Chevening Scholarship Interview: Sample Questions

Introduction 

The interviewing panel was three people, a coordinator of Chevening in your country, Chevening secretary from UK, and expert in your particular field. This is from my experience with Chevening scholarship interview last year. 

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- They started by asking you to introduce yourself: try to start always by the most achieving work you are proud of, to attract their attention, because mostly they will not let you complete your whole introduction.

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- The interview questions are MAINLY the same four essays questions of the application. They printed it, highlighted some paragraphs I wrote and started to ask me in depth about that particular points. So, revise your answers well and be ready with all details and rationales.

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- For leadership part:

Try to bring examples of your leadership potentiality, not only leadership situation from your work duties, but also leadership acts you did when it was not your responsibility even to do. Show that you have an intimal self-motivating leadership skills. 

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- For your future career plans:

Focus more about your proposed role in developing your country in your chosen field. Don't mention academic plans like PhD or that kind of plans, it is not welcomed generally. Keep talking with passion and with "We" rather than "I" in all of your plans. Mention how you will connect between UK and your country in your field of interest upon your plans.

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- For networking skills:

Bring examples that approve your broad network in three major levels: professional level nationally and internationally, your impact and network with youth in your country and how you could be considered as a youth leader, and the public network level to show how you are oriented by the actual situation and circumstances of your country.

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- For studying in UK and your chosen university:

Don't be just basic by saying only to learn the culture, masters in UK are just in one year, and others basic causes. Be creative, mention some names of professors in your chosen university that have a global impact so you hope to learn directly from them, talk a little bit about the content of your chosen program and how it matches your future plans, and some info regarding the system applied in UK of your field and how it could be linked to developing your own-country system.

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- They will ask you specific question about how you are intending to spend your days in UK. Try to be so organized, to the point, mentioning flexible plans that not only for studying, but also for exploring UK culture and systems.

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The interview was varying in time from one to one, mine was about 25 minutes i think! they were so nice, smiling and friendly.

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All at all, I realized that the interview is only about the essay prompts. They asked me to elaborate on  what I'd written in my prompts, asked me to tell them about myself; while answering this question, make sure you bring out the uniqueness of you, what makes you you, focus on the theme of the scholarship, leadership and networking; so capture all of that in a concise manner in answering the first question.

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My final advise regarding Chevening interview is TO BE CONFIDENT, BE AWARE OF CURRENT AFFAIRS NATIONALLY AND GLOBALLY, BE UNIQUE AND SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART. I don't believe in rehearsing answers or having answers that are not necessarily my own views just because a current scholar obtained the scholarship with them- THAT IS PLAGIARISM THAT YOU ARE PREPARING TO COMMIT.  Why do you think Chevening's questions are the same year  in and year out? IT'S NOT BECAUSE CHEVENING WANTS TO HEAR THE SAME THING FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE EVERY YEAR. IT'S  BECAUSE THEY WANT YOUR UNIQUE EXPERIENCES AND THEY WANT NEW SOLUTIONS TO CURRENT PROBLEMS IN YOUR COUNTRY AND IN THE WORLD.  Bear in mind that the global economy changes everyday,  the world's priorities change every year based on circumstances, THERE ARE NEW CHALLENGES IN YOUR COUNTRY AND IN THE WORLD EVERY YEAR. You must understand national and gloabal current affairs in all areas especially in your intended field of study. My point is, some answers you are revising were suitable to the circumstances of last year but not necessarily to the current. THE SCHOLARSHIP IS MOST LIKELY TO BE GRANTED TO THOSE WHO STAND OUT, WHOSE IDEAS ARE RELEVANT TO CURRENT AFFAIRS. When you have a passion, a goal, dream or aspiration,  IT IS PERSONAL TO YOU. I believe in preparation,  but that is very different from rehearsing a list of answers obtained from other people. FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH THE TYPE OF QUESTIONS TO EXPECT,  BUT ANSWER FROM YOUR OWN HEART, YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES, YOUR OWN OBSERVATIONS, YOUR BELIEVES,  VIEWS AND OPINIONS. IF YOU DON'T GET THE SCHOLARSHIP BASED ON YOUR OWN QUALITIES AND CHARACTER,  IS IT EVEN WORTH HAVING?