high school typical interview questions? (1 Viewer)

[joe mama]

hey y'all!
i got an interview for nsghs entry in 2022 as a yr 11 student and it's next week. does anyone happen to have experience with common interview qns asked, and even better, qns specifically asked by the nsghs selection panel?
thank you
i'm lowkey shitting myself LMAO f

 

[ExtremelyBoredUser]

How did you feel about your previous school?
Reasons for wanting to transfer to this school?
Explain a bit about yourself, your qualities and traits -> Strengths and Weaknesses?
Why do you think you'll perform better here?
What are your interests/hobbies outside of school; Explain why you do them?
What is a challenging moment you've had and how did you overcome it?

These were the questions I could remember from my interview but I'm not sure how it about NSGHS, for me, they went through my school report and comments and they questioned me on the basis of some of my comments, one of my teachers said I didn't pay attention at times so I had to quickly improvise - which I failed terribly, but thankfully my other teachers wrote extremely good things about me so they chocked it up to a lack of interest.

Make sure you see your report card and any comments that the interviewer can pick out and challenge you on; ensure that you have a response for it. The standard questions I listed above are most likely going to be tested so please please practice them with someone else to get a good grasp of how you should act, mannerisms and your diction. The hardest part of the interview will be the curveball questions such as the one I listed above so make sure you analyse everything thoroughly so you can pick out some details your interviewer might challenge you on.

Please dress in attire that makes you look good, so you feel confident as well as presents you in a professional and diligent manner. What matters more is your body language and mannerisms; most of the time they focus on your body language rather than what you say (given you say standard responses).

Don't drink coffee or caffeinated substances unless you're used to it; the jittery feel can make you look awkward if you're speaking there and you're just twitching there while they are speaking - if you regularly drink coffee and you're used to it and you rely on it to be fully awake, go ahead. You really want to go in with a professional look so you seem smart and diligent.

Make sure on the day you're not stressing on what you're going to say or how you're going to act - just be calm and level headed. DO NOT rush into answers, take your time to respond, you might feel like you just need to respond at that instant but you're better of just processing questions and formulating a good response; this is the mistake I made and I said embarrassing stuff.

You'll ace it! Don't stress, you've gotten this far so they clearly show interest. I screwed up in my interview but all in all they realised I was hardworking so I got in. You got this!

Side note; not claiming to know it all about interviews, I'm not some veteran interviewee however this is the advice I've learnt from my past interview and this is all the good things I did and the bad things I could've avoided. I'm sure there's better advice that can be provided by other people who went through this experience. Take this at your own discretion.

 

[kkk579]

hey y'all!
i got an interview for nsghs entry in 2022 as a yr 11 student and it's next week. does anyone happen to have experience with common interview qns asked, and even better, qns specifically asked by the nsghs selection panel?
thank you
i'm lowkey shitting myself LMAO f

damnnnn good job congrats!!

 

[dasfas]

Also to add: where do you see yourself in 5 years, do you have any questions for us (this is big, definitely have some to ask them!).

Have specifics to talk about the school, ie. I really like how you do X, or I would love to join Y activity - it shows you're a) interested in the school beyond surface level b) ready to become an active member in the school community

 

[nourished.]

i'm lowkey shitting myself LMAO f

Congrats!

I'll add on to the lovely advice given by ExtremelyBoredUser. Here are some really fun tips for your interview.

1. See if you can do a bit of research about NSGH. Lurk around their website and skim through their latest newsletter. During the interview, throw in some stuff you read about. This might range from their recent initiatives to school achievements.
2. Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer. Remember, they are trying to win you over just as much as you are trying to win them over. They want a smart, cool and awesome student like you.

Good luck!

 

[joe mama]

How did you feel about your previous school?
Reasons for wanting to transfer to this school?
Explain a bit about yourself, your qualities and traits -> Strengths and Weaknesses?
Why do you think you'll perform better here?
What are your interests/hobbies outside of school; Explain why you do them?
What is a challenging moment you've had and how did you overcome it?

These were the questions I could remember from my interview but I'm not sure how it about NSGHS, for me, they went through my school report and comments and they questioned me on the basis of some of my comments, one of my teachers said I didn't pay attention at times so I had to quickly improvise - which I failed terribly, but thankfully my other teachers wrote extremely good things about me so they chocked it up to a lack of interest.

Make sure you see your report card and any comments that the interviewer can pick out and challenge you on; ensure that you have a response for it. The standard questions I listed above are most likely going to be tested so please please practice them with someone else to get a good grasp of how you should act, mannerisms and your diction. The hardest part of the interview will be the curveball questions such as the one I listed above so make sure you analyse everything thoroughly so you can pick out some details your interviewer might challenge you on.

Please dress in attire that makes you look good, so you feel confident as well as presents you in a professional and diligent manner. What matters more is your body language and mannerisms; most of the time they focus on your body language rather than what you say (given you say standard responses).

Don't drink coffee or caffeinated substances unless you're used to it; the jittery feel can make you look awkward if you're speaking there and you're just twitching there while they are speaking - if you regularly drink coffee and you're used to it and you rely on it to be fully awake, go ahead. You really want to go in with a professional look so you seem smart and diligent.

Make sure on the day you're not stressing on what you're going to say or how you're going to act - just be calm and level headed. DO NOT rush into answers, take your time to respond, you might feel like you just need to respond at that instant but you're better of just processing questions and formulating a good response; this is the mistake I made and I said embarrassing stuff.

You'll ace it! Don't stress, you've gotten this far so they clearly show interest. I screwed up in my interview but all in all they realised I was hardworking so I got in. You got this!

Side note; not claiming to know it all about interviews, I'm not some veteran interviewee however this is the advice I've learnt from my past interview and this is all the good things I did and the bad things I could've avoided. I'm sure there's better advice that can be provided by other people who went through this experience. Take this at your own discretion.

Wow thank you SO much! I'm really really grateful for all the advice you shared haha you made me feel better with "you've gotten this far so they clearly show interest"

 

[joe mama]

damnnnn good job congrats!!

thank you ^-^ <3

 

[joe mama]

Also to add: where do you see yourself in 5 years, do you have any questions for us (this is big, definitely have some to ask them!).

Have specifics to talk about the school, ie. I really like how you do X, or I would love to join Y activity - it shows you're a) interested in the school beyond surface level b) ready to become an active member in the school community

ahhhh I see, I never thought of those questions being thrown at me! Thank you sm , I'll definitely research the school more

 

[kkk579]

thank you ^-^ <3

did u do the hast to get in??

 

[joe mama]

Congrats!

I'll add on to the lovely advice given by ExtremelyBoredUser. Here are some really fun tips for your interview.

1. See if you can do a bit of research about NSGH. Lurk around their website and skim through their latest newsletter. During the interview, throw in some stuff you read about. This might range from their recent initiatives to school achievements.
2. Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer. Remember, they are trying to win you over just as much as you are trying to win them over. They want a smart, cool and awesome student like you.

Good luck!

TY for the help <3
I'm off to stalk every page on the nsghs wesbite now -.-

 

[joe mama]

did u do the hast to get in??

Nopeee! I was going to this year but it got cancelled cuz of the lockdown. Hhahah maybe I got lucky I feel like I would've flunked it this year.
They just looked at the reports & evidence of my extracurriculars
Although I also have to complete some online survey written by the school which will also help them select candidates.. :'d

 

[nourished.]

TY for the help <3
I'm off to stalk every page on the nsghs wesbite now -.-

You'll do fine.

 

[kkk579]

Nopeee! I was going to this year but it got cancelled cuz of the lockdown. Hhahah maybe I got lucky I feel like I would've flunked it this year.
They just looked at the reports & evidence of my extracurriculars
Although I also have to complete some online survey written by the school which will also help them select candidates.. :'d

ohhhh okayy i’m trying out for 1.fort street 2.girra and 3.hurlstone next year. if i make it i’ll get entry into year 10 and i’m super scared coz i only have debating, no other extra curriculars but i’m gonna try and join tennis and piano by the time covid is over. i also have no awards because our school has no comps :/ now i’m scared i’ll flop the HAST

 

[joe mama]

ohhhh okayy i’m trying out for 1.fort street 2.girra and 3.hurlstone next year. if i make it i’ll get entry into year 10 and i’m super scared coz i only have debating, no other extra curriculars but i’m gonna try and join tennis and piano by the time covid is over. i also have no awards because our school has no comps :/ now i’m scared i’ll flop the HAST

hey don't worry! i actually moved schools at the start of this year, i got in through sitting the hast exam for year 10 entry (yes i still want to move schools again hahah). I was exaggerating a bit about the HAST exam tbh. I'd say it's just the selective test but modified to your current schooling level.
Some tips/insight for the HAST year 9-10 level though:
definitely work on your time management --> some sections of the exams are crazy. the abstract reasoning was 30qns in 30min LOL I ended up performing average in that.
But for the other sections: the writing (20min) , the 2020 qn was relatively easy it was "if you could choose to live in any fictional world, which one would u choose and why" --> you could write in any style you'd like, though I went with an essay and I scored the top band
The maths is not as math-based as you think, it's really just simple mathematics like percentage calculations & stuff + analysing data (no calculators though)
And the reading section is fine. Just make sure you're not tired on the day otherwise your reading & interpreting speed will be affected
Good luck! Although I think most schools might be cancelling the HAST exam this year.

 

[kkk579]

hey don't worry! i actually moved schools at the start of this year, i got in through sitting the hast exam for year 10 entry (yes i still want to move schools again hahah). I was exaggerating a bit about the HAST exam tbh. I'd say it's just the selective test but modified to your current schooling level.
Some tips/insight for the HAST year 9-10 level though:
definitely work on your time management --> some sections of the exams are crazy. the abstract reasoning was 30qns in 30min LOL I ended up performing average in that.
But for the other sections: the writing (20min) , the 2020 qn was relatively easy it was "if you could choose to live in any fictional world, which one would u choose and why" --> you could write in any style you'd like, though I went with an essay and I scored the top band
The maths is not as math-based as you think, it's really just simple mathematics like percentage calculations & stuff + analysing data (no calculators though)
And the reading section is fine. Just make sure you're not tired on the day otherwise your reading & interpreting speed will be affected
Good luck! Although I think most schools might be cancelling the HAST exam this year.

oh okay thanks so much i’m much more reassured now!! what percentiles did u score in for each of the topics?? and also is math more science based? some ppl on BOS said math had all this weird science stuff in it. what schools did u apply for and which one did u accept??

 

[joe mama]

no worries!
1. what people said about the math exam having weird science stuff is entirely true, in fact, the exam paper's front cover was labelled math & science.
2. i scored top 15% for reading, mathematics. top 10% for writing, and for abstract reasoning it really messed my thing up because i got the average 50% section ://
so for my total percentile i got the top of the 15% section, if i did even a couple marks better in my abstract i would've gotten a higher section of the top 10% band overall but that's okay!
I applied for sgg & girra hs. i accepted sgg, and girra i got reserve list #7 but i didn't get a follow-up offer
hope this helps

 

[kkk579]

no worries!
1. what people said about the math exam having weird science stuff is entirely true, in fact, the exam paper's front cover was labelled math & science.
2. i scored top 15% for reading, mathematics. top 10% for writing, and for abstract reasoning it really messed my thing up because i got the average 50% section ://
so for my total percentile i got the top of the 15% section, if i did even a couple marks better in my abstract i would've gotten a higher section of the top 10% band overall but that's okay!
I applied for sgg & girra hs. i accepted sgg, and girra i got reserve list #7 but i didn't get a follow-up offer
hope this helps

oh okay thanks a lot

 

[kkk579]

no worries!
1. what people said about the math exam having weird science stuff is entirely true, in fact, the exam paper's front cover was labelled math & science.
2. i scored top 15% for reading, mathematics. top 10% for writing, and for abstract reasoning it really messed my thing up because i got the average 50% section ://
so for my total percentile i got the top of the 15% section, if i did even a couple marks better in my abstract i would've gotten a higher section of the top 10% band overall but that's okay!
I applied for sgg & girra hs. i accepted sgg, and girra i got reserve list #7 but i didn't get a follow-up offer
hope this helps

did u do volunteering or possibly any type of extracurricular?

 

[joe mama]

did u do volunteering or possibly any type of extracurricular?

yep volunteered for a few fundraisers & cleaning programs outside & inside of school. extracurriculars- athletics, and did every competition i had the chance to participate in such as icas historuy comp and maths comp

 

[wzsmartypants]

yep volunteered for a few fundraisers & cleaning programs outside & inside of school. extracurriculars- athletics, and did every competition i had the chance to participate in such as icas historuy comp and maths comp

what did u end up getting in those comps?