Hi and Assalamualaikum, I shall just skip to my experience undergoing all three stages for UEM Scholarship. Hope it helps 😀

First and foremost – Online application.
During my time, we were needed to fill up our final form4 results. That was the only scholarship that asked for it though. So, make sure you remember your results! 😉 The other details were almost the same as other scholarship applications, only that it asked us to do two 300 words essay. One was why did you choose your respective field of study and the other was why are you a worthy candidate (this is always the hard one)
Do not crack your head writing something that doesn’t reflect who you are. Write something that comes truly from you, then you’ll find a 300 words essay as easy as ABC!
As you submit, just wait for an email or text from UEM regarding the next stage.

First stage – Personal interview with the education department
Before the interview, we had an English comprehension test and an addmaths test (nobody was expecting addmaths though 😐 They gave us 30 minutes to complete them… In the morning… After not using your brain for months…but just do your best!)
It was a 30 – 45 minutes interview. Luckily, they prepared food for us so I filled most of my time eating. There were 6 candidates during my morning session, so don’t forget to talk to them! Trust me, everybody is as nervous as you are. Give them some support before the interview, it will make you feel better as well. Time flies and then it’s my turn! I was the last candidate for the day and I ended up having mixed emotions. Some left the room feeling satisfied, some left looking gloomy 😦 But I held my head high and wished myself the best of luck.

Summary of my interview
-Tell me about yourself; name, where do you live, what school were you in, brief info about your family, your co-curricular activities at school (they will ask questions as you speak)
-Why did I choose mechanical engineering as my field of study
-What UEM project applies mechanical engineering
-Which university am I planning to go and why
-My hobby, what did I do while waiting for my SPM results
-They asked me to rate my general knowledge from 0-10, and they asked me to tell anything that I know about what’s happening in Malaysia.
-and, any questions?

Tips
-Dress neatly
-Be polite, knock the door before entering, greet them as well
-Be as calm as you can be, just consider it as a chit-chat session with the elders
-Smile
-Never leave the room without any questions

All in all, the interview was fun! Had a great laugh with the interviewers. Don’t worry, I believe you’ll do fine as well.
Second stage – Group assessment
In the morning we did an online assessment (nobody knew this was coming) diagrammatic, verbal, mechanics, numerical questions.
Then starts the group activity. We were divided into groups and the first task was the all-time favourite ‘how to survive a plane crash’ group discussion. The second activity was acting out a commercial. Actors, this is your time to shine. So basically, what you need to do is to get yourself involved and have fun! We were recorded the whole time so don’t forget to smile! They even gave us goodies and hampers to the winning groups, got to love the hospitality♥

Third and final stage – Personal interview with the B of D
Before the interview, everybody was asked to write an essay regarding the topic they were assigned to. I picked a lucky number 1, or was it 3 or maybe 5 and my topic was corruption. Do not forget to read about current issues, you might need the extra points for your essay. We were given about half an hour to complete the essay. Next, is the most anticipated, final, nerve-wrecking interview session. But before that, we had refreshments (like always 🙂 I love UEM, they love to feed me ♥)and we had our photos taken, so dress up really well on the last day! Ok not, dress up really well everyday.

I was the only girl that day and the only one taking mechanical, quite nervous because the guys looked top-notch confident! But, oh well just be yourself and if you are ever nervous, just talk to them, or eat or drink or sing or play games 🙂

This final interview was a bit intense than the first. There’s a camera sitting on a tripod and a microphone both staring at me 🙂 I was questioned whether I was a feminist or not :’) and my opinion about the “glass ceiling”. They even asked what will be the four subjects I’ll be taking for A-levels. Make sure you really know your course, why did you choose that out of other engineering courses. Others were about the same – tell me about yourself, your hobby, what did you do while waiting for SPM results etc. Oh and, why are you a worthy candidate of this scholarship. Lastly, the questions.

In a nutshell, all three stages were interesting. Don’t worry too much, just have fun. In whatever you do, just do your best and be yourself. Cooperate with those around you and never look down on them. One will not get everything they want, but always what they need. Everybody tastes rejection, so did I, but never lose hope. One can cry, but never give up, not even once. So put your trust in God, He is All-Knowing. May you have the chance to do what you love, I wish you all the best in life.

– A blessed girl who will be studying A levels under Yayasan UEM. Not knowing where she’ll end up in the mere future, I believe God knows best.