mature student interview

moongoose

hi all,
i have an interview with DCU this week after applying for an honours degree course in mechantronics. i was wondering if anyone would have any tips or even previous experience with this. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mickswizard

My interview was for Economics Politics and Law, but here's how I think the system works. They look at all the mature students who apply, they give a place to all those who had roughly enough points in their leaving cert. They then give interviews to those who didn't to see if their up to it. They take on whoever they think can successfully do the course and then they auction off the rest of the places to the CAO kids. My interview was only five minutes long and they rang me to offer me the place that afternoon. I showed how interested I was in the subject and (this bits important) how the working world has giving me a focus and determination to succeed at anything I put my mind to. If you make these two points clearly, your a shoe in. All mature students who want a place and, in their opinion, can handle the work, get offered a place. Good luck with it.

Darren1o1

moongoose wrote: »

hi all,
i have an interview with DCU this week after applying for an honours degree course in mechantronics. i was wondering if anyone would have any tips or even previous experience with this. any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have never done the interview but I am a grad of the medical mech eng program. From speaking to the lecturers last year I think there will be discussion on experience, little technical. I think they will be trying to evaluate that doing the prog is what you want as drop out rates are high so show enthusiasm and do some background on the course.

Darz0re

wooooo! show down! interviews already!! I was told july for mine... (Multimedia)

well, i haven't been given an interview yet.. just told that i would find out end of April and it would be in July.... do I need to go kick some ass or just figure out whats going on?

H2G2

Mickswizard wrote:

They look at all the mature students who apply, they give a place to all those who had roughly enough points in their leaving cert. They then give interviews to those who didn't to see if their up to it. They take on whoever they think can successfully do the course and then they auction off the rest of the places to the CAO kids.

Sorry but No, this is not how it works. They is certainly no notion of an 'auction' between mature Vs CAO students. This would simply be discrimination and is not allowed. Also there is no notion of "roughly enough points" equivalent. In fact I personally know of several mature students who have been admitted on the basis of interview with no LC at all.

How does it work? Well it differs between programmes. For some programmes there is a fixed maximum number of mature places. For other programmes, such as CA (and also I believe mechantronics - but don't hold me to that) there is no max number, as there is generally more places that CAO applicants.

The purpose of the interview is to assess the candidate in terms of potential, abilities, knowledge, commitment, etc, and also to provide answers to candidate questions. Decisions are usually made very quickly afterwards and candidates notified.

Its not a process to be frightened of. All interviews I have been involved with are friendly and supportive.

Good luck.

moongoose

thanks all for the help. i ain't so much freightened by the process more by if i get in or not. fingers crossed as i got the interview at 3.30 tomorrow.

Mickswizard

H2G2 wrote: »

Sorry but No, this is not how it works. They is certainly no notion of an 'auction' between mature Vs CAO students. This would simply be discrimination and is not allowed. Also there is no notion of "roughly enough points" equivalent. In fact I personally know of several mature students who have been admitted on the basis of interview with no LC at all.

Thats my point. They had no leaving Cert so were given an interview. Once all the mature students who are capable of doing the course are given a place, the remaining places are competed for by the LC students.

So say a course has 50 places and 15 mature students apply. 5 of these got sufficient LC points whenever they sat it, so they get a place. The remaining 10 did not so are assessed on an interview basis. That leaves 35 places. Of possibly 100 cao applicants, the top 35 get a place (there is no predetermined points threshold, the points requirement is set by the student with the lowest points who still got a place)

Nothing I said in any way contradicts what your saying.

H2G2

Mickswizard, I don’t want to get out the handbags... Maybe someone gave you the wrong information. I think its appropriate I correct it here in case ppl get the wrong impression of “the system”. As a Programme Board chair I have sat on a lot of mature student interviews over the last 12 years in DCU, so I know the system well.

Basically there is no notion of historical lookup of points in a LC year gone by and comparison to the CAO points in that year. All mature applicants are judged on the day, on a case by case basis.

Mickswizard wrote:

Once all the mature students who are capable of doing the course are given a place, the remaining places are competed for by the LC students.

No. This is simply not the case.

Mickswizard wrote:

So say a course has 50 places and 15 mature students apply. 5 of these got sufficient LC points whenever they sat it, so they get a place.

No. There is no element of comparing past LC to past CAO points requirements.

Mickswizard wrote:

The remaining 10 did not so are assessed on an interview basis.

No. All mature applicants are assessed on the basis of the TOTAL application form submitted, with the majority being called for interview.

Mickswizard

I concede the argument so on the basis that you have worked here. My understanding was simply on the based on what other mature students I know experienced and the impressions given to me by the staff of how it works.

tonto12

i have an interview next week ..any tips anyone doing midwifery

H2G2

tonto12 wrote: »

i have an interview next week ..any tips anyone doing midwifery

All I know it interviews for School of Nursing are very different to the ones discussed in this thread so far.
Not much help sorry

nessymon

had my interview for multimedia last week - no news yet

Micamaca

This takes me back to my interview. I was in a horrible job for a few years and had finally decided on going to college to open my options in the job market.
I spent ages writing an application and went for an interview, all dressed up. I was told at the end of the short interview that I had got a place. I was on such a high on the way back into that hell hole...light at the end of tunnel and for once it wasn't the oncoming train... am now in Germany on a year abroad. Very hard work but worth it, totally worth it.

So... how did you all get on?