Yesterday I went to my first university interview and it was
an experience.
Just for reference, I am applying to study midwifery.
Because of the nature of the course, there are a lot of aspects of the
application process that are very different to your standard course so if
you’re reading the following post thinking HOLY FUCK THIS SOUNDS HORRENDOUS IM
NEVER PUTTING MYSELF THROUGHT THIS AGGHH then don’t worry, you will probably
get a very different experience if you're applying to study geography or English!
I arrived at the university of Manchester 20 minutes before
the allocated start time of 9:30am. The whole process ran until 4pm which made
for a pretty exhausting day but I didn’t let it deter me. There were a few
talks, a few breaks giving us a chance to chat to one another and ask any
questions to the student midwives milling about, and then the afternoon came
which was basically when the proper interviewing began. There were 2 short
written tasks, one asking us to discuss an article or book we had recently read
on midwifery and the other requiring us to explain how we would cope with the
pressures of the training process, both of which were fine actually. We also
had to sit a maths test which at first glance gave be horrific GCSE maths
flashbacks but it was fine. Just basic mental arithmetic really. Then the big
boy interviews began.
The first was a group interview, consisting on many us
crammed into a waiting room, nervously chattering about the distance travelled,
is this our first interview etc. I have to say, the waiting was one of the most
torturous and terrifying experiences of my life. Being sat in a room knowing
that the next 5 minutes may well shape the rest of your life is horrendous.
Your group is called and a group of 7 or 8 of you follow into the next room and
sit in a circle in front of 3 really very lovely women. After the group
interview, it’s back to the waiting room to be called for 1 on 1 interviews. I
personally preferred this to the group as you are not only interviewed again by
the same women making you feel much more confortable, but you don’t feel under
as much pressure and you can take your time in putting your application
forward.
Overall I actually think I did quite well. I was red and hot
all day with a strange sensation of being in a bubble where my brain was 5
seconds behind my tongue, but apart from that I did my best to not be overly
intimidated by the DofE girl with maternity experience in 4 different African
countries and put my best case forward. My tongue struggled not to stick to the
roof of my mouth growing dryer and stickier as I spoke, but at least I remembered
to breath!
The feeling of being in that waiting room is almost indescribable.
As a 17 year old, you suddenly become very aware that you have genuinely never
wanted something so much in your entire life. This revelation can be hard to
cope with, but you have just grip onto it and use it as fuel in your interview.
All in all it’s pretty terrifying but the feeling of coming
out is like being on acid. The adrenaline carried me (almost) weightlessly on
the 20 minute walk to the station where I then proceed to collapse in an
emotional, exhausted heap on my train home.
I can’t really give you many tips in keeping calm apart from
take deep breaths, walk around if you can instead of sitting, keep your mouth
moving so it’s not a surprise in the interview when you open it up and word
manage to fall out and don’t drink too much water no matter how dry your mouth
is because you’ll just get more and more desperate for the toilet!
Good look to anyone with an interview coming up. When it’s over it’s over – don’t panic!
TTFN x
