As interviews are an important component of the admission process,  let’s discuss some tips on how to ace your interview which you need to keep in mind while applying to universities in Hong Kong for your undergraduate degree.

Acing your Interview

After universities review your application, they may call students for an interview round. Interviews give the applicant a chance to showcase their unique traits and explain why they would be a great fit for the university. 

Based on the application, individual interview notifications are sent only to selected applicants, which means that they will be arranged only with students who have passed the initial stage of the application process.

Interviews are conducted online via video call or on a platform wherein you would answer questions prompted to you by your computer screen. Depending upon the course, in-person group or individual interviews are also conducted if the university finds your application impressive. These in-person interviews are conducted in the applicant’s own country.

Online Interviews

In Hong Kong, most universities prefer only online interviews. In most cases, you will have a short 15-20 minute skype call with the admissions team about your reasons for application, contributions, achievements etc.

They also may use other online interview techniques, for example, HKUST uses The Kira Interview Platform to interview their candidates. In this method, there is no human interaction. This platform prompts the candidate to answer questions given out by the system. There will be 5 questions and a minute to prepare between each of the questions.

In-Person Interviews

Physical interviews are usually conducted in the applicant’s own country. These can be group discussion interviews where admission officers give a topic to a group of 6-7 students and students are graded based on their language skills, time management, knowledge and confidence.

If you are applying for a competitive course, for example, for majors such as BBA in global business or Economics and finance, you may have a second round of interviews, either in person or online.

Tips to Ace your Interview

Interviews are important as it is a transparent way for the university to get to know you further, beyond your submitted application. It helps admission officers to understand your passion, interests and engage in a meaningful conversation. A few tips from our experts at UniRely are:

1: Prepare a short summary about yourself, which could include your interests and hobbies as this allows the university to understand your personality.

2: Research about the course you are applying for, the university and your reason for applying to the university.

3: Be confident about yourself and answer all questions honestly 

4: Interview needs to be a smooth and meaningful conversation as they are not about universities drilling you with questions

5: Dressing formally for both in-person and online interviews is a must as it creates a good impression.

Remember that interviews are a way for you to express your ideas and views about your decision. So as long as you are honest and confident, it will go well!

University-specific mentors at UniRely train lots of students through mock interview rounds and help them ace their interviews to their dream universities. For more information, please visit our website unirely.com to learn more about the process of applying to universities in HK for an undergraduate degree.