Monday, January 27, 2020

DSA

Insider’s Story on Direct School Admission (DSA): 
DSA INTERVIEW
Direct School Admission Interview Top Secret 
The DSA interview may seem daunting at first, but with preparation and confidence, your child should be able to ace it.
Q1. Does every school require interviews?
  • Not all schools will require interviews. There are other means of assessing your child’s suitability, such as admission tests and camps.
  • There are two types of interviews: the solo interview and the group interview.

Q2. What are some interview questions to expect?
  • You can expect routine questions
    • the applicant’s strengths, weaknesses, personality
    • the applicant’s portfolio/academic track record/achievements
    • the applicant’s potential to contribute to the DSA school based on applicant’s experience and opinions
    • the school’s programmes and motivation for choosing the school
  • Non-routine questions
  • the applicant’s reasoning process
  • the applicant’s ability to think on the spot and handle surprise
  • General knowledge, current affairs question
  • Questions about general knowledge and whether applicant can apply them
  • Questions about social issues and current affairs
  • (For group interviews) Interviewers also look out for the interactions between the applicants and problem-solving skills.

Q3. If my child applied DSA based on his or her exceptional talent in mathematics, will there be math theory related interview questions?
  • This would depend on the school. Some applicants were asked math-related interview questions. However, some were asked about current affairs issues that were not related to math.

Q4. What do interviewers expect from their applicants?
  • Interviewers may be looking out for: strong communication skills, confidence, ability to adapt to unexpected events and whether applicant can value-add to the domain he or she specialises in.
  • Body language is also important: your child should sit up straight, maintain the right posture and maintain eye contact with interviewer.

Q5. In a group interview, how vocal/outspoken my child should be?
  • when it is your child’s turn, he or she should answer with confidence.
  • When it is not your child’s turn, do not attempt to answer the question unless the student cannot handle the question and the interviewer has indicated the rest of the students in the room can answer.
  • Being overly aggressive may create the impression that your child is not a team player.

Q6. How can we prepare our child for the interview?
  • For routine questions:
    • Draft a short pitch and get your child to memorise.
    • Keep practicing until it becomes natural.
    • Don’t focus on something too cliché or common. For example, many applicants do play the piano or have activities such swimming. Instead of providing too much details about your general achievements, you should highlight something unique about you to distinguish yourself from others.
    • For non-routine questions:
    • Exposure to current affairs is crucial. You can engage your child in current affairs by having light conversations over dinner or reading newspaper articles with them.

Q7. Do we need to enrol our child for any special DSA preparation programmes found in the tuition centres?
Gifted and Talented Education offers programmes such as Classroom to Boardroom which focuses on communication skills and critical reasoning process. We also conduct DSA interview camps to help students manage the interview process effectively.  The DSA Interview is likely to be the first interview in your child’s life.  Sufficient preparation and warm up exercises will make a huge difference.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Group A questions 
Routine questions about the applicant’s strengths, weaknesses, personality, related to the profile of the applicant
  • What is one of your best characteristics? 
  • Why are you special? 
  • Describe yourself. 
  • What are your hobbies?  
  • What was the last book you read? 
 The applicant’s portfolio/academic track record/achievements 
  • What is the achievement that you are most proud of? 
  • What projects have you done in primary school, and which one are you proud of? 
 The applicant’s potential to contribute to the DSA school based on applicant’s experience and opinions  
  • How do you think our school can support your interests? 
  • How do you manage your time if you have frequent school trainings (for sports/music DSA)? 
  • Would you compromise on your interests or passion because of a busy study schedule? 
  • What is the math theory which interest you the most (for Mathematics DSA)? 
  • What are the changes would you like to see to the science curriculum? (for Science DSA)? 
  • Are there any events or people you remember the most during your 3 to 6 years of CCA? 
  • The school’s programmes and motivation for choosing the school 
  • Why should we choose you for DSA? 
  • Why do you like to play Badminton/tennis…? (for Sports DSA) 
 Group B Questions 
Non-routine questions about the applicant’s reasoning process and the applicant’s ability to think on the spot and handle surprise 
  • If you are the Prime Minister of Singapore, what will you do to make this country better? 
  • If you are only allowed to bring one item to Mars, what will you bring? 
  • Which part of a car would you like to be and why? 
  • Look around the room and find something that best describes you.  
 Group C Questions 
General knowledge, current affairs questions; Questions about general knowledge and whether applicant can apply them 
Questions about social issues and currents affairs  
  • Is there any discrimination in Singapore? If you are the Prime Minister what will you do to prevent discrimination? 
  • What do you think about education system in Singapore? 
  • What makes you proud of living in Singapore? 
  • How do you look at the news of MRT breakdowns? 
(For group interviews) Questions related to teamwork. Interviewers also look out for the interactions between the applicants and problem-solving skills. 
  • Who should we choose out of all the applicants in this room? 
  • Is your primary school the best? 

Ref: https://www.gifted-school.com/dsa-story-3/


PARENTS HELP

You helped your child applied for DSA (Direct School Admission) and you are jumping with joy when your child receives an invitation from the school to go for an interview.

Good interview performance plays an important role in clinching a place in the coveted school. Preparation is key to acing the interview.

First, read up on the desired school with your child so he or she knows what the school is about and how to answer the questions appropriately.
Second, coach your child to prep for the interview questions and how to answer them. The answers should be based on the child’s opinions so it sounds natural to the interviewer. You may want to check out “Success Strategies for Direct School Admissions (DSA)”, a book by Jackeline Carter. In this book, Jackeline has compiled over five years of research and experience coaching students through this often daunting process. The purpose of writing this book is to level the playing field for all students who are interested in studying in an Integrated Programme school, no matter their financial background.

In this post, I have also compiled some commonly asked DSA Questions for your reference:

Personal Interview Section

Students are asked to talk about themselves — share the following info: name, age, school currently attending, any hobbies, likes, dislikes etc.
  • Tell me about yourself?
  • In one sentence, introduce yourself.

Maturity and Reasoning

Questions to determine why you pick the “desired” school and demonstrate the reasoning skills — share reasons to support your points.
  • Why do you want to come to our school?
  • Why did you apply to our school / programme?
  • Why do you wish to come to our school?
  • What are the things you like about our school that other schools do not include?
  • How many schools have you applied to and which school is your first choice?
  • Did you apply to other schools?
  • Are you applying to our school because it is a branded/ elite school?
  • What is a good school?
  • Why should we accept you among all the great candidates /applicants who apply?
  • What are the problems of accepting students to a school based on their exam results?
  • Tell us what you enjoy doing when you are NOT attending school

Tell Us About Your Ambition

Whatever ambition you have, state reasons why you chose it and what your plans are for the future.  For example: If your ambition is to be a scientist, give reasons why being a scientist attracts you so much and what innovations that you wish to bring to humankind.
  • Who is the greatest influence in your life or who do you admire the most?
  • What do you think about Steve Jobs and iPhone?
  • Tell us about an event that is significant in your life?
  • What is your goal for life?
  • What are your strengths?
  • What are your weaknesses? How do you overcome them?
  • What is your favourite subject? Coach your child to support his/her answer with some reasons even though it sounds like a straight forward question.
  • How do you think you can help the CCA achieve greater heights?
  • Do you have any question about our school?
  • What questions would you like to ask us?
The above questions were compiled from the following sources:

On the DAY of Interview:

  • Make sure your child is relaxed and well rested the night before the interview.
  • Wake up with a clear mind when you head for the interview.
  • Try to arrive early (30 minutes) BEFORE the interview begin so your child does not feel rushed.
  • Last, but not least, encourage your child to believe in him/herself.


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