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Tips for Scholarship Interviews


One of the most nerve-wracking parts of applying for and getting scholarships is scholarship interviews. Many people have trouble with interviews and public speaking, and it's completely understandable. The goal of a scholarship interview is to judge your worthiness for the scholarship and let the scholarship committee meet you and ask you any questions that they might have.

If you want to increase your chances at winning scholarships, then it is in your best interest to take the following steps and heed this information, as it will make you a better scholarship interviewee and make sure that you make a lasting impression on the committee.

Rehearse Your Answers
One of the best things that you can do to prepare for scholarship interviews is to rehearse your answers. You should come up with a list of questions that you think they might ask you and practice answering them until you are satisfied. Make sure that you challenge yourself with the questions and don't only ask yourself questions that are easy to answer.

Let Your Personality Show
Scholarship committees may interview hundreds of people a year. When that is the case, it can be hard to stand out. So, when you are in an interview, you should be professional, but still try to be memorable. The best way to do this is to simply relax and be yourself. Don't be afraid to let your humor or personality show in a tasteful way. This is a fine line, as you don't want to offend the committee.

Practice Interviews
If you are applying for scholarships that could require an interview, you should be practicing as much as possible. This means not only rehearsing your answers, but having a real, live person ask you questions and practicing answering them. This could provide you with a way to overcome any fear or anxiety that you have when being interviewed.

Be On Time
This goes without saying, but if you want to make a good impression on the committee, please make sure that you arrive on time. Being late could show that you don't care much about the interview or worse, that your tardy habits extend beyond just your interview appointments. Make sure that you are able to arrive a bit early.

Presentation Matters
When you make an appointment for an interview, make sure that you have the proper clothing. Typically, the best clothing to wear for a scholarship interview is business casual. This isn't too hard to pull off. For a much more formal interview, you could consider wearing formal wear such as a suit.

Ask Questions
When in your interview, you should try to ask questions about the scholarship. The committee wants to see that the person that they award the scholarship to has an actual interest in it and has a natural curiosity. When you ask questions, you show your interest in the scholarship and that you have many thoughts about it. This could impress the committee and set you apart from the competition.