How parents can support their child before an interview

This article was written by Interior Architecture BA(Hons) student Ela. 

As many parents know, especially mine, university interviews are extremely stressful for their children. From personal experience, the pressure of a university interview is dependent on the mindset of the student, however I acknowledge that parents can either help reduce or, even if they don’t mean to, double it.

A few things my parents did to help me out are as follows; 

Familiarise themselves with the subject of the course

Having someone else in the house who is familiar with the subject you are interviewing for creates a great atmosphere, as parents can encourage their child to engage in passionate conversations. This was a good way for me to prepare for the classic, “Why do you want to study this course?” question, as well as make me excited to study, which is a feeling I believe many students can forget to have when in interview season.

Study your personal statement together 

Personal statements are a great way for your choice of university to get to know you and therefore they are very likely to bring it up in the interview! Since they are usually written a long time before the interview, it is common to forget specific details you may have included. Having my parents sit down and create questions to ask me really helped me have a realistic idea of conversations that could possibly come up in my university interview. 

Set up mock interviews

Having a mock interview for university is common nowadays, however I believe there are a few extra steps you can take to make it that little bit more effective. As stated before, parents having a good understanding of the subject their child is interviewing for is a great advantage, although reading through the specific course details (which should be available on the universities website), creating questions based on said details and making questions from this information will thoroughly prepare the student. It is important to remember that the interviewer is looking for how passionate you are and being familiar with the course is a great way to show you are keen and ready to study! Furthermore, having mock interviews is a great way to relieve stress, as you become comfortable with the structure of how things will go, have room to make mistakes and recognise your weaknesses. 

PREPARE QUESTIONS!!!

I cannot stress how important it is to prepare questions for the end of the university interview! Parents, now that you are familiar with the course, sit down with your child and come up with at least three questions you want to ask your interviewer at the end. Remember to stay polite and show you are passionate through curiosity! Questions could be anything like, “What can I do to prepare myself for this course?”, “Do you recommend any books based on this topic?” or “What is something special this university offers?”. Almost all interviews will leave time at the end for questions and interviewers appreciate that you have done your research and prepared a few questions for them. It shows care, passion and curiosity, which are all redeeming qualities in a student. 

Calm your nerves and share experiences

Obviously, reducing nerves is much easier said than done, however having a parent there and seeing the situation from an outside perspective is grounding. One thing my parents did to help calm my nerves is share their interview experiences with me. It helps the student realise that the entire interview doesn't have to be perfect to be successful. Parents, it is also important to remind your child that they have reached the interview stage for a reason! Getting an interview means that the universities are interested, which can frequently be forgotten in this stressful season.