How to Prepare for a Scholarship Interview?I. Before the interview— Preparatio

How to Prepare for a Scholarship Interview?
Good morning, everyone. Today, we are going to talk about one very important topic: how to prepare for a scholarship interview. What’s an interview about? Well, being invited to one means your application documents are all right and that you made it over the first part of the application process. It also usually means that you’re in a "now or never" kind of situation. Hard but true, screw the interview and you’re out, no matter how fine your application is. This is why you definitely should prepare before the interview. And I am going to approach the topic in three aspects. First of all, before the interview.
Preparation before an interview is a must. Before stepping into the interview room, you should document in detail about the program you are applying to, the kind of question you expect to be asked, how long the interview will last, etc.
First, try to read as much as possible about the scholarship program you have applied to.[l]/[2]Look at what subjects you’ll study, how many they will be, how much freedom you have in choosing the subjects, how your work will be assessed, professors, the size of the department, student-faculty ratio, accommodation, extracurricular activities. In short, try to get an as exact as possible image about what you’ll do if you get the scholarship. Write down whatever is of interest to you, what is not clear, or what you’d like to find out more about. During the actual interview, there’s almost always a time when it’s your turn to ask questions and you’ll want to have some useful questions to ask.
Second, re-read the announcement. Examine the requirements,[3]think of reasons and examples that prove you can meet those requirements. Very probably, you’ll be asked questions about that during the interview.[4]Attention: don’t exaggerate, you’ll seem overqualified, and don’t lie, it may sound paranoid, but you never know how "they" will be able to double check what you say. Look at the scholarship description: what recommends you for that thing? That’s another probable question. In some interviews, the question will be even more direct: why are you the best for that place? You’d better have some answer here.[5]And be convinced that you are the best: it will show during the interview, and help increase your chances.
Third, try to find out how long the interview will last,[6]who’s gonna be your interviewer, even, if possible, what topics are of most interest to him/her and will show up during the discussion. Of course, that is easier to do if you get the invitation by phone, but there’s always a second option:[7]do some digging in their website, some useful material may show up, or get in contact with persons who have been through the interview before you.
Secondly, during the interview.
[8]On the day of the interview, bring with you a copy of all your application documents, and an updated CV. The interviewer will very probably not accept new documents and have its own copy of those files, but you never know when an extra copy is needed during the discussion.
Besides, you’d better dress formally. Even if you’re one of those lucky programmers about whom nobody really cares how they dress when go to work, still wear a suit during the interview, or at least matching trousers and blazer, and of course, a shirt and a tie. Have your mom or roommate check they go fine with each other.
The discussion will usually start with some informal chitchat, meant to warm the atmosphere and to make you look less stressed.[9]Smile when you enter and while saluting. Enter the game of chit-chat, while remaining polite and relaxed. The serious questions will start arriving soon. Towards the end of the interview, you will probably be asked if you have any questions of yourself. Remember, you have those prepared already. At the very end, as the last question you have,[10]ask for feedback on your performance. Not only because it looks good in the eyes of the interviewer, but also because you wanna know what you did fine and what not, and what could you do better next time.
Here’s some other dos and don’ts during an interview:
1.[11]Try not to dominate the discussion by speaking too much or too loud. Let the interviewer have the initiative when talking takes enough time to make your points clear. Also pay attention in order to avoid a dominant body-language.
2. Don’t criticize friends, competitors for the same thing, current university, etc. The reason you should get what you’re after is because you are very good at it and not because the others are bad.[12]Criticism will decrease your credibility: what will keep you from criticizing the same position you are now after?
3.[13]Don’t bring financial aspects into discussion yourself. In the case of scholarships, the sums are fixed and clearly stated from the beginning, there’s nothing to negotiate.
4. Unless there’s a scholarship for minorities or disabled persons,[14]don’t bring personal aspects into discussion. The interviewer cares less about where you sleep, and more about what you know and can do.
Thirdly, after the interview.
If you have the e-mail or mail contact of the interviewer, write a "thank you" note. That’s a good occasion to:
1. thank the interviewer for his/her time and the interesting discussion you had.
2. make him/her remember you’re better than the other people he/she met that day.
3. remember the most important elements that make your application so valuable.
[15]You should do that on the day of the interview, and in not more than 3-4 paragraphs.
OK. I think I have covered the three stages of going through an interview. Actually, the interview would not be such a stressful event, should you have the occasion to go through, say, 200 of them. Since this is not the case, intensive preparation will have to do. So do it carefully, it might be this interview that will get your future started.