By Will Geiger By Will Geiger
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.
and Cait Steele
Cait Williams is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cait recently graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Journalism and Strategic Communications. During her time at OU, was active in the outdoor recreation community.
Reviewed by Bill Jack
Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.
Edited by Maria Geiger
Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
Updated: May 2nd, 2024
If you have applied to some scholarships, especially full ride scholarships and other competitive merit scholarships, you may be invited to interview as part of the application process.
The scholarship interview can be a daunting part of the application process. That’s why it is so important to practice through some of the most common scholarship interview questions.
While every scholarship interview will be different–some involve single interviews, while others require multiple interviews. Students may be interviewed by a single interviewer, and/or multiple interviewers during the selection process. However, there are certain basic questions that you are likely to encounter no matter what the scholarship interview process involves.
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Keep on reading to learn about the common scholarship interview questions you might be asked, as well as some strategies for answering the questions.
Below are some of the general questions you might be asked in your scholarship interview. While these questions may be more general, it is a mistake to think of these as mere “warmup” questions.
How to respond? The best approach to this question is to briefly pitch yourself as a scholarship candidate. You don’t need to go over your whole life story, but you should succinctly discuss how your experiences uniquely qualify you for the scholarship.
How to respond? Be genuine when answering this question. The goal is not to name the most impressive role model–some of the best role models can be family members or friends who are not famous or well-known.
However, you should try to be specific and use specific stories or anecdotes to explain your reasoning.
How to respond? This is a classic interview question and an opportunity to share how you will be a successful student or scholarship recipient.
While it can be tempting to list a few strengths, you should try to keep it narrowed and use examples to show that you possess the strengths.
How to respond? This can be a tricky question for many students. The important thing is to discuss a real mistake that you learned and more importantly, grew from.
Additionally, your mistake should not be so big that it might make the interviewer question your candidacy for the scholarship.
How to respond? Your response to this question will depend on what the scholarship award is–a financial grant, enrichment opportunities, admission to the honors college, etc.
You should be honest, but also try to bring your response back to how you would contribute to the college as a student and alumni. Ultimately, scholarships are investments for organizations to support students who will make an impact.
Here are some other interview questions that you might encounter in a scholarship interview:
Looking to make the college admissions process? We have so many resources to help you out! Get expert advice on how many colleges to apply to, what safety, match, and reach schools are, and how to choose a college. Finally, be sure to apply early and often to all the scholarships you qualify for!
