interview outfits, one was consisted of smart trousers and a plain t-shirt, and the other was a simple pair of then some jeans, a plain t-shirt and a nice jacket. Both looked formal nice, but were still casual enough. 

• How to hold yourself:   -
  

This probably sounds stupid, but posture and body language makes a difference. Nerves can definitely hinder add something to this, but the advice that  I was given told (something that I’ve kept with me) is - if you’re nervous about something, it shows that you care. Open body language is what’s best. Avoid crossing your arms, maybe just keep them in your lap-. I struggled with this one because being in an interview, it’s a very vulnerable position to be in. I wanted to hide myself, but what can you do in that situation? To help with nerves, I wore a bobble on my wrist and fiddled with that, which also  it stopped me from crossing my arms. 

• Be prepared-      -
  

You may be asked to bring a CV, headshot, portfolio, examples of your work, anything relevant to the course. For mine, I always took my portfolio, but I wasn’t asked for CVs or headshots often. The one interview I had where they wanted those two, I completely forgot about them. Don’t worry if you forget something though- I still managed to get in after forgetting them  two things they asked for! But don’t be prepared just material wise, but p Prepare for questions, too . Questions such as - why do you want to do this course? Why do you want to come here? When did you start getting involved in this? And then questions based on whatever additional materials you show. you take. I took my portfolio and got questioned on almost every single thing in there. A lot of people advised me I had was to hold mock interviews with friends. I personally  didn’t do this, but if you feel that it might as if it’ll work for you, then go for it!

• Ask questions-   -
  

Usually, I never ask questions. Even if I need to. Something about it scares me. But asking  some advice I had when I was preparing for interviews was to ask questions. Shows  that you’re interested. I didn’t give have an interview where I didn’t ask questions. I ensured that I  had a mental stack to choose from - what do you expect from students? What kind of work is given during the term? How many students get jobs after finishing the course? I once had an interview where they answered every question throughout the tour, so I had to get creative with what I asked. It’s always good to be prepared to think on the spot. I always asked when to expect a reply though-, mainly for my own piece of mind. 

• Be nice-   -
  

They’re not just looking at your competency capabilities. They’re looking at you as a person. Be nice. Smile. Talk to whoever you can. I found that this helped with my nerves too, because I had something that served as a distraction. They’ll remember someone who was genuinely nice. 

Interviews are stressful. I don’t think that they’ll ever change. But one thing I had to keep reminding myself was that I couldn’t change anything. I did my best and I couldn’t change anything that I did. I met some really nice people at interviews and (even with a very, very bad one), I wouldn’t change anything about them. If you have a bad interview, take it with a pinch of salt. It doesn’t define who you are or the start of your uni life. It doesn’t mean every interview you have is going to be bad after it. My bad interview was two days before my first choice, so that amped my nerves up. What I had to take away from that though was that I could keep the ball rolling and that my worth isn’t defined by anyone other than myself. 

The waiting after the interview is probably one of the most stressful parts. I had one interview where I got had a reply from the next day; , the other I waited five months. Of course, with the impact of COVID-19, the whole process was delayed for three of my interviews. Though I was lucky enough to have them all in person, the delay in other interviews and UCAS pausing replies didn’t help. Apparently my waiting period what I waited for isn’t too far away from that of normal circumstances what normally happens, but take my waiting time with a pinch of salt. If you’re worried that they might be taking too long, it’s always worth emailing or phoning just to check when you’ll get a response. 

Interviews will always be scary. No matter how much advice you get, it’s normal for them to be scary. Interviewers know this. Chances are they’ve been in your position before, so they’ll be sympathetic. I had two interviews where the interviewers were really empathetic about it it, because they’d all said they’d been in that chair before and they remembered how scary it was. We’re all human. That’s something to remember. 

I hope that this has helped and if you’re reading this to prepare for an interview, good luck!! You’ve got this!