Most embarrassing moment in a university interview?

This is an oppurtunity for students to tell all of their funny/embarrassing moments when interviewing - maybe you made a really stupid response, or lied dramatically etc :smile:

My experience at Queen Mary:
Interviewer - So why did you choose QMUL?
Me - I love the prospects that the university of London will bring me, I actually applied to Royal Holloway too.
Interviewer - Which do you like more? (He was joking, but I didn't realise)
Me - Oh, I think RHUL just a tad at the moment.

Only afterwards I realised how stupid my comment was, but I got an offer in the end so all is good.

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Reply 1

Top Banana

At an interview at Keele University, the only question was stumped by was 'why do you want to come here?' Didnt have an answer then, and still dont now... :')

Reply 2

Ms.LastMinute.com

'Hiiiiiiiii' :excited:

oh i mean....

'Good afternoon' :indiff:

Reply 3

A level Az

Having such an uncomfortable chair that I have no idea how to sit on it, and spend the whole interview shuffling aroud :angry:

Reply 4

ITGIRL

Telling him that his job will be mine in 5 years :laugh:

Reply 5

Flyteryder

Interviewer: "Why do you want to be an adult nurse, instead of a children's nurse?"

Me: "I don't like children. It sounds evil but I just don't get on with children and wouldn't want to treat them. I've never gotten on with children."

I got an offer but I felt so stupid afterwards.

Reply 6

Planar

I was asked (although this was in a job interview) what I thought I would get out of the job. I said my friends did it and I thought I would get something out of it. It was only afterwards that I realised how retarded that answer was...

Reply 7

mackemforever

Original post by Flyteryder

Good on you for giving an honest answer rather than trying to come up with what seems like the "correct" response.

Reply 8

imy7

I was in a group interview and was talking about some subject or another, and I suddenly just stopped because I couldn't for the life of me think of the word I was trying to say. The other people in the interview even started trying to help me out and guess the word I had forgotten (but failed) so I just sat there basically in silence with an entire group of people staring at me while I tried to think of the word or even a similar one. It was physically painful.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 9

magdaplaysbass

At my first Imperial Interview, I was asked to sketch a difficult graph. So he started talking me through it
Interviewer: If we look at the x-axis, we see that pi is three
Me: Sorry, did you just say that pi is three? (i didn't hear what he said properly, so i just wanted him to repeat it... realising after I said it that not only did I know what he meant, but that I also sounded like an idiot :s-smilie:

)
Interviewer: (Giving me a weird look) err, yeah - for the purpose of this question
Me: :colondollar:

kind of reminded me of this a little:

Got an offer though, so I guess it wasn't all that bad. :smile:

Reply 10

Pandabär

Oxford: 'So, tell us what you thought about this book you read...'

Me (mind blank): 'errr...what book?!'

(I feel I should mention in my defence that I DID eventually remember what on earth they were talking about and answer them properly. Still probably looked quite bad though...)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 11

syrettd

Original post by Flyteryder

Haha, love it! I can just imagine you being asked to treat a child and being like "No. Let them suffer!"

Reply 12

username454192

My UCL interviewer had researched me in advance, googled my email address, and proceeded to go through my Twitter posts which included a joke about dodging A-level maths classes to go to the chippy. I still got an offer.

Reply 13

IamBeowulf

Original post by Tolth

If that was anyone else it would count as stalking.

Reply 14

username454192

Original post by IamBeowulf

If that was anyone else it would count as stalking.

Employers and Uni admissions people frequently go through your net presence these days. My advice would be to make sure that your UCAS is made using a separate formal email so they can't find you online.

Reply 15

Supermassive_muse_fan

Medicine interview - question about multi-disciplinary team involved in sending home elderly patient with knee replacement, was going to say social worker but mind went totally blank and just said 'those people from the council...'. :redface:

Can laugh at it now but back then, sat in the room with 4 interviewers = embarassing.

Also I was reading about interview etiquette and whether to answer tea/coffee/water when asked and how to do the perfect handshake (well come on, it could be my only chance to get into Medicine) and I read that to subliminally show authority you should be the one leading the handshake rather than them... and add that to multiple coffees and stress, I kinda shook their hands too hard and when I got up to leave they just waved at me. Awkward haha.

This all happened at the same interview too (St Georges) and no offer surprisingly... *cough* but strangely enjoyed this interview the most (well the pre-interview phase with all the applicants, it was brilliant. No one was sat quietly reading their notes or looking worried, we all just got into a circle and chatted and started joking around like what would happen if you put your hand up to do a handshake with the interviewers and they leave you hanging - 'I was just testing the humidity of the room. And it's fine.' :awesome:

)

Also once (in a mock interview, not real) compared myself to a Nissan Micra :facepalm:

, I thought they asked 'what car do you have' instead of 'what car would you be' and when asked why:

'Erm - it's economical and so pretty efficient in everything I do. It's also cheap (at this moment thinking 'oh dear how do I get out of this hole' and why did I just say that?!), so... erm a lot of people can buy it which is similar to me because I erm can assert myself in a range of situations and I'm great under pressure. And Medicine has a range of specialities of which I'm interested in. :s-smilie:

'

Still get asked if I'm a Nissan Micra if I ever bump into the same people again. :redface:

(and no, not a Micra anymore :tongue:

)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 16

cosmobear92

Original post by Tolth

Ah man, that's a bit scary.

Er I somehow got on to Alan Sugar ( :s-smilie:

) whilst discussing the pros and cons on fluoridating water ... to this day I have no clue why or the relevance :facepalm:

Reply 17

harh

I laughed at my own joke, which really wasn't funny.

The four interviewers, however, just watched me in awkward silence.

Reply 18

AreebWithaHat

Posted this on the med forum as well :smile:

This Chinese doctor walked me from the waiting room to the interview room, and whilst he was walking me down he was being really nice and asking how the tour was etc. Then the interview starts, and first is a transplant surgeon asking me questions and he's really nice and encouraging. He said some of my answers were very good and I was thinking outside the box, and they were pretty standard questions as well tbh. Then it's the Chinese doctors turn and I think to myself "oh, this guy seemed really nice, I'll just ace his questions and then I'm in-jobs a good 'un". But he jumps straight in:
"How would you persuade a fellow Muslim that the theory of evolution is correct?
"Ermm.. scientific evidence and stuff...?"
"Like what?"
"Fossil records and genome comparisons"
"And?"
"Sorry, I don't know"
"Hmm..ok, let's move on. You must have been asleep in your Biology lessons!"
*nervous laugh* "Haha, yeah that's right" (I started laughing very hard at his joke which I didn't find funny)
"Ok, so your friend has the answers for your medical final exam what would you do?"
*Give an answer talking about integrity and professionalism yet compassion and love for my colleague, and how I would not look at the answers*
"But reeallly?...Are you sure you wouldn't have a look?"
"Yes, I definitely wouldn't"
"Really? I'm sure if I was a medical student, I'd have a hard time not looking"
"To be honest, in the situation I might be tempted to have a good look through the answers"
"That's not very good is it?! What happened to honesty?"

Seriously, I think he found it funny to toy with me like that :tongue:

Reply 19

rohitbd

My Barts Medicine interview

Interviewer: So why do you wish to study here?

Me: Blah Blah and oh, I love how people in East London get sick a lot. :tongue:

The interviews just laughed, and then I tried and brought it back to how it would give me lots of experience, but my god it was really embarrassing and stupid.