Why do you want to attend our program? 你为什么想要申请这个项目?
Tell us about a time when you overcame a difficult challenge. 请告诉我们一个你曾克服过的挑战(何时)。
Describe one of your favorite hobbies and why it is important to you. 请说出一个你最喜欢的爱好,并解释它于你而言为何重要。
图源:Kira Talent官网
此外,有些问题还可能会询问你的品质、局限性、成就、偏好、道德原则、团队工作能力等。例题如下:
How do you work under pressure? 你是怎么在压力下进行工作的?
What is your greatest strength and weakness? 你最大的优势和劣势是什么?
If we asked a close friend or family member to describe you, what would they say? 如果我们请一位你亲密的朋友或家人来描述你,他们可能会怎么说?
What does “leadership” mean to you? “领导力”对你来说意味着什么?
What professional skills do you excel in? 你在哪些专业技能方面表现出色?
What did you have for lunch/dinner? 你的午餐/晚餐吃了什么?
What is your best achievement? 你最大的成就是什么?
Describe a recent dream you had. 描述一下你最近做过的一个梦。
Do you agree that most people act out of altruism rather than self interest? 你是否同意大多数人的行为是出于利他主义而非自我利益?
Tell me about something funny that happened to you recently. 告诉我最近发生在你身上的有趣的事情。
Tell us about a time your had to collaborate with others. What qualities do you think are needed for strong teamwork to take place? 当你不得不与他人合作时,你认为强大的团队合作需要哪些品质?
How do you effectively prioritize when faced with multiple important tasks at once? 当同时面临多个重要任务时,你是如何有效地确定优先次序的?
What is your most significant accomplishment? 你最重要的成就是什么?
Tell us about a time when you had to defend an unpopular idea or opinion. How did you make your voice heard, and what was the outcome? 你是否不得不为一个不受欢迎的想法或意见进行辩护。你是如何让别人听到你的声音的,结果是什么?
What is your strategy when faced with a decision that must be made quickly? 当面临必须迅速做出的决定时,你的策略是什么?
Tell us something about yourself that isn’t in your application materials. 告诉我们一些你的申请材料中所没有的关于你的事情。
What three terms would you use to define yourself? 你会用哪三个词来定义自己?
Who is your role model? 谁是你的榜样?
Tell us about your greatest strength. How have you developed this strength and how has it helped you succeed? 告诉我们你最大的优势。你是如何发展这一优势的,它是如何帮助你成功的?
What factors contributed to your decision to apply for a seat in this program? tell us about your top three. 哪些因素促使你决定申请这个项目?告诉我们你认为最重要的三个因素。
Please tell me about an experience where you lead a team that consisted of a group of very different individuals. What did you do to lead the team to accomplish the objective, and what was the outcome? 你是否领导过一个由一群非常不同的人组成的团队。你做了什么来领导团队完成目标,结果是什么?
Outside of school and work, to what activity do you dedicate most of your time? Why is this important to you? 在学校和工作之外,你把大部分时间都用在什么活动上?为什么这对你很重要?
Which do you prioritize, social responsibility or profit? Why do you think one should be prioritized over the other (i.e., take a position and defend it)? 你会优先考虑社会责任还是利润?为什么你认为这一个应该优先于另一个(请表明立场并为其辩护)?
Tell us about a time when you had to come to a compromise with a colleague. 谈谈你不得不与同事达成妥协的时候。
How would you explain social media (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to someone 80 years old? 你会如何向80岁的人解释社交媒体(如Instagram、Facebook、Twitter等)?
What is the last book you read?/What is the most played song on your computer?/What is the last movie you saw?/Etc. 你最近读的书是什么?/你电脑上播放最多的歌曲是什么?/你最近看的电影是什么?
Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help someone who wasn’t a friend or family member. 你是否有曾经不顾一切地帮助过一个不是朋友或家人的人。
通常情况下,这类问题的 "How "与 "What"同样重要;比如,当你遇到的问题是——“谈谈你不得不与同事达成妥协的时候。(Tell us about a time when you had to come to a compromise with a colleague.)”,与其讨论妥协的细节,不如讨论你达成妥协的过程。“你达成妥协的过程”不仅可以向招生官展示你的沟通技能、个人素质,还可以展示你对“优先事项”的考虑。
“One thing I’ve really struggled with is saying 'no' to others. I often want to do everything I can to help the people in my life; however, I’ve started to realize that sometimes doing so much for others can leave me stretched too thin. For example, last summer, I was taking 2 college prep courses, working a near full-time job (35 hours per week), volunteering as a tutor for 10 hours per week, working on a community garden plot in my neighborhood, and playing volleyball with a close team that I’ve played with for several years. Looking back, it’s so clear to me now that this was way too much to try to take on, but at the time, I thought I’d be able to manage it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before my grades started to slip, I was running late to work or volleyball practice on a semi-regular basis, and some days, I was just too tired to put in my best effort in the garden or with my volleyball team. As well, I was personally not feeling very well, both physically and mentally, as the one thing that was consistently sacrificed was my own self-care.”
“One day, a few of my co-workers approached me, concerned about my well-being and my performance at work; a few days later, two of my teammates said something similar. It was then that I really realized that, in not taking care of myself and my own needs – both personal and academic – I was also unable to put in 100% for my team, my co-workers, my students, or my fellow volunteers. I knew I needed to make some changes, so I met with my co-workers to see if I could shave off a few hours here and there each week, without causing them any undue stress. I spoke with my course instructors to explain the gaps in my performance, and they kindly allowed me to submit some extra credit work. As well, I started holding tutoring sessions at my house, rather than travelling to students’ houses, as this saved me a lot of time and effort from commuting. These small changes added up to a significant amount of relief. I was able to fulfill the rest of my commitments that summer, and I pulled my grades back up by getting high scores on the remaining work and completing the extra credit assignments. Needless to say, this was a huge wake-up call. I felt awful letting my team, students, teachers, and co-workers down, and I was so thankful for the interventions that led to me re-structuring my time. I hadn’t yet realized the impact that being over-worked could have on the people in my life – the very people I was working so hard to help. Now, I am very careful and strategic in how I manage my time, and I don’t commit to anything if I know that I won’t be able to give it 100% of my effort at all times.”
“Burnout is incredibly, and increasingly, common for educational professionals. As a teacher, instructor, or professor, for example, you’re constantly pulled in many different directions at once, and it’s important to be able to balance doing everything you can for others, while also setting boundaries to protect yourself. Burnout is not only problematic for the person experiencing it, it also directly impacts everyone who relies on that person for support and collaboration. If I’m devoting too many of my resources to others and not replenishing myself, I won’t be able to continue like this and I will burn out. If I burn out, then I’m not helping anyone – myself, my family, my colleagues, my students, and so on. Setting boundaries and saying 'no' sometimes is necessary. I can’t help others if I’m not helping myself, and if I’m spreading myself too thin, then I’m not bringing 100% to the projects I do take on, which means the quality of my work overall could suffer, and I could let others down. On the other hand, if I simply set and maintain that boundary, it’s likely that someone else would be able to step into that role and fulfill it 100%. So, it is in my own best interest to work on this limitation, and it would be in my future students’ and colleagues’ best interests, too.”