The above-mentioned title is something Amir said to me after we collected our GCE 'A' Level results when he found out that a particular schoolmate managed a distinction for the economics special paper, not to mention it was someone no one expected to do that well for special paper.
Today, that phrase, which signifies something miraculous and out of this world, has happened to yours truly. A*STAR has truly gone blind. It has. Either that or it has gone mad. What a wonder. One of the most competitive, and one of the most selective government statutory boards has shortlisted yours truly for the FINAL ROUND scholarship interview poised to occur this Saturday.
This after I SCREWED UP BIG TIME during the first round interview on Tuesday. I went into a HUGE boardroom, stuttered my way through 15 minutes of interview, babbling incoherent stuff and still manage to get to the final round?!?!?!?!?!
I have to admit though, I didn't exactly want to be shortlisted after my experience on Tuesday. It was downright intimidating, stressful and it bordered on the line of being plain SCARY.
Yes, I thought it was SCARY to be put in a room with 4 very important people shooting questions at you for a scholarship interview. And you know it's not a good thing that the 4 very important people don't seem interested in what you have to offer at the end of the interview. Which was my experience.
Turns out... I was wrong. They probably weren't impressed. But I don't know why they put me through in the first place. Seriously. Most A*STAR scholars have grades so good they make mine look mediocre. Not to mention most of them have taken the SAT while yours truly hasn't. My interview group had people who were so outstanding I couldn't comprehend what they were saying about fuel cells *dry laugh*. This isn't about me not having any self-confidence. This is about me being realistic and honest. Seriously, every one there was from a better junior college (maybe except one guy who came from my college). One of them even topped my primary school at the primary 6 level. I don't even want to know about the achievement of the others. One thing I am proud of myself for is working hard and getting to the same place as that person who topped the level when I was 12. Seeing her was kind of like an affirmation of my hard work, it was a form of consolation that hard work really gets you somewhere, maybe even allow you to catch up with someone you thought would always be so much better than you are.
Right now, I have to think if I should accept the invitation to the interview. I know, most of you would grab me by my shoulders, shake my head violently and shout "what's there to think? Just freaking RSVP!!!". If I were to do so, I would just be putting my name down for the MOST TRAUMATIC INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE I can experience at 18 years of age. Is my heart that brave? Am I that prepared?
And about my NUS interviews. The first round, conducted by the professors weren't as bad as my A*STAR first round interview. But that's not to say it was a walk in the park. I'd say the interviewers really went all out to challenge the candidates. All those consulting with a current medical student went right out the window. Hardly applicable. Looks like NUS is trying something different this year. The only applicable thing would be that applicants are expected to know important people in the industry (Yee Chien, please take note. My classmate and I got posed questions related to that). The other questions were a little geared towards GP (JC-style). They'd look at your personal statement, extract a topic to talk about from there (in my experience and that of my classmate's) and from there on, dissect everything you say, making everything you say look bad and sound wrong. Lol. No kidding. This happened for 15 minutes. But I walked out, barely alive.
The 2nd round was more cordial, and friendlier. The interviewer seated in the centre was pretty nice, I thought. And the medical student-cum-interviewer (different person) was a smiley sorta fella. Which was good. Correction. Which was GREAT considering the atmosphere of all my past interviews. The 3rd one... wasn't as friendly, but he was still ok. The questions posted were on a more personal level. Overall, it was like friendly banter. Except I sat for so long, combined with my stress, the low temperature and my overative nerves, I started to get dizzy and faint. It got to the point where I was afraid I'd collapse after I stand up. It didn't happen but after leaving the room and getting some fresh air, I felt so much better. So much for interviews.
Ahhh.. the stress. I have another 3 hours and 30minutes to RSVP my attendance for this Saturday's interview with A*STAR. What should I do?
I'm a 3rd year student in what is probably the largest autonomous university in Singapore majoring in a Science-related subject (well it sorta IS SCIENCE). I'm known to be introverted, sarcastic (at times), funny when I rant (which isn't a good thing lol) and somewhat of a loner. I miss LA and would move there in a heartbeat :(
