JPA-MARA SCHOLARSHIP INTERVIEW SESSION (2023 edi.)
Bismillah (In the name of Allah),
Assalamulaikum and good day to all my beloved readers! How are you guys doing? I hope everything’s fine.
Actually, It’s been a while since I don’t post anything here. I’m quite busy lately 👀 So, as you guys can see from the title of this post, I want to share a little bit of my experience with the JPA-MARA scholarship interview session.
I chose the New Zealand twinning program under the Accounting course as I want to be a chartered accountant. Well, explore more about all the programs here 👇
https://pocketdatav2.jpa.gov.my/public/2437761f2958febbebf48ff841ee189a
When I know that I passed for the next stage which is SAC (Student Assessment Centre), I can feel the adrenaline rush as my heart was beating so fast. It's a mixed feeling, yeah!
You know right the feeling that you really want this program, but, at the same time, you also have self-doubt over yourself. But, chaiyookkk genk!
Okay, stawpp!!!
INDIVIDUAL PART
Here are some of the questions they asked during the interview 👥 :
1. Tell me about yourself
***the assessor has told us to talk about:
-your name
-your education background (your previous school)
-what program do you want to choose?
-what university do you want to further your degree?
2. Related question
a. A: UK for engineering, she got a question:
Can you survive in a cold area?
b. B: Medic, she got a question:
Can you live far from your family?
c. C: UK for engineering got:
Tell me more about your course (something like that I guess)
d. D: New Zealand for accounting (same as me ahah):
the assessor said that by today, there were already 5 candidates who also wanted to go to New Zealand for accounting, so she asked:
What's your strength? Why do we need to choose you?
e. E: It's my turn now, well, I'm the last one 😶
Act, when I explained about myself, the assessors kinda shocked ***perasan, again (perhaps, from her face) because I put data and statistics about C.A. and our country's aspiration (you can search for it later). So, my question was a little bit different.
You know, right now, youngsters don't want to contribute to our country, especially in the professional sector like as an accountant. So, to overcome this problem, the government decided to hire foreigners for this position. What do you think?
***I just bantai on this part, omooo
3. What do you know about self-belonging?
Here comes the 'krik krik' part. Act, I want to answer about it, but, again, I was not that confident though. As I saw my friends' faces clueless about the question, so, I chose to remain silent 😣
DON'T FOLLOWWW MEEEE!!!
Hence, he changed the question to:
Hari kemerdekaan sudah hampir kan? Jadi mesti ada yang mengibarkan jalur gemilang. Mengapakah anda rasa perkara tersebut penting?
***He said that this question is the same concept as that self-belonging thing, haiyaa..
4. University life won't be the same as your high school life. In high school, we gotta have 5 years before a big exam (SPM). In university, you'll have around four months before the exam. So, how would you manage your time?
That's the end of the individual part. Now, let's move to LDK!!!
LDK PART
We have 10 minutes to discuss the topic given. You can choose whether to agree or not with the question. But, all of us chose to disagree.
In that 10 minutes, you need to have 10 points and each of us needs to have 2 points for the presentation part.
TIPS: Okay, for this part, it's really important for you to know or have a simple conversation first before you enter for this part with your team. So, you won't be that awkward. Treat them as your friends (even if you don't even know them before) not as competitors, okay? Fortunately, I got a very supportive yet friendly teammate.
Okay. So, for this part, you really need to actively participate, yeah! Don't be too shy, too quiet, or too introvert (even if you're, just like me 😶) because, you gonna go through this once in a lifetime. So, grab this opportunity, bestie!
After that, we presented our ideas in front of them. Okay, at first, I thought the presentation will be like at school (you need to stand up, next to a whiteboard with mahjong paper and so on) LMAO. But, you just need to sit on the chairs that have been arranged in a row. Just raise your hand and start presenting your ideas.
So, for this part, the interviewer will give you a question that is related to your ideas (untuk patahkan hujah kalian). But, when it was my turn, you know the 'krik-krik' moment came again. After few seconds passed by, then I said "Itu sahaja daripada saya." And, guess what?! The interviewer said "Next." So I was like shaking and felt anxious over my points. Why they didn't ask me the following question? Nevertheless, I tried to chill and calm down.
Afterwards, there will be a question that's related to the topic:
So, everyone shared their experience in high school. Many of them came from boarding schools like SBP, MRSM, etc. Yet me, I'm from Maktab Mahmud. So, my experience is kinda a bit diff. as a maahadian. So, I shared about how we had ISTAD while in Form 4, so we already got the ideas about how we gonna sit for SPM next year. Bla bla bla-
***Well, this part turned out to be like a story session, yeah know! So, don't worry too much okay for the interview session. All the assessors are so kind and friendly. I hope you guys will have that type of interviewers, too!
BONUS PART
Before I signed off, the interviewers asked us if we had any questions. So, one of my friends raised her hand and said, "Is there anything that we can improve ourselves for the next interview session?"
So, can I spill them here? So, it's not just me and my friend who can improve, but all of us.
1. Behave
She mentioned that our group is 'behave'. 😳😳😳 hahahahaha
But, she said that there were certain people from the rest who were not, based on her experience. For instance, your body position while you sit. Please don't 'kangkang' while you sit.
Apart from that, please be aware of your facial expression. Keep on smiling. Have eye contact too, okay!
2. Participate actively in the 'group' part
There were some candidates who didn't give their ideas while discussing. There was also a group that already discussed who wants to present first and so on. There was also type of candidate that when somebody asked for his opinion, just shrugged his shoulder yet being a copycat (salin semua idea kawan-kawan je). ***Segalanya diperhatikan tanpa anda sedari,ya! 👀👀
3. Don't reject the scholarship (I guess)
There was one candidate that when the interviewer asked, "why did you come for this interview session?" Then, he answered, "just to gain experience. Even if I don't get this scholarship, I will also go to that university. Self-sponsored." DANGGG! Awal-awal tolak suda kamu biasiswa ini, bagaimana mahu dapat?
4. Be honest
Even though this is the last tip, this is the most crucial one above all.
If you think, that you can't answer the question given to you, don't you ever 'goreng' the fact. For example, if the assessor asks you about something related to Marijuana (ganja), climate change or anything... And, you literally have no idea about the question, again, BE HONEST. Just tell them that you don't know about the topic. Why? Because they can really see whether you have knowledge or not about the topic.
That's why doing research about current breaking news, and hot topics about global issues is really vital, okay?
Nonetheless, tell them that you really want to know more about the topic. So, you'll do research more about it later.
5. Speak clearly
She said, when you speak slowly or mumble, there will be two reasons why:
I. lack of confidence
II. not really sure about your facts
You also know what are the consequences, right? Perhaps, your marks will be deducted.
That's all from me. Hope you will get any scholarship that you've dreamed for. I pray the best for you guys, too! Keep on spirit! Make sure that you're well-prepared before you go to SAC, okay!
Keep on praying, too. Have faith in Him.
***OUH! Before I forgot. Today, 18.7.2023 or 29 Zulhijjah 1444. So, for this 'Awal Muharram', I hope that 1445 will be a better year for us. May we be a better version of us too. Azam baharu. Semangat baharu. Semoga lebih banyak juga kejayaan untuk kita, negara dan ummah yang dapat kita kecapi. Ameen.
Malaysia (18/7/2023, 20:20)
Best wishes,
ISMAS
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