PSL voices | Surviving Bachelor’s admissions interviews

Published April 23, 2024

On Thursday, May 6, 2021, I was relaxing in my yard, watching the sunset behind my Savoie mountains when I suddenly got an email telling me I was eligible for the Sustainability Sciences Bachelor’s program I had applied to two months earlier through the Parcoursup platform. My interview was scheduled for May 10 – less than four days from then. But, instead of feeling proud that my application had been selected, I was overcome with stress, fear and uncertainty.

If you can relate to this, don’t worry! You’ve come to the right place. In this article I’ll give you some tips to help you get ready for the interview in a stress-free way.

1. Plan ahead !
The admissions timetable is often tight, especially if you’re applying for several programs. So find out in advance which programs may require you to complete an interview, and how it works. Once you get your interview date (congratulations!), check your availability right away so that you can change the date if needed. Make sure you have a quiet place (and a good internet connection if it’s an online interview) and log in a bit in advance. If it’s an in-person interview, plan on getting there in advance, since you may have transportation problems.

2. Read over your motivation letter, resume and the website for your academic program
Most admissions interviews for the first year of Bachelor’s programs are not intended to test you on your academic knowledge. They seek to find out whether you’re a good fit for the program you’ve applied to. So you’ll mainly be asked questions about why you’re applying. Some questions may draw on your resume and motivation letter: take the time to read them over before the interview and make sure you can explain everything you’ve written. And spend some time on the website for the Bachelor’s program and make sure you understand everything: the interviewers will probably want to check whether you know what you’re getting into! If anything is unclear, you can prepare some questions in advance to ask the panel (if they ask you to do so). That will show them that you are interested and motivated.

3. Practice – but not too much
There’s no better way to lower your stress level than doing some “practice interviews” with your friends or family. Ask them to play the role of the interviewers and ask you any question that comes to mind. They may be basic questions like asking you to introduce yourself or explain why you’re applying to this Bachelor’s program, or more original ones, which are less related to the program. That will help you practice thinking on your feet to answer unexpected questions. But be careful! If you practice too much, your answers may sound unnatural, which you want to avoid.

I hope these three tips will help you prepare for the next step in the admissions process. Remember that the interviewers aren’t trying to trick you but to get to know you better. If you don’t know the answer to a question, just say so, it’s ok. So, go ahead and take a deep breath and I wish you good luck for your interviews!

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