How To Prepare for a University Interview

Around this time of year, everything can seem a bit hectic - you might have just submitted your UCAS application, and could already be starting to hear back from some of your chosen universities. However, for some students, this means the next dreaded barrier of admissions - interviews. Don't worry, here's a few tips on how to prepare; but feel free to add your own experiences/questions in the replies below. :biggrin:

Do Your Research Beforehand!
Research can often seem like the scariest part of interview prep - but in reality, you probably know a lot more already than you might think!
Your interviewers won't be expecting an expert-level degree of knowledge in your chosen course or field (that’s what you're there to learn, after all!), but it's always helpful to go over a few pointers on why you're interested in studying the course further and any industry related topics/movements you've recently read up on. Make sure to also learn a bit more about the course modules and the university facilities themselves - ‘Why do you want to study at — University?’ is a common interview question that students don't always prepare for!

Be Punctual!
Whether it's an in-person interview or a Zoom call, being punctual is a great way to demonstrate to your interviewer that you're serious about studying the course. Admittedly, it can be hard to strike a balance between being too early and too late - however, for in-person interviews, ten minutes early is commonly agreed to be the ideal arrival time, whilst for online interviews this is likely a bit shorter at around five minutes or so.

Speak Naturally!
Although you should obviously avoid overly informal and inflammatory language in an interview, it's equally important to make sure you don't read everything off of a page in front of you and sound too rehearsed in your responses. A university interview is often more of a conversation than a formal question and answering session, so feel free to adapt your answers as you go along and speak as you generally would.

Stay Calm!
Okay, okay - this one is a lot easier said than done. However, there are a few practical ways you can stay calm and reduce nerves before your interview: remember to drink lots of water, take a few deep breaths, and remind yourself that regardless of what happens, it's not the end of the world and you'll eventually end up where you're supposed to be. :wink: