JPA Program Mahasiswa Cemerlang 2015 Interview Tips

Update 22/8/2015: If you have been awarded the scholarship and have inquiries about the documents/contract head on over to a Facebook group created solely for PMC scholars. See you there!

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Update 15/8/2015: Results were out yesterday, to those who secured the scholarship congratulations on being a step closer to furthering your studies. To those who didn't, I wish you all the best and may Allah give the best for you none the less. 

As for me, my funding pursuits end here. Alhamdulillah for this opportunity. A winding and treacherous road still lies ahead. May Allah ease :)

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Update 11/8/2015: Results are coming out on the 14th of August 2015, 5PM. All the best guys! May Allah ease :)

Click on the photo to go to JPA's website

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In my efforts to pursue my postgraduate dreams in the UK, there comes the long question of finding financial funding to actually realise that dream. 

And alhamdulillah, being selected to undergo an interview for JPA's Program Mahasiswa Cemerlang (PMC) Scholarship is one such effort. It's a scholarship specific for postgraduate students furthering studies in local/abroad institutions. 

The interview was held on 25th June 2015, during Ramadhan season. I like doing interviews while fasting, I think it brings a higher sense of peace and you're not so easily distracted by your hunger haha. 

It was my first time attending JPA's interview for educational sponsorship. And this one is definitely a tough one. But knowing how tough the process already is, I guess I wasn't expecting much and I was calm throughout the whole ordeal and just picked up lessons from myself and the other candidates on how to perform better in interviews. So, here's a breakdown of what happened.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED: 

First, if you're selected, you're gonna need to prepare some documents: 

I found the plan of study a bit challenging to prepare, but if you have your institution's course book then you just write down what subjects you'll be taking that semester as well as the points aforementioned by JPA.

1st SESSION: GROUP INTERVIEW

So I had my interview on the last days of the session, which I don't think is that advantageous. There probably had been far more competent candidates on previous days. But you do your best with what you're given with, no? I was placed in a group of other postgrad candidates of 4 girls and 2 boys. 

We were all from local institutions, and only 2 of us are furthering our studies overseas while the others continued in local ones. We were brought into a room consisting of 2 interviewers, both males. We sat in a straight line and the session lasted for 90 minutes. 

What happened during the interview: 

1. Candidates were asked about CURRENT ISSUES happening in Malaysia and asked to elaborate or give relevant opinions. 
2. Candidates were given certain problems regarding Malaysian's current issue and propose solutions to address them 
3. You can answer in either BM/English but if the interviewer specifically requests for answers in English, you will have to abide to it

Helpful tips I picked up during the interview: 

1. Always read newspapers and be in the loop of our nation's development programmes. They want to see students who are not only academically qualified, but have a keen interest in national and international news.
2. Structure your sentences before answering them. You don't want to keep on repeating your point when it could have been concise and direct. No one likes a candidate who talks in repeat
3. Give answers that are relevant and address the issue.
4. Answer creatively as possible when given a problem. Try to focus more on global standards or national development instead of focusing on individual problems
5. Speak up and be confident of your ideas. The interviewer will challenge them, so make sure you've got a solid point and ain't BS-ing around
6. Stand out. Either through your appearance or speech or thoughts, find the one thing about yourself you can present well, and do it. 

2nd SESSION: GROUP PRESENTATION

Right after the first session, we were brought into a room with another 2 interviewers and split into 2 groups. Each group was given it's own topic to find solutions to and given 20 minutes to do research and prepare a presentation. The whole session took roughly about an hour. 

This was a tough one as they want to see your resourcefulness when working in groups. I found this the most difficult as it's very challenging working with people you've only just known a couple of hours before. This session was the part where I didn't do my best, I believe. 

But some lessons I learned along the way include: 

1. Use Pareto Law to solve problems. Focus on top 20% root causes that are causing 80% of the problem. I actually forgot to use this during the session, and mentally kicked myself afterwards. Sigh. 
2. Take control of your team if you think they're going a bit out of hand
3. Let everyone contribute ideas, but organize them before presenting
4. Be serious, I find it off-putting that some of them were giggling and joking around when time is surely not on our side
5. Never dominate the group. Bring out the best in everyone

GENERAL TIPS:

There are some additional things I found to be helpful in preparing for the interview:

1. Always plan ahead (documents, journey, outfit, etc). Havoc is not what you want right before an interview, at least not for me anyway
2. Dress appropriately, make a good first impression
3. Develop your communication skills from early on (includes improving your English)
4. Make friends with your groupmates. It helps to calm down those nerves. And who knows, you might meet someone really interesting that makes the waiting period fly by! 
5. Help one another out when possible. Cause watching others stammer or stuck for answers is really frightening

So yeah that's pretty much it. A very short interview session but a tough process. I hope it helps you in your journey to postgraduate studies. As for me, I'll keep on striving and finding ways for ends to meet. Also, thanks to the friends I've made along the way and all the best guys! :)

IELTS Steps & Preparation Tips

So I've been preparing a few documents for postgraduate submissions and I've noticed some of them do require an English Proficiency Test Result such as IELTS, TOEFL or PTE. IELTS stands for International English Language Test System and the method of testing is recognized and approved in all institutions.
You're lucky if the university you're applying to can waive IETLS and use your SPM 1119 results, or known as GCE-O Levels. The universities I was interested in did not waive IELTS and I decided to sit for my IELTS exam and get it done with.  Despite UTP conducting lectures in English as the main language, I couldn't waive it. But after experiencing the IELTS process, it is fairly easy and a high band is possible with the right strategies :D 

STEP 1: Booking a test date

There are 2 types of IELTS exams: General and Academic. If you're pursuing studies abroad, Academic is what you'll be sitting for. Otherwise, General's the way to go.

You can always check for dates of the tests in the British Council page and choose that suits you. You can also select locations that you are nearest to. Now, my case is a bit different as I didn't register through BC. I took it at International Yayasan College Melaka (ICYM) as it is one of the locations in South Peninsular that BC holds its exams at. I registered directly with them. You have to register manually and they don't accept online application. But if you're applying through BC, I believe online applications are acceptable.

Usually the exams are split into 2 days. Listening, Reading and Writing are taken on the same day while Speaking is on a different day. So just check the dates properly and plan your journey well ;) 

STEP 2: Payment and Login Code

Now that you're registered with BC, you'll get your own online tutorial code to login online and begin your "training". 

Here is practically where the fun begins. 

I highly recommend you to do ALL of the tutorials and watch ALL of the video tips. They are seriously, seriously helpful and you can even track your progress and compare with the average candidate. I found this to be really great in identifying areas I'm weak in. And they are pretty accurate too. 

STEP 3: Sitting for the Exams

Once you're prepped and loaded with IELTS lessons in your head, you're good to go! The exam consists of 4 sections: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. I've outlined some general tips on how to score for each section: 

Listening: 

This part has 4 sections you'll have to answer while listening to a pre-recorded conversation. Time: 40 minutes. Bear in mind the voices on the recording will have European accents (British, Scottish, French) or plain ol' American. So make sure you familiarize yourself with these kinds of slang and different word usage. 

The most fun way to get used to it? WATCH MOVIES AND SERIES! It's time to get out your How I Met Your Mother or Agents of Shield or even 1995's Pride and Prejudice series and familiarize yourself with how those Westerners talk. 

Reading:

This part also has 4 sections and you get 1 hour to read all 4 longgggg passages and complete the questions. A good tip I adapted for this exam was reading the first and last paragraph first. And then you read the first sentence (topic sentence) of each paragraph. Don't take too long to read everything. Most of the information are just an elaboration of the main point which is what the questions target. 

I particularly loved this part because I'm such an avid reader ;) 

Writing: 

This section requires you to write 2 types of essays: a short analysis of any trends/graphs they give and a longer essay of your opinions towards a topic given. Write cohesive sentences and never forget topic sentences. Read up on great ways to write formal reports and brush up on general information. It's a pretty straightforward test and never forget to give a wide variety of vocabulary. 

Speaking:

This section only takes 15 minutes and you'll be talking about general topics. This part is a little tricky in my opinion if you're not used to conversing in English, because you definitely can't practise in 2 weeks on how to improve your speaking skills. This section is just a snapshot of how well you currently speak in English. 

So if you're still young (at heart), begin practising like right now! Every moment counts in improving your English and always always get feedback from people you're talking to. Be open on their feedback and practise some more. The more you read and listen to English, the more your brain picks up proper grammar and you'll slowly adapt to it.

Step 4: Results

So after the grueling sessions you just went through, all you have to do now is WAIT. Results are usually out after 2 weeks. You can check online here and wait for the test form a few days after. Usually you go back to your test centre and collect the test form or have it couriered to you. Test forms are the only forms universities accept, not the online results. 

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So I hope these tips help you in some way. All the best and have faith in yourself! And may your dreams in learning/living abroad come true :) 

Note: I didn't take any extra classes and just used the RoadsToIelts tutorials and managed to get a band 8. So those REALLY helped. That and also reading and regularly conversing in English haha. These methods are free so make use of it! Otherwise BC would charge you around RM990 for its classes. Imagine the amount of books you can buy *swoons* 

Thinking for the Future

Ahhh midnight thoughts have brought me here. I needed to write about how I've been thinking about my future for the past 6 months or so.

Graduating is some scary business. There are so many opportunities out there: 

• Get a job
• Take professional classes (safety, chemical, etc)
• Further studies
• Get married (yeah, not really, not yet more like. LOL)

Anyway, I've been seriously considering Option #3, furthering my studies. It's always been this hidden intention to continue my studies in the UK. And well, last semester I started gathering information on prospective institutions that would accept little ol' me and what opportunities lay ahead. 

It wasn't easy at first, deciding to take the first step in researching about Master's degrees in engineering. But I think what hooked me was the feeling I felt when I opened up the programme's webpage. Reading the modules and courses offered made my blood rush and I felt excited. Scared of course, but so so excited. Sure the fees kind of pulled me hard off Cloud 9, but nonetheless I made up my mind as I browsed through the entry requirements. And I found myself thinking:

"I'm actually eligible for all of these programmes, what's the harm in trying to go on this adventure?"

 And I started researching more and more, seeking blogs of students in the UK or having recently graduated from there. I met with my lecturers and they gave me valuable feedback and support on my potential. I've never thought myself to be smart enough for postgraduate studies, but I realised that if I don't try to even plan for this journey, I'll ALWAYS keep looking back and wonder what COULD HAVE happened if I did take those difficult first steps. 

I realised soon enough that it's not gonna be easy going on this journey alone when your other friends are preparing for working life. But I want to challenge myself. I no longer just want to go overseas to get the experience, I need that experience because there are opportunities there for me to improve my technical skills and understand the complex human beings around me. I intend to apply for good jobs in the future insyAllah, but in order for me to present myself well, I know attempting this quest will make me a better person and a better candidate in anyone's organization. 

So here's to this scary quest in challenging myself to go where I'll be all by myself and far away from m family *trembles*. Here's to many more adventures where I end up in places I've never thought little ol' me could go to.