Chevening Interview: What are the Questions? | Tips from an alumni

Congratulations to those who got Chevening interview invitation!! You’re halfway there, seriously! To be invited for an interview means that your essay is really outstanding and they want to know you better, hence the interview. You just need to nail the “last” step to be awarded. “Last” because if you pass the interview stage, you will get conditional acceptance, where you need to clear some conditions: 1) unconditional letter 2) IELTS 3) medical check-up and TBC test. Anyway, it is essential to prepare your interview in advance.

For those who did not get the interview, don’t give up! Try again next year as Chevening does not have an age limitation (which is super cool!). My friend got Chevening in her 5th year, while I had been rejected by 7 scholarships before I made to Chevening. Most likely, you’ll need to work on your essay. You definitely have time to prepare 🙂

By the way, if you’re up to podcast, you might also wanna hear series of podcasts made by me and Ivy Londa about our Chevening interview. Do check! 🙂

PS: I made this post from my personal experience (my interview was in 2018) with the intention of helping future scholars getting the scholarship. It might be/might be not accurate to what would happen in your interview. Also, this post is not representing Chevening’s view in any way.

What are the questions?

There are three types of themes that usually asked during the Chevening interview. And why is that? Because for interview preparation purpose, I’ve been gathering a lot of questions from various sources, various countries and multiple cohorts. And I guess they have questions pattern that always is asked.

And what is that?

I categorised the patterns into four sections (it might not come in exact order): you as an individual, you and your essay, you and The UK & Chevening, you and beyond your essay.

So, the interview is supposed to be easy, right? Yeah, it is! Because it’s all about you and your essay, which explains more about your personality. This is not a technical interview. I’d say that they just want to validate whether it is you who indeed wrote the essay.

However, I highly suggest you practice since anything can happen during the interview — nervous, blank, or stuttered. It could make you unable to deliver what you meant clearly.

Let’s getting know more about each sections 🙂

#1 You as Individual

The panelist already know your story, and yes it’s a cool story. And then what’s next? They want to know who you are and your personality. Some questions such as “what’s your strength, what’s your weakness, what you do as your hobby, what you do in work” are somehow default questions that you need to answer briefly and clearly.

Try to make your opening statement represent of what you have written in the essay. Something like your background, your work, your interest and passion and what you want to do in the future are points you can use for the opening. Keep it brief and concise.

Sometimes they also ask your opinion about things you wrote in the essay, such as “Who’s your favourite leader and why? What is leadership for you? and what is great networking for you?”

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer about this, just ensure you can articulate your thoughts clearly.

#2 You and your essay

I’d say this part is the majority of questions asked. I was asked to demonstrate my leadership and networking experience, which I already wrote in the essay. I used the STAR strategy, just like my essay. However, I added more details and timeline to explain it better. Try to elaborate what you haven’t written in the essay and give them “surprise” through your stories.

I got a sense that the panelist somehow interested to my stories as they asked some follow up questions. Here, again, there’s no right or wrong answer. Just be yourself and be confident.

Also, know where you’re going. Be clear of why the three unis, what you want to do and your career plans. Tip: Don’t give them choices. Give them the exact reason why you need to pursue master study, the exact major you want to be in, the exact career plan you wish once you finish school.

About unis, they might ask you whether you want to change the order of the school (not all scholars were being asked, but they asked me). It’s okay if you wish to do so, ensure that you give a logic justification (not because school B has a higher ranking than the school A). And perhaps the school has a real distinctive curriculum that would support you better to achieve your goals.

#3 You and The UK & Chevening

Just like jobs interview, the panellists will want to know why they should select you. Your motivation in choosing Chevening, your interest to study in the UK, and what benefits they will gain if Chevening chooses you are some questions that were asked to me.

You might also want to think about how will you contribute to the Chevening community and to your country. Link to what the UK Government does in your country and you might want to leverage the Chevening’s network to help you achieving your career plan, in a way that it could also your way in contribute back to society. Be precise and based your answer from what you’ve written.

#4 You and Beyond Your Essay

It also feels nice that the panellists asked me “besides study, what will you do during your time in the UK?” That’s what I like from Chevening, they also want scholars to have fun and explore British culture and travel places during the study time. I told them that I wanted to visit Buckingham Palace since I am an avid fan of The Crown, Netflix series. They were smiling after hearing my answer.

I was also asked “If you are not accepted in Chevening, why do you think the reason is?” which made me speechless instantly. To buy time a bit, I drank a water provided to me and tried to keep calm. I then told them that I will try again another year as I believe that the fact that I got Chevening invitation means that I have a similarly scholar quality.

I have prepared non-essay related questions such as “How can you assure us that you can handle the academic demand in the UK?” and “Have you ever made a unpopular decision?” The latter was made me a bit speechless again haha. I don’t understand the term of “unpopular decision” thus I asked for clarification. They kindly explained the term and at the same time, it bought me time to think the answer.

Now that you know the type of questions, I’ll give you some tips to nail the Chevening interview!

1. Practice makes perfect

As cliche as it sounds, practise does make perfect. During my scholarship hunting journey, I only got two interviews (different scholarship), and I could say that there was a gap of preparedness level between those two. For my another scholarship interview, my preparation was only self-talk and practice in front of the mirror (which are a good preparation too!) but I don’t think it’s enough for me. I’m non an impromptu person and I need a lot of practise to do better.

For Chevening scholarship, I practised my interview with people. Tips: ask Chevening alumni to be your peer. They are the best to be your interview partner since they knew the situation and also the questions. I did a mock up interview with then-current Chevening awardee, and she gave a lot of feedback regarding my choice of words and my overall delivery. Before the mock up interview started, I got a list of questions that she’s been asked. From there, I practiced honing my answers. You know, 90% of question lists she gave me was literally asked in the interview.

So you might want to start to contact the Chevening alumni and get their support. Please note that there are a lot of busy alumni, try to contact other alumni as well. LinkedIn is a good start.

If you’re based in Indonesia, reach out to Chevening ID Alumni Community, they will help you!

2. Re-read your essay over and over again

This sounds easy, but many somehow underestimated this point. Your essay indeed is considered as an astonishing one, hence the interview, but don’t forget that your interview will be based mostly from your essay. It is essential to read lines bylines and understand why you wrote that statement.

Some questions started with “How”, which expects explanations. If you’re asked by “How did you…” , try to answer in STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) manner. This will help structure your answer and deliver the logic of your thoughts.

3. Ask them questions!

I’d say that the Chevening interview is like a job interview: it’s a two-way process of knowing both parties better. Usually, at the end of the interview, the panellists would ask: “any questions for us?”

Shoot your questions!

This is a golden opportunity for you to know more about Chevening. In a side note, this also shows your curiosity and excitement for Chevening and becoming one of the scholars. But, don’t ask something that you could find the answer on their website.

Here’s a tip: try to imagine yourself as a future scholar. What would you like to know more about Chevening if you’re a scholar? It could be a lot of things, such as alumni maintenance (you know they have a world-wide alumni network), the student/campus life, or anything that you found interesting. As a fellow Chevener, Sylvia van der Laat said, ‘this will not only restate your interest in Chevening but will also reflect humbleness.’

4. Be yourself and be honest

This is soo important. The panellists have interviewed thousands of people, so they would be able if you’re not being honest. It’s not wise to try guessing what the panellists want to hear. Although the Chevening interview is the most chilled interview I’ve ever had (yes, the panellists made me feel at ease), when you nervous, you might not be able to articulate your thoughts clearly. When this comes, try to take a long breath and release. The panelists would understand, of course.

Sometimes, you might need time to think about an answer. You could give panelists an information “If you don’t mind, I need some time to think about this” or you could use the water provided to buy you time. The water helps when you’re nervous as well.

5. Listen up!

Listen up and take your time to answer. One of my panellists has a solid British accent that I wasn’t accustomed to, and I had trouble to understand what he said. It’s okay to clarify your questions if you need to.

The last tip, do research about public transportation and traffic jam beforehand. The British Embassy usually have a strong security clearance before entering the building. Don’t forget your ID too!

I’m a believer of “tiada hasil yang mengkhianati usaha” or “hard work pays off”. As long as you try your best and trust the process, your dream will come true. Do your best and let God do the rest.

Soo, good luck!! Looking forward to you becoming a part of Chevening network!