JPA-MARA Student Assessment Centre

A little help goes a long way

Hey earthlings! Recently, I attended Students Assessment Centre held by JPA-MARA. While these memories are still fresh in mind, I would like to share my interview experience and I hope this would be helpful for you.

Briefly, Student Assessment Centre (SAC) held by JPA-MARA is basically an interview to assess highly-achieved applicants who applied for 'Program Ijazah Pertama di GLU' and 'Program Ijazah Pertama di IPTS'.

My interview session was arranged on April 19 2016 at 2 pm in UNITEN Kajang, Selangor. Just like other candidates, I was intimidated by the whole idea of "interview". It sent me to a cold sweat when I ponder upon the mere thought of attending an interview session. Let me tell you buttercups, if you are shortlisted to sit on for an interview session, that means you are a serious and are of the best contender. You are one step closer from receiving the award! :)

I left home early and reached UNITEN by 12.30 pm, around that. I had my lunch with my dad as my company. Since there was a plenty of time before the afternoon prayer, I managed to calm down my wracking nerves.

Oh before I forgot, please be sure you have braced yourself with the documents that you need to incorporate with. I usually prepare everything - documents and attire four days before the big day. This is due to my past experiences. Your identification card (IC) is imperative when dealing with such process. Frankly, you don't have to encompass all your certs as the interviewers wouldn't have much time to scrutinize everything. They want to assess you, not your certificates. Also, stress on wearing the appropriate attire. I was informed to wear a collared long-sleeve white t-shirt with a track bottom and a dark coloured hijab. Take notes upon what proper attire they insisted you to wear. (usually it is stated in the letter)

As I arrived at the hall where there were hundreds of other applicants waiting in helter-skelter, I registered myself and I was given a number tag. I got the number 12 and I was allocated in Kelompok 3 which means group 3. Altogether there were 3 groups, each comprises of 4 smaller groups. In each smaller group, there will be 10 applicants allocated together. My smaller group lacked 3 applicants and therefore there was only the 7 of us. And hey please mingle around. Avoid being an introvert nor an extrovert. Get to know your group members as it relieves the pressure and distress that are boiling inside you. Plus, you will find it easier to communicate with them. Thank God my teammates were so friendly and they can accommodate to a chatter box like me :p Hi Maizan, Laila, Aqilah, Haziq, Hazim and Qayyum! If you are reading this, thank you hahah.

Not to worry if you are not an MRSM student nor from any renowned boarding school. I am just a regular student from sekolah harian. You might have never even heard of my school before. However, I am proud of myself that I made it to this stage and as a representative of my school.

As the clock strikes 2, we were issued with brief explanation pertaining to SAC before we start our sessions. My teammates and I together with one more team were required to start our Latihan Dalam Kumpulan (LDK). This is simply a group discussion in Bahasa Malaysia. At first, I was intimidated too. But it was just like how you do a presentation in front of your classmates back in school. The topics given were considerable debatable. Each team was designated with different topic. My team was asked to discuss upon mental illness whilst the other team discussed about obesity. There were two female interviewers assessing us. The ladies were observing us all the time. Not to downplay this process but it was not as terrifying as I had imagined. Be sure to participate in discussing and presenting the topic. Lead the team if you can because that is the quality they are looking for right now. However, don't be greedy and selfish by stating all the points by yourself without giving the chances to your other teammates. The interviewers wouldn't admire your attitude and will possibly reduce your marks.
After we completed our discussion and presentation, we were asked to debate on both topics. Take a chill pill as this is solely a typical Q&A. The interviewers seek for your participation and how you converse formally not the contents. All in all, LDK was very fun and casual.

Then, we gathered at the hall again and waited for the next group interview. Honestly, I was nervous as heck and tried hard not to showcase my feelings. Remind yourself to knock the door before entering the room and greet the interviewers. Be polite at all times. So once we entered the room and greeted the panel of interviewers, we took our seats facing them. At this moment, I was still chanting my du'as to keep calm hahah. The interviewers were two benign ladies. They even joked with us which was very relieving and we felt less stressful. The interview started by introducing ourselves. Each of us were given the opportunity to list out all the posts, participation and achievements we attained in school. Next, we were required to pitch ideas and give our point of view regarding integrity, patriotism, 1Malaysia and more. Since most of my teammates were medical applicants, so they questioned us upon why we choose medicine, why do we want to be a doctor, why don't we choose to be a lawyer or whatsoever that kind of stuff.  Most of the points were pertaining to our contribution to the nation. Dealing with JPA means dealing with the government. Therefore, don't simply condescend on them by stating the cons of government doings. Your ideas should sound optimistic, logical, and supportive to the country. My tips for this session would be; be selfless. Don't prattle until your other teammates have nothing left to say. Aid your teammates when they start to stutter and feeling anxious. Teamwork is a virtue and the key to entice the interviewers. Don't be too avaricious by conquering the session all by yourself without letting your members to point out their ideas. And please, let the interviewers finish their statement. Don't simply cut the conversation. In conclusion, this group interview is basically having conversations with your interviewers. They just want to know about you. Of course, you need to converse fully in English. Don't matter about the grammatical errors you might enunciate. Be assertive and appear confident. Avoid slouching. If they ask you in English, answer in English and vice versa. Always project yourself as an excellent student with good demeanor, confident with your qualification and attributes, all-rounded in both academics and co-curricular activities with out-of-the-box thinking and a clear stand in your opinions.

So that's it! I was surprised to know that SAC solely comprised of two sessions. I suppose I did well and hopefully I can ace as well as be among the 10 medical applicants of JPA-MARA. All the best for you guys! Should you have any inquiries of vivid info, do leave a message and I'll try my best to clarify it. Thank you for reading x