Congratulations, you’ve been invited to a scholarship interview! As you begin your research and rehearsals, you’ll notice that many questions are situational or hypothetical questions, such as “How do you set and accomplish goals?” or “Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.”
Many students stumble at these, ending up narrating a list of accomplishments or going off on a tangent. The key is to keep your focus on answering the question, and the PAR and STAR methods will be a big help here.
The PAR Method
Particularly useful for questions about tasks or projects, the PAR method organises information to produce a compelling narrative. This method will keep your focus on the interview question and help you avoid tangents.
- (P) Problem or Project. Outline the problem you faced or the project you undertook.
- (A) Action. Clearly explain what you did to solve the problem and what steps you took. Remember to emphasise your own achievements alongside those of your teammates.
- (R) Result. Share what you achieved. If there were any negatives, include suggestions for improvement.
Why Use the PAR Method?
1 It makes things easy to remember.
The scholarship interview is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so it’s natural to feel nervous or flustered. Keeping your mind focused on the PAR framework will help you ground yourself in a simple, step-by-step process. It’ll keep the nerves from getting to you and your mind on the interviewer’s question.
2 It helps you organise your thoughts.
PAR is designed to help you organise your thoughts chronologically, so that your answers have a clear flow from problem to result. Simple and concise answers with good logic impress interviewers.
3 It impresses the interviewer with how you think.
Which leads to the last, most important strength of PAR: it’ll impress the interviewer by demonstrating your thought process. Describing your actions using the PAR method outlines the flow of your thoughts and how you make decisions, both of great importance to your interviewer. Using this method also shows an interviewer that you’re prepared for your interview, as you’re confident about your answers to their questions.
The STAR Method
This method structures your thought processes so you focus on only what’s relevant to the question. Here’s what it stands for:
- (S) Situation – Briefly give some context.
- (T) Task – What were you responsible for?
- (A) Action – What did you do, or not do, and why?
The bulk of the answer should be here, detailing your thought processes.
- (R) Results – What were the outcomes? Be sure to emphasise the positive. For negative outcomes, outline how you plan to improve.
Why Use the Star Method?
To understand why you should use the STAR method to answer questions, you need to know why interviewers ask STAR questions. The reason is simple: they prevent interviewees from giving polished “best answers” and focus on real experiences.
Examples of STAR questions include:
- Tell me about a big challenge you faced. How did you deal with it?
- Give me an example of a time you encountered a conflict with a teammate. Were you able to resolve it?
- Tell me about a time you accomplished something you’d never done before.
Notice that these questions all reference past experiences, not hypotheticals. To answer, draw on your own experiences and structure your response using the STAR method to give the best impression of yourself.
Some Interview Must-Dos
1 Dress professionally.
2 Arrive early.
3 Have good body language.
4 Carry a copy of your portfolio and personal
statement just in case.
5 Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
“If I could give one tip to future applicants, it would be to approach the interview as a conversation, tap into your genuine curiosity to connect with the interviewer authentically, and use it as an opportunity to get to know the faculty better.”
Chua Guang Rong
NUS Scholar