<p>business casual, nice shirt + black slacks. </p>
<p>there's a list of questions, several interviewer. one question asked about my other college choices, and I dropped some big names, and the interview immediately turned into convincing me to go to Cal instead of getting to know me.</p>
<p>i was at the chat too
lucky me i got a copy of some of the thread of posts at the chat
not the whole thing but it definitely helps if you want reference</p>
<p>btw, interviews are 30-45 min or so i was told in my email and phone call</p>
<p>the coolest thing about the chat is that you got to ask stats and more stuff</p>
<p>a couple of partitipants asked how many were being interviewed in their region andhow many scholarships would be given, both total and in your area
one was told 3 interviews, 1 scholarship so .33 probability, nott bad huh</p>
<p>sight...sadly my chances are A LOT slimer ... oh well, ill still try my hardest, tho LOL</p>
<p>I made it to semi-finalist but then soon got the dreaded email stating I did not make it to the Final round. Sucks because I could use the money and I think I would have done really well with the interview because I am basically obsessed with this school and plan on really going out there and getting involved- I really want to get involved in raising money for the school's endowment because this is the most critical issue for the school to continue to compete with other top schools.</p>
<p>thanks for the insight! did anyone else have interviews already- im a bit nervous about what type of questions they ask. I havent done much interviews...</p>
<p>Yeep.. I got into finalist too and the interview is right after church... or rather During church <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>The one thing I like these kind of interviews is that they dont ask about your grades and scores, but what you have and can contribute to Cal. I love it</p>
<p>Mine's tonight around nine.. I'm really scared haha XP and I really need the money, too, if I decide to go to Cal. Were there any tough questions asked? How much do they actually ask about "depth of involvement" and "spark and enthusiasm"?</p>
<p>You will likely find out whether you actually got the scholarship at the very end of April, my D found out the day she was deciding (not the 30th, but close)</p>
<p>If you get Cal grants or other need based aid, the alumni is not supposed to reduce your grants, but you should keep an eye on your package and make sure they don't accidentally do that.</p>
<p>Interviews in different areas can be at different times throughout the month, if you are far away, you might have a phone interview. If you get to next week and you are wondering, email or call them to ask. I am pretty sure they DO NOT contact you UNLESS you are a finalist, so no news is likely sad news, but each region has their own timing depending on the alumni committe and their schedules.</p>
<p>just had my interview..it was bomb diggity
really friendly people and they said theyll let me know in like a week</p>
<p>I got the email that I qualified for the finalists yet no info on the interview yet.... should I keep waiting ?</p>
<p>yes varun beta</p>
<p>mine was today....
it was crappy--or so i believe--altough, to be honest, it lasted about AN HOUR or so...i dont know why but they seemed to scrutinize everything i wrote to a very demanding level.
it was scary and at times i felt like they were setting traps for me to fall and start begging them to please forgive me for all the insanity i had written in the paper( though everything IS TRUE)</p>
<p>i can understand their disbelief. it was a paper that took 4 months to create and countless revisions </p>
<p>and the questions, OMG they were ridiculously ambiguous and highly generalistic in terminology and theme. how am i supposed to describe how unique i am without being highly pompous or through my masking and embelishing of things</p>
<p>i was tired at the end of the interview (mentally that is) but what really stuck to me was the fact that interviews were supposed to last 20-30 minutes and mine got past an hour (1hr 5 min, timed session)</p>
<p>i mean, two more girls were waiting (we were the last 3 interviewees) and i went in first. when i got out they were long gone (around 20 minutes before mine was over) according to my mother who accompanied me to the interview</p>
<p>did someone experience this too???? i really didnt expect this to happen the way it did</p>
<p>^i'm sorry you're feeling this way :(. but hey, you never know what'll happen! i'll let you know about mine -- it's in about 11 hours -_-</p>
<p>I felt the exact same way. It was so stressful to have four people literally interrogating me, and they were quite blunt at times. If my answers weren't going in the direction they wanted, they'd totally just knock me down by "setting traps" - yes, that's exactly what some of their questions felt like. The interview felt like a verbal battle all the way; there were only a couple times I stumbled through my words, but it was extremely difficult to quickly think of answers WHILE they asked the questions so that there wouldn't be an awkward silence after they asked and while I thought. It really is mentally exhausting, and I never, ever want to go through that kind of situation again. Just being interviewed that way makes me NOT want to go to Cal :/ The interview felt more like, in order to win the scholarship, I had to be as eloquent as I could, not necessarily demonstrate my leadership. They had no sense of humor except when they themselves were making the jokes. </p>
<p>If anyone wants information about the questions they ask, the opening questions they'll ask you are; "what do you think a leader is, what have been some obstacles in your leadership experience, and what do you think are your shortcomings?"
I talked a lot about the success of a group as opposed to one's own success, and they seemed to like that a lot, and they asked questions about what I'd do if I encountered people I had to lead who disagreed with my opinions of what was best for a group, and how I'd determine whether or not their idea or mine was for the best. They'll ask a lot of questions like that - "what would you do" questions.</p>
<p>Also, they'll stem a lot of questions off from the activities you'll describe. I really expected a less nerve-wracking interview, much like those conducted by colleges for admissions purposes, but I was so wrong. If I could give advice to anyone, it'd be to prepare, prepare, prepare your answers, and think a lot about examples of leadership in many aspects of your life. They'll ask you about specific instances and give you scenarios and ask you what you'd do in those scenarios. If they nod a lot and write things down, that means you said something good, and if they just look at you and wait for you to go on, that means you should answer the damn question instead of rambling.. haha</p>
<p>All in all, I think I did...okay... and two of my interviewers were really nice, but the rest.. I don't know. It was hard. I was really tired at the end.</p>
<p>If anyone has more questions, I'd be more than happy to answer. I really don't want anyone to go through the same stress I did.</p>
<p>Yeah V4 I'm a finalist and haven't heard about an interview either. I'm starting to think that means we just def. aren't getting the scholarship, but then what was the point of making us finalists at all if we don't even get interviews? Although they don't sound too fun anyway.</p>
<p>if u have the interview coming up READ THIS</p>
<p>Now talking in University<em>of</em>California-Berkeley<em>Achievement</em>Award_(TAAP)
<caiti> Yes! Sorry if this is a repeat--just got here--am wondering what sort of questions get asked during the interview
<taap> its ok i'll answer that again...
<taap> questions about your accomplishments and experiences...
<taap> your career goals...
<taap> your outreach...
<caiti> what do you mean by outreach?
<taap> and the type of support you want to receive and what you can bring to the program
<taap> outreach that you received as well as any volunteer work that you have done
<caiti> by type of support,you mean other than financial?
Frankie2131 has entered the room (hostname: XXXXX.dsl.irvnca.sbcglobal.net)
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<taap> yes financial and person support services
<mp3> i get it
<frankie2131> will the interviews be an issue with cal day being on one of the two days
<mp3> its like a mini auto biography
<caiti> every recipient recieves the same amount of scholarship money, right?
<taap> yes marco that is right!
<caiti> will the interviewers have looked over our application essay or should we bring that stuff up independently?
<taap> any other questions?
<taap> yes they will see them
<isaaca> like how long on average is the interview
<taap> and yes you should focus on what you put in your application
<isaaca> is it really involved
<taap> b/w 20 - 30 minutes
<taap> think of it as a friendly convo...
<taap> an opportunity for you to talk about all that is great about you
<caiti> ...that's always a bit awkward...
<taap> i know but it is so important..
<taap> how else will they know?
<taap> you are there b/c you have accomplished great things
<taap> yeah but your voice...
<taap> is an important one...
<taap> your voice meaning your experience...
<taap> your background and how that has shaped you...
<siydasong> okay i think i undersand now. but can you go into TAAP alittle bit.
<taap> yes i can siyda...
<taap> TAAP is about support and family...
<taap> in addition to financial support...
<taap> you also get other personal support and resources
<taap> think of it as coming to campus and having 90+ new friends/peers that you can get adivice from</taap></taap></taap></taap></taap></siydasong></taap></taap></taap></taap></taap></taap></taap></caiti></taap></taap></taap></isaaca></taap></isaaca></taap></taap></caiti></taap></caiti></mp3></frankie2131></mp3></taap></caiti></taap></taap></caiti></taap></taap></taap></taap></caiti></p>
<p>now DONT BE FOOLED like i was, the questions arent this easy</p>
<p>and like Chewie said PREPARE!!</p>
<p>btw, i totally kicked butt at the leadership scholarship interview
it was really fun and i had a great time there</p>
<p>wow. i'm really confused. i just had mine about four hours ago. it was ... surprisingly short .<em>. only 20~25 minutes. i called about a few days ago and asked if they wanted anything, so i brought a resume, a senior profile, pictures from extracurriculars, documents from ec's (ex. model un - resolutions, position papers, etc). so...yeah they basically just told me to tell them about myself and they branchedoff with their own questions. kinda weird. .</em>.</p>
<p>like i said, mine was incredibly long. urs, on the other hand, was kinda average since the interviewees before me were dished at around 25 minute intervals. i said to myself "well, just like the leadership scholarship interview". but no, it was nothing like it. they had absolutely no sense of humor. also, i had a trump card that worked MARVELOUSLY with the other alumni, who to my surprise were truly hardcore Cal fans, but with the Achievement award interviewers it was a waste of time since they simply had no social interaction with the topic and simply said "well you can be truly involved or simply avoid the whole thing altogether.its up to you." </p>
<p>i had a plan like yours. i was told it would seem prefabricated and stuff, and furthermore, would make the interviewers lose interest since they wanted you to tell them how you see your involvement in the activities that set you apart.</p>
<p>now. did they ask you to bring your portfolio,or was it your initiative all along? i ask you this because i contacted them in three different occations and inal of them the contact said that it was fine if you had a portafolio put together and blah blah blah BUT that it WASNT NECESSARY ,and further, they all recomended not to bring one since it wouldnt be looked at with great care, anyway--"time restrains, you know."</p>
<p>in terms of time, i can just tell you to think really hard on the questions that were asked. Were they in-depth and/or detail oriented or simply an overview/summary of your activities??? depending on your assesment, you might get clues as of how interested they were in you. This of course is purely my opinion.</p>
<p>v4RUN....</p>
<p>DONT WAIT ANY LONGER!!!!!!!!!!!
contact the alumni association immediately to find out whats gonna happen.
are you out of state or in cali??
keep that in mind, if oos then ask for a nearby alumni or a phone interview</p>
<p>just know that final notices WILL BE GIVEN APRIL 27th!!!!!!!
DONT WASTE UR TIME WAITING !!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>No im in LA.. should i send them an email?</p>