出國(guó)留學(xué)，少不了面試關(guān)，下面出國(guó)留學(xué)網(wǎng)為你揭秘留學(xué)面試都喜歡問什么。
首先說(shuō)下面試的重要性：
Some schools invite applicants to a series of on-campus interviews ，while some gives phone interviews as the final step in the screening process. Some schools don't conduct interviews, but if they do and you're invited, you'll know that things are going well. Essentially, the school is telling you: "Look, we like you on paper. But we want to meet you in person to make sure that your marbles are in order before making a decision." Therefore，it's mean,” Your grad school interview can make or break your application”.
可見，能拿到面試的同學(xué)背景條件應(yīng)該都非常不錯(cuò)，已經(jīng)通過(guò)了初選 ，而接下來(lái)便是“成也面試，敗也面試”了。
那么面試都會(huì)考些什么呢?
Unlike the rest of the graduate admissions process, interviews don't follow a rule book. You won't really know what to expect, but there is something we do know： There are three features the faculties are looking for：
Your answer
How well you can organize your thinking
How well you express yourself
針對(duì)以上feature總結(jié)的小tips.
一、 Your Answer：
Your answer是面試中的核心部分，所以基本上大家都會(huì)在面試前會(huì)向?qū)W長(zhǎng)學(xué)姐取經(jīng)，逛論壇等盡可能的整理出question list，畢竟Preparing will help you look like less of a dunce.
所以小編也幫大家列出了10類常見問題：
① "Tell Me About Yourself"
This open-ended question has the potential to cause you to trip and plummet into a bottomless chasm. With spikes on the bottom. So don't take this four word question lightly. A strong answer establishes your status as a talented, motivated, and intriguing individual at the personal, academic, and extracurricular levels. You could start by explaining where you're from, where you grew up, and any interesting personal circumstances. Then talk about your undergraduate university, what you majored and minored in, and why you made those choices. Finally, close by talking about your extracurricular achievements – both in school and outside. Everything you say should build toward the idea that your life has naturally led you to apply to graduate school. Your answer should be a concise, one to two minute response, demonstrating your ability to synthesize and structure your thoughts.
② "Why Are You interested in This Field?"
If you haven't figured this out in your personal statement, you should go back to the drawing board. Basically, restate what you've written in your personal statement, but go deeper and broader. By deeper, we mean explaining in more detail those factors and motivations that you mentioned in your personal statement. By broader, we mean all the stuff you couldn't fit in the statement. A good answer shows both depth and breadth. If we had to pick one, we'd say to focus on breadth and let the interviewer guide you on what topics to go into more depth.
③ "Why Are You Interested in Our School?"
Why not? List all the reasons why the school is the single most perfect choice for the field that you're studying. Discuss its faculty, facilities, theoretical approach, course offering, student activities, job placement record, location, and any and all reasons that demonstrate a deliberate choice on your part. Your goal is convey your belief that the school is a highly compelling choice for you, if not your first choice.
④ "What Are You Going to Research?"
You might be thinking, "How the hell am I supposed to know?" And, frankly, this is somewhat of an unfair question. The faculty is not so much interested in a precise answer as much as they are in establishing your interest level, that you have an understanding of the discipline, and have formed some preliminary ideas. You can disclose that your ideas are preliminary (it's mature), but be sure to have one or two ideas for what you could research, and why. Explain what you might want to prove and how it would contribute to the treatment of that topic in your field.
⑤ "What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?"
Nobody likes answering this question, but it comes up. Describing your strengths should be straightforward. Pick two or three qualities that you possess and which are relevant to your field. For example, if you're applying to an engineering program, you might discuss your advanced knowledge of math, creative mind, and detail-orientation, backing each claim with examples. Talking about your weaknesses is another story. The general rule is to pick weaknesses that are really "weaknesses turning into strengths". You might say, for instance, that you only earned "Bs" in math, but that you earned an "A" in your last semester after deciding to do something about it. Or that you're not assertive enough, but have been practicing speaking up in recent months and are getting better at it.
⑥ "Why Should We Accept You?"
Why not? Describe in modest and balanced terms why you are eminently qualified for the program. Talk about your personal, academic, and extracurricular accomplishments and how they make you a strong candidate for the program. Discuss your long range plans and how you will make full use of the university's resources to accomplish your goals. While may sound selfish, you're really telling the school that they won't be wasting an admissions spot with you.
⑦ "What Are Your Career Goals?"
You might not have a clue, but it's important to have a preliminary idea of your career goals. Perhaps you want to become a professor, or use your graduate degree to conduct advanced work in another type of organization. Whatever the case, sketch your plans and make it clear how the program that you're applying to is an integral stepping stone. It's okay to have more than one career goal, so long as your goals are all relevant and show that you're planning to apply the knowledge you'll acquire. Whatever you say, don't say you want to make money.
⑧ "Where Else Are You Applying?"
This is a delicate question. If you answer, you're admitting that you're interested in more than one school. If you don't, you risk coming across as defensive and combative. One way to deal with this question is to say that you've applied to a few other schools whose programs correspond with your research interests, career goals, and other criteria. But that their school is really an excellent fit and that you'd love to be considered for the entering class. This is somewhat evasive, but doesn't force a direct comparison between their school and other schools. Another option is to disclose everything, particularly if you have other offers. This shows that you're an attractive candidate and it may help you get admitted. Which approach to take is up to you.
⑨ "What Have You Read Recently?"
Don't answer the latest New York Times Bestseller. The interviewer is a faculty member who is interested in establishing your intellectual quality and curiosity. Ideally, your library will consist of books and academic journals packed with articles from the same field to which you're applying. This demonstrates that your interest is genuine, maybe even indicative of a passion. You can also mention wider reading, to show that you're well rounded, but start with material that's closer to your interviewer's heart.
⑩ "What Questions Do You Have For Me?"
You're almost guaranteed to have this in your grad school interview questions. So prepare a list of five or more questions. The best questions demonstrate that you've research your field and the school's faculty members in depth. For example, you can ask the interviewer to talk more about his or her research: "I read your article on _______, which is a topic that corresponds with my own interests, can you tell me more about it?" You can also discuss specific aspects of the school's department, facilities, courses, or other peculiarities that show that you're a serious applicant. So have your own list of grad school interview questions in your back pocket.
2. How well you can organize your thinking
針對(duì)這個(gè)feature，小編希望大家可以做到下面幾點(diǎn)：
① 聽清面試官的問題再回答
整個(gè)面試過(guò)程中要注意聆聽，認(rèn)真理解面試官的問題后再作答，如果覺得沒聽清，一定要再問清楚(do you mind saying it again? or are you asking me....)。很多人有誤區(qū)，覺得沒聽懂，讓面試官再解釋會(huì)對(duì)結(jié)果有不好的影響，其實(shí)沒聽懂，答非所問浪費(fèi)對(duì)方時(shí)間才更容易留下不好的印象。
② 學(xué)會(huì)使用1st, 2nd, 3rd
語(yǔ)音溝通的特點(diǎn)注定使得面試者在回答問題的時(shí)候難免會(huì)讓對(duì)方聽著沒有邏輯，或沒有結(jié)構(gòu)。學(xué)會(huì)用 1st, 2nd, 3rd 來(lái)組織你的答案，比如：I would like to answer this question from three aspects, 1st, 2nd, 3rd. 這樣面試官比較容易抓住你回答的要點(diǎn)。
舉個(gè)例子吧，以生物醫(yī)學(xué)為例：
比如面試教授的實(shí)驗(yàn)室的一個(gè)研究方向是白血病的靶向治療，你就可以說(shuō) I am confident that I will be able to make contributions and add values to the team immediately for three reasons:
1st, my previous clinical rotational experience in hematology allowed me to…..;
2nd, technical skills and knowledge that I developed from my research projects on xxx can be easily applied/transferred to your proposed project;
3rd, my previous cross-functional work experience will allow me to team up with others and get into my role rapidly。
③ 學(xué)會(huì)聽關(guān)鍵詞，串進(jìn)去你自己準(zhǔn)備好的答案
這一點(diǎn)其實(shí)是承接上一個(gè)section的。因?yàn)樵跍?zhǔn)備面試的時(shí)候，大家都會(huì)做一些最basic的research，比如面試官的背景，發(fā)表文章，他的團(tuán)隊(duì)，課題興趣，他們正在找什么樣的人等等。其中，了解對(duì)方需要什么樣的人是最關(guān)鍵的，因?yàn)檫@樣你就可以在面試中表現(xiàn)出你自己就是他需要的人。「為什么是我?我可以為這個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)帶來(lái)什么價(jià)值?」當(dāng)你把這兩個(gè)問題想清楚，在面試過(guò)程中，就可以適時(shí)的在一些問題中強(qiáng)調(diào)你的這些優(yōu)勢(shì)特點(diǎn)，給面試者加深印象。
④ 控制好回答時(shí)間
要控制回答每個(gè)問題的時(shí)間，在回答中注意觀察面試官的肢體語(yǔ)言，如果對(duì)方表現(xiàn)出些許不耐煩，就應(yīng)該盡快收尾;如果對(duì)方有想要提問的表現(xiàn)，就一定要停頓，問是否有問題要問，或者 Do you want me to elaborate on this?
3.How well you express yourself
這個(gè)feature其實(shí)是大多數(shù)同學(xué)最擔(dān)心的，一方面本身英語(yǔ)不是我們的母語(yǔ)，使得用英語(yǔ)面試時(shí)本身就會(huì)比較緊張，再加上面試時(shí)無(wú)法預(yù)知面試官的提問，所以全靠臨場(chǎng)發(fā)揮，有太多的不確定性。所以面試現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的表現(xiàn)就變得非常重要，下面是給大家總結(jié)的幾點(diǎn)注意事項(xiàng)：
① 面試的理想狀態(tài)是感覺像聊天
很多同學(xué)都把面試當(dāng)做一個(gè)考試，好像都是對(duì)方問什么你答什么，一定要背出一個(gè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的答案來(lái)。但其實(shí)面試是一個(gè)你跟他的交流過(guò)程。你不是在單純地答題，你是在跟對(duì)方聊天。讓對(duì)方先喜歡上你，最后打分才會(huì)高。
在面試的對(duì)話中，60%是情緒，40%是內(nèi)容，所以如果能做好美國(guó)那種smile talk ，把幽默展示出來(lái)，對(duì)你的錄取是非常有效的。當(dāng)然如果缺乏幽默感的同學(xué)只要自信大方地回答出問題就好，不要刻意幽默，成了“強(qiáng)撩”。
② 第一印象很重要
說(shuō)說(shuō)最基本的第一印象，無(wú)論是電話網(wǎng)絡(luò)面試，還是面對(duì)面面試，基本的語(yǔ)音語(yǔ)調(diào)，行為舉止都是要注意的。衣著要簡(jiǎn)單正式(只要面試者可以看到你，就應(yīng)著正裝);如果需要握手，不要有手汗，握手要誠(chéng)懇有力;始終保持面帶微笑，自信放松(反復(fù)的練習(xí)后是可以做到的);語(yǔ)音語(yǔ)調(diào)保持平穩(wěn)，不要表現(xiàn)過(guò)于情緒化;保持眼神的交流，適時(shí)點(diǎn)頭表示認(rèn)同。
③ 利用自我介紹hold住全場(chǎng)
一般來(lái)說(shuō)，面試開始會(huì)讓你簡(jiǎn)要介紹一下自己(有些老板由于時(shí)間有限可能會(huì)略過(guò))，一定要言簡(jiǎn)意賅，重點(diǎn)突出，想做到這點(diǎn)，需要對(duì)自己有足夠的了解，和寫簡(jiǎn)歷類似，需要花一定的時(shí)間整理思路，回顧過(guò)去的經(jīng)歷，和每段經(jīng)歷中的里程碑。
比如可以先說(shuō) I would like to go through my resume in three-fold: 1st, medical school study; 2nd, clinical experience at xx hospital; 3rd, research work on xx project. 然后再展開介紹每段經(jīng)歷。
對(duì)于你認(rèn)為與申請(qǐng)最相關(guān)，面試者可能最感興趣的部分或課題可以多展開說(shuō)。這樣就等于整個(gè)面試是你在lead話題，而不用隨時(shí)戒備著面試官會(huì)不會(huì)問一些你不懂的問題。
④ 對(duì)自己的簡(jiǎn)歷一定要了如指掌
很多時(shí)候，面試者都會(huì)就你簡(jiǎn)歷中的經(jīng)歷來(lái)問問題，所以一定要做到非常熟悉簡(jiǎn)歷的每一處細(xì)節(jié)。如何回答類似問題，切記回答你的每一個(gè)經(jīng)歷都要表達(dá)一個(gè)完整的故事，就是在回答每一個(gè)點(diǎn)的時(shí)候都盡量能夠表達(dá)「STAR」 故事，即簡(jiǎn)單扼要涵蓋背景、職責(zé)、執(zhí)行和結(jié)果四個(gè)方面，而不是單純的羅列事實(shí)，我做過(guò)這個(gè)做過(guò)那個(gè)。
這其中以執(zhí)行和結(jié)果尤為重要。在回答的時(shí)候要突出你在整個(gè)課題中的角色，更重要的是要提到你所做的產(chǎn)生的意義/價(jià)值，還是用簡(jiǎn)歷帖子里的那個(gè)例子，當(dāng)你說(shuō)你做了什么的時(shí)候，「collected blood samples for assays.....」后面就可以接 leading to two publications in peer reviewed journals or contributing to grant/fund approval。
切記你所做的產(chǎn)生的意義是最重要的，也是面試官需要看到的。如前面提到的，在提及所產(chǎn)生的意義時(shí)，可以適時(shí)強(qiáng)調(diào)你的優(yōu)勢(shì)。如果是問失敗的經(jīng)歷，關(guān)鍵則在于你從中學(xué)到的經(jīng)驗(yàn)總結(jié)，你的成長(zhǎng)。
如果你能按照上面說(shuō)的三點(diǎn)來(lái)準(zhǔn)備，相信已經(jīng)能擁有一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的面試經(jīng)歷，但是在面試即將結(jié)束以及結(jié)束之后，還有一些后續(xù)工作可以對(duì)你的面試和申請(qǐng)產(chǎn)生有利的幫助：
你的問題：
一般在面試的最后，面試官都會(huì)問你有什么問題，很多人不是很重視這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)，其實(shí)這是一個(gè)特別好的強(qiáng)調(diào)自己優(yōu)勢(shì)、體現(xiàn)自己對(duì)項(xiàng)目的了解的機(jī)會(huì)，這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)我在第一部分也解釋過(guò)了，這里再舉一個(gè)問后續(xù)結(jié)果通知的例子：
With my clinical and research experience and strong knowledge in this field, I believe I am a good match to this program and truly look forward to having the opp to add values to your team as well as advance my understanding of ....... So do you mind me asking when I should be expecting to hear from you?
關(guān)于感謝信：
在面試結(jié)束后，是一定要盡快地寫一封感謝郵件的，一來(lái)出于基本的禮貌，二來(lái)也可以加深面試者對(duì)你的印象，三來(lái)可以再次強(qiáng)調(diào)自己的優(yōu)勢(shì)及對(duì)申請(qǐng)學(xué)校/職位的興趣。如果可以在郵件中簡(jiǎn)單總結(jié)你面試的體會(huì)印象，會(huì)更加分。