How I answered my interview questions

Or perhaps, how I would answer them now

1. What course are you applying for?
   Medicine.
   
   
2. Where do you want to study?
   Australia. I've got some relatives there, but I don't mind living in a different city.
   
   
3. Tell us about yourself and your family.
   Well, my parents both grew up in a rural area, raised by farmer parents who perhaps had primary school education. They then moved out of the "kampung", pursued tertiary education and raised me as a person who values knowledge. That's how I started focussing on my studies in school and getting good results.
   
   
4. Why do you want to be a medical doctor?
   I love a challenge. I think a medical course provides serious intellectual challenge. It also enables me to help suffering people in the process, so it's not just a blind challenge. In my secondary school, I learned the values of faith, service and community. I can see myself embodying these values as a medical doctor who stands in his faith, and provides service above himself to the community around him.
   
   
5. Situational question: You are in medical school, you have 3 assignments and 1 week to complete them. What will you do?
   It will be a very busy week. First, I will focus on the most important assignment (giving the most marks). Gaming and social time will be cut down for this week. I might need to sleep less too. If I still can't finish all of them, then I'll consider asking for an extension [I remember actually saying this].
   
   
6. Tell us about your co-curricular activities.
   I was in Taekwondo and Boy Scouts. I also like singing, playing guitar, and playing chess. I also joined the Science Quiz team and the Debating team.
   
   
7. Do you have any questions for us?
   Do I have to pay the education loan in full once I'm done studying?
   Can I work overseas for a while before returning home?
   [My impression was, you should ask questions to show them your interest]

The MARA Interview

When my life course changed

Adapted from ReCom.

A few days before interview [on Fri, 6 May 2005]. Thanks to mediator and bittersweetheart.

For MARA interview:

• No group interview (unlike JPA).
• No specific group debate/discussion on a current social/economic issue. May have a general question on a social issue.
• Find info related to the course; e.g. Minister of Health Malaysia
• Prepare to answer honestly why MARA instead of JPA, why overseas/local, why Medicine. May need to unveil some personal life principles.
• Be myself.
• Relax! Just have a healthy, but not excessive dose of anxiety.

My personal thought: JPA and MARA interviews are very different in terms of time, place, format, and process (MARA questions were also scarcer on ReCom).

On the day of interview:

Just went to MARA in Kota Kinabalu.

Each applicant is interviewed by 2-3 panel members.

I applied for Medicine; 7/38 Sabahan applicants went for this course (18%). Others applied for TESL, Engineering, German Engineering.

Some of the questions:

1. What course are you applying for?
2. Where do you want to study?
3. Tell us about yourself and your family.
4. Why do you want to be a medical doctor?
5. Situational question: I am in medical school, I have 3 assignments and 1 week to complete them. What will I do?
6. Tell us about your co-curricular activities.
7. Do you have any questions for us?

It took 20-25 minutes.

In my next post, I'll tell you how I responded to those questions.

Meanwhile, let's contemplate God's unforeseen blessing in the form of ReCom - that forum revealed the questions way before the actual interview. Thank God for such a useful tool.

Road Trip

What a manly thing to do

I've been hunting for manly things to do ever since picking up Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. In the book, he mentions the 3 deepest desires in every man:

• to fight a battle
• to rescue a Beauty
• to live out an adventure

While I've needed to transform the first 2 into more practical metaphors - e.g. fighting a spiritual battle against immorality, injustice and laziness, and being chivalrous to all beauties until I find my own Beauty - the 3rd one is still attainable in its pure form. Like in a road trip.

Armed with only a tome of maps, driving for 2 hours straight and carrying 3 other lives in the vehicle definitely feels like a manly thing to do. The road on the Victorian South West is wide open, and even driving at the speed limit of 100 km/h won't get you to the end quickly enough. Wait, is there even an end?

Once, we decided to drive along a "45-minute road loop" around the mountains. The 2-way road was only wide enough for one car at a time. The road divided a few times. But signposts were rare. Worst, we didn't see any mountains. The thought that we were lost haunted me as the man behind the wheel. The question was: Where are you on the map, and how on earth do you go around the planned loop? It was getting dark, and as a local resident said, "You really don't want to leave your car around this time; there's too much wildlife." That, is adventure. And it feels manly.

Back at the lodge that night, it started to get cold. The fireplace near the corner inside the cottage seemed eager to be utilised. I summoned my masculinity, collected some firewood from outside, threw them into the fireplace and lit the flame. Soon the entire house was warmed up. The fact that the wood were neatly supplied in a box, all chopped and ready to go probably made the job so much easier. But it was still a very manly thing to do.

I must thank my housemate for this rare opportunity to explore the wild outdoors. And also the wild heart in me.

Picture credit: maristmessenger.co.nz