My JPA interview experience

12/4/2011 (Tuesday)


Bidang : Perubatan
Tempat : UTeM, Durian Tunggal, Melaka.
Panel : 1
Masa : 2.05-2.45 petang

I had to wake up earlier than usual because I had to go to school and certify my borang pengesahan pendapatan keluarga for my interview today.Then later I went to MES and about 11 my dad came to pick me up from work. He dropped me home and he went off to Melaka Raya. Meanwhile, I got ready for my interview. I could already feel the butterflies in my stomach. They felt like really huge butterflies. :p

 the pink baju kurung that i wore for my interview. borrowed it from iman :) thanks dear!

 from a far view

 me, taking a syok sendiri selca before leaving for UTeM :D

At the toilet of Dewan Besar, UTeM before interview. Sempat ambil gambar lagi hehe

Then at 12.30 we started on our journey to UTeM, Durian Tunggal. It took about 30 minutes to reach the campus and when we went inside we took the wrong turning, going left instead of right. We ended up driving to the exit gate. So my dad had to make a U-Turn and go back to the roundabout, turn right, then another roundabout, go straight to the Dewan Besar where the interview would be held. Upon arrival, my heart was beating super fast but I just kept on praying to God to grant me calmness and wisdom when speaking. I checked my details, my panel, my group members and signed the paper. We waited till about 1.45 and we were asked to go upstairs where the interview would be held.

This wasnt taken by me, I got it from google. But this was where my interview was held and believe me, boy was it HUGE! The hall could accomodate 5000 people!

We sat according to our panels and I got to know my group members. There were 2 boys, 1 indian and 1 malay. 3 girls including me were chinese. The boys and I applied for medicine whereas the 2 other girls applied for dentistry and pharmacy. Getting to know them helped because then during the interview I didnt feel shy and very nervous ( I WAS STILL NERVOUS!) as I wasn't being in the same room with total strangers. My panel had 3 interviewers. All men and all were Malays. They were friendly and started off the interview with a few pepatah Melayu, like tak kenal maka tak cinta. LOL! and they asked whether we had lunch etc.

We introduced ourselves briefly in BM. One advice from my sunbae, when talking about your achievements in co-cu, be brief as they have your list of achievements in front of them. So when it came to my turn, I said my name, school, family background and that I was a school prefect and I was in the Melaka team for the national english language debate 2009. I went on by saying that I want to study in the UK, and suddenly the head interrupted by saying, which university. The first name that came into mind was Imperial College London and he said, do you know how hard it is to get into that college? and how expensive it is? I replied yes I know it is expensive, so I'm satisfied with the best the government can give to me. :p

When I heard the others saying their achievements I was like wow. They are so active in co-cu, but the thing is when they start to list out a LONG list of their achievements, they tend to forget what they are saying and then begin to stutter. So, just make the introduction brief and be sure of the country you want to go to. The girl that applied for dentistry said that she wanted to go to New Zealand. She was then asked, what is the national language of New Zealand, she immediately froze. Sit up straight, dont cross your legs, smile, speak confidently and clearly. These tips I got from the internet We were then asked questions like :

1) bagaimana tahap kesihatan penduduk Malaysia dapat ditingkatkan

2) about 1Malaysia : what would be your immediate response if a foreigner asked you about 1Malaysia and how would you explain the concept to him/her

3) as little ambassadors overseas, what do you understand about being a little ambassador

4) what do you understand about Wawasan 2020.

5) The money used to send one student overseas can be used to send 5 students to UM to study, what do you feel about this

6) What would be your alternative if you didnt get the scholarship for the bidang you wanted?

My panel had many questions and there was one where I couldnt find a reply to the interviewer's response. He asked me, its a tough question right? I laughed and I said yes. They were friendly and I found the interview very relaxing compared to my Sunway interview. I went home knowing that I may and may not get the scholarship, but the most important thing was that I gained an experience which I will never forget.