MEDSI Interview in UTM

Salam and hi.

After a long time of not updating this blog, someone dropped a comment asking about the interview in UTM. Then I realised I've not been updating things about my study in UTM for a very, very long time. Wonder where has the enthusiasm gone now.

Alright, so, the comment is as follows:

salam kak, i was quite curious about the utm interview because there werent quite much blog posts from the seniors about utm.. could you share with us, the juniors some of your experience interviewing? is it the same like the foundation interview?

This question reminded me of the times when I googled for interview tips for both foundation and degree interview. hihi. I hope my answer in this post will help.

Answer:

I hope she's asking about the MEdSI interview. MEdSI is a test for students who are applying for any education courses in Malaysian universities. It consists of two phases: (1) Written test and (2) Interview.

I got the MEdSI interview in UTM Skudai because I live in Johor. All interviewees from Johor will have the interview in UTM Skudai regardless of the public universities they applied for in UPU. The interview is held at the Faculty of Education.

Here's an extract of my experience. When I got there, there's a simple registration and then I was seated outside a room to wait for my turn for the interview. There were several interviewees too and none of them applied for TESL like me. Sobs. There were Sejarah, Sains and KH applicants.

Because our courses were different, our interviews were a little different too although the beginning is pretty much the same. If you've experienced the interview for foundation, that's a bonus because the interview is pretty much the same too.

Here are some questions I remember:

1. Tell us about yourselves
(When they asked me, they asked in Malay. And then they noticed that I applied for TESL, so from the 2nd question onwards, the interview is held in English.)

2. Why do you want to become a teacher?

3. Why do you choose the subject?

4. Why do you choose this/these universities?

and some more questions which I don't remember much.
There were other interviewees who had to show how they will teach (so they have to 'teach' the interviewers the subject), and had to sing too! I guess I'm lucky enough because I don't have to do any of them. Alhamdulillah. but it's good to get yourself prepared for both.

Some tips:

1. Wear clothes with bright colours. Avoid dark, dull and gloomy colours.
2. Wear formal attire and shoes (of course).
3. While speaking, make sure your pronunciation is clear. Don't speak too fast.
4. Make sure your voice is loud enough to be heard. (because the chair for the interviewee is put very very far from the interviewers.)
5. Do ask questions when they ask "Do you have any questions to ask us?" so that you'd look like you have interest in the field/university.

Well I guess that's all. Hope this helps.

Thanks.

Wassalam.