Hi! Just gave an interview for my M.A. course and I'm making this post to help anyone looking for preparation tips for any course.

(I think these will be helpful for foundation applicants too.)

When should you start preparing?

If you're very confident and a pro at interviews: 2 days before the interview should be enough

If you're underconfident and nervous: 1 week before the interview

How to start preparing?

Step 1: Preparing my own question list

I tried to look for questions online but I only found 2-3 posts with slightly vague list of questions that I found to be helpful. So I asked ChatGPT to device a list of questions that would help me prepare for the interview.

Here's the prompt that I typed in–

"Ask me all possible questions that I could be asked for my interview with UAL (insert your college name here example: CSM) for their (insert name of your course example: Graphic Communication design) MA program as a part of their application process."

Step 2: Preparing responses to these questions

Now that ChatGPT has given you a generalized list of all possible questions, you need to start preparing your responses to these prompts.

Remember to NOT use ChatGPT to give you answers because you need to do some introspection and answer these yourself to be able to be more confident during your interview. You can ask the GPT to give you some tips to help you answer those questions but do not rely on GPT. It will show.

So how do you begin answering these questions?

a) Read through the course page, your portfolio and your essays again. Note down all the key words that you deeply resonate with.

b) Start writing responses to each question in as much detail as possible. Imagine you're on a talk show and the person in front of you is really interested to know about you. Incorporate the key words from your essays, course page and portfolio that mean something to you.

For example, if the question is about your academic and professional journey so far then write a long paragraph about your entire journey. Do not think about the word limit at this stage.

c) Once you have answered all the questions start highlighting the key words. This is an important step because this is all you have to remember.

For example, highlight the name of your bachelor degree course and 2-3 things that you learnt there/ contributed to your uni.

d) Once you have your key words ready write them down point wise in a notebook/ flashcards. I made flashcards.

e) Prepare at least 1-2 relevant questions that you can ask your interviewer. Never say that you don't have any questions to ask.

Note: Avoid asking generic questions and try to prepare questions that are genuinely relevant to your interests. Do not ask questions that you can find answers to in the course page itself because that would mean that you have not read through the page properly.

Interview Day preparation

On your interview day go through the flash cards again. Remember: You do not need to memorize or remember every single thing. This key wording exercise will help you structure yourself and make sure that you have some more clarity with your story, your vision and your goals.

Click on the joining link and wait in the lobby at least 15-20 mins (ideally 30mins before) before the interview. My interview started a few mins early. It can also start late. Ensure that you are sitting in a quite place, you look presentable and that you have enough light. Charge your laptop enough and make sure your wifi is stable.

Note: if you're living in a country where powercuts are unpredictable, use a high speed mobile data hotspot to make sure that there are no interruptions.

Drink water and chill out. Instead of focusing on remembering each point for the interview focus on telling yourself that you are going to ace it. Some amount of nervousness is normal and you're not alone!

How did my interview go?

I'm usually quite chill in interviews. I love talking to people. I do get nervous right before the interview but the nervousness quickly fades away after the conversation starts.

Overall, my interview was great. Around 80% of what I had prepared is what I was asked in the interview. Some questions were a little on the spot which was fine because I had prepared my answers with full honesty and there is nothing that I had to make up on the spot. I did fumble a little bit in a question or two in between but that is okay because I was confident and sure about my goals and interests.

I had kept my flashcards around my laptop to act as prompts during my interview but I did not use them as I preferred to look into the camera and speak to my interviewer instead of looking around.

Usually the results take at least 2 weeks to come. I will update here once I have my result in hand.

I believe that these interview preparation tips are going to be helpful regardless of what my result is going to be. I just wanted to help people who are lost like I was a few days before.

All the best! I'm sure you are are very talented and amazing people :')

Be confident about your skills and capabilities and remember that what is meant to happen for you will happen!

Byee!