For many applicants, the interview is something to be survived. For the scholarship winner, the interview is an opportunity to shine.

If your experience with interviews has been one of survival mode, pay attention. The interview process is a skill that can be learned, like any other skill. Once you didn’t know how to read, and now it is second nature; the interview will seem that simple too after a few rehersals and with the proper training.

So, without writing an entire book on the interview process, here are a few straightforward tips to help you get ready for your scholarship interview. We will go through the actual interview process in another article. First, and most important, is to never go into an interview unprepared.

The biggest mistake that most people make is to try to “wing it.” When you do this, you will mutter, stumble over your words, take way too long to think up answers or even try to invent answers, say “uh” a lot, and in short make every mistake this article is trying to teach you to avoid.

So, what does preparation consist of? Basically, it means that you spend some quality time (at least an hour if not five) before the interview thinking up every question the board might possibly ask you, writing each one down, and then coming up with a good answer. They could ask you pretty much anything, but they generally stick to questions about:

• who you are
• your experiences
• your goals in life
• your strengths and weaknesses
• what you want to do with this scholarship
• why you think you deserve/have earned this scholarship
• about the organization that is donating the money
• about the person the scholarship is named after
• anything you wrote in your essay or application is fair game
• rules or regulations about the field you are planning on entering
• possibly one or two random questions that relate to nothing, but try to challenge the way you think rather than whether you have the right answer

Take this list and write good answers to at least 25 questions, and practice your answers aloud (without reading them—you won’t have the benefit of written answer sheets during the interview). Practice until you are comfortable speaking about these topics. If you can manage it, get someone to sit down with you across a table and have them ask you each question in random order, until you don’t feel awkward and uncomfortable anymore.

Second, spend the next few weeks practicing how not to say “uh,” “um,” and all those filler sounds. This may seem a small matter, but it will make a big impression if you can get through your interview without using one of those sounds even a single time. On the flip side, if you use them a lot, you will make a horrible impression.

We make these sounds when we are trying to think of something to say. Thinking of something to say is not bad, it is even healthy, but rather than take up the space with distracting filler sounds, leave silence. Yes, silence. It is not distracting, even if it lasts a full minute, and it makes you seem more intelligent because it comes across as if you are deep in thought (with “um,” you may be thinking just as hard, but it makes you sound dumb).

So, starting today, and until you have it completely out of your system, pay close attention to every sound you make and whenever you use a filler sound slap your own hand, or pinch your cheek, or bite your tongue, or whatever it will take for you to stop using them. Ask three people you spend time with to hold you accountable too, even if they have to bring it up three times every sentence—and try not to get mad at them for doing what you asked them to do.

Third, gather every document or piece of data the interview board could possibly want, and make copies, or have originals on hand, that you are prepared to give them. This includes your

• driver’s license
• school transcripts (official, usually)
• every letter of recommendation you sent them (and any extras you might have that you didn’t send)
• your application
• your essay
• every other bit of documentation they asked you to send them
• anything you can think of that would enhance your credibility or favorability—awards, verification of community service or leadership activities, extracurricular activities, etc.

This isn’t the time to be shy; pull out all the stops and drag out every document they could possibly think to want about you. Even if you already sent it to them, bring it anyway. They can loose items, or want something else at the last minute. If you don’t have something with you that they are looking for, all is not lost; just promise to get it to them right away, and then do so. But how much more impressive is it if you can pull out the document they are looking for right there and then, and save them the trouble of waiting!

Last, the night before the interview, go to bed early, and get a good night’s rest. You will think better, hold your head higher, and be your best self when you have had enough rest. The morning of the interview, eat a healthy breakfast, listen to some calming and uplifting music, dress in formal clothes (business formal, or “Church clothes,” not jeans and a t-shirt) and head out in plenty of time to get there early without being in a rush.

Plan to leave early enough so that you can change a flat tire or sit in stalled traffic for half an hour and still not worry about making your appointment. If all goes well, you will get there very early and have plenty of time on your hands to wander around the new building, find the bathrooms (you don’t want to get lost trying to find them at a critical moment), drink some water, and rehearse your answers in your mind one last time.

When you are called into the interview room, take a deep breath, smile, and walk confidently, knowing that you prepared well and can meet any challenge.

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