UTM
Ok, so i check online whether i have been called for an interview for the UTM architecture course or not, and found out that i have been called... the interview was to be held in UTM City Campus, KL (thank God it's not the main campus in Johor) on the 21st of April 2009... it was a Tuesday... so i went down to KL on Monday evening (my dad drove) and woke up REALLY early on Tuesday to head downtown... reached the campus fairly early, well before the interview time of 8am... well, once there all i had to do was wait and eavesdrop... it was really interesting listening to other people's conversations... some were informative while others were plain funny... at first, i was a little intimidated... most of the early birds were guys and at one point the ratio of guys and girls attending the interview was hugely imbalanced... it may not be strange to most people but after studying in an all-girls school for so long, i became quite uncomfortable... the other thing was that everyone was speaking in Mandarin... i can understand Mandarin quite well but i cannot converse properly in the language so i ended up standing by myself in a corner while others mixed around...
And so we waited and waited and waited... finally at 9am, exactly an hour late, the interviewers arrived... after some troubles with finding the keys to the rooms and halls, we finally settled down to take our drawing test... at first i was quite confident... i mean i took Art lessons... what could go wrong?.. plus, i overheard one of the guys saying confidently that we are just supposed to draw basic shapes like the sphere or cube... nothing hard... oh how wrong he was... the first question of the test was to draw your favourite street, complete with buildings, vehicles, people and foilage, worth 20 marks... so, skip the first question... hoping the questions will get easier, i attempted the next question... as hard... so were the next and next and next... but fortunately, i managed to finish everything on time, eventhough my answers were definitely WRONG...
After the test we waited for our turns to be interviewed... so i stood at my corner eavesdropping again... there were 2 interview rooms and i was lucky to be one of the firsts to be interviewed... well, actually, the interviews aren't those formal ones we always see on tv... it was kind of like meeting new friends, the interviewers just want to get to know you better... the questions weren't very difficult to answer but i got my tongue tied in knots when they requested me to speak in BM... it's not that i can't but i'm not that fluent and it's a little rusty... i explained the features in my favourite street and the interviewers told me that my drawing was not good enough... they asked me if i could touch up my drawing and i am very happy they gave me the chance to... so after i finished touching up my drawing, i returned it to them and got the hell out of there...
UKM
the interview in UKM was on the same week as the UTM one... on Saturday, in UKM Bangi... as i went home after the UTM interview, i had to travel down KL again for this interview... the UKM interview was scheduled at 10am so i didn't have to wake up that early... at the campus, my dad and i had trouble searching for the entrance to the faculty... we went to the back door... so went i arrived at the registering counter, everyone was already lining up to get into the hall... when everyone was in the hall, the coordinators gave us a short briefing on how the interview was going to be conducted, bla bla bla... and they also commented about our dressing... actually, i was kind of shocked too... during the UTM interview, everyone was formally dressed... even the girls wore office shirts and some of the guys came with ties... the UKM dressing was chaotic, highlighted by two blonde-haired girls wearing fitting t-shirt and skinny jeans, complete with a mini handbag... certainly an outfit fit for the pasar malam...
After the briefing, we changed location to one of the computer labs to start our test... after explaining the questions and arguing over the language used and time limit, we finally begin our test... there were only 2 questions, the first being: draw a building or monument inspired by one or more of these pictures-a tree, a car, dolphins in the sea, a model modeling batik... the second question was just to write all you know about architecture... after all i've been through in UTM, this was far better so i answered with relative ease...
After the test, what else could we do but wait for our names to be called for the interview?.. while i waited, this one guy approached me and we talked... we had met during the UTM interview so that got us discussing about the courses and what happened to each other during the interview... after quite a long wait (i'm not so lucky this time), i went in for the interview... before going into the room, they had us go through a colour blind test... and honestly, i really couldn't see one of it, but managed to pull it out somehow... the interview was not formal again, as expected... but compared to the UTM one, this was far easier... they asked me to present my drawing and just asked straight forward questions... i think the whole interview was just 5 to 10 minutes and it was all over... i got out of the room, bid my new friend goodbye and hit the highway, searching for something to eat...
USM
Unfortunately, or maybe it's just fate, i was called for an interview from USM but not architecture... i got my second choice, interior design... the sms came really last minute, on Friday evening and the interview was on Monday morning... thank God i live in Penang... but as it was already practically a weekend, i couldn't anything and just decide to just go for the interview... on Monday, i woke up early n went to USM... no probable way of getting lost even inside the campus as i am quite familiar with it by now... headed straight for the HBP faculty and there, i met again with the guy from UTM and UKM and also another girl from UTM... so we just hung around waiting for time and found out that i was the only one left out for architecture (sad)...
At 8am, the doors of the halls were opened and we were let in... but not before something caught my eyes... there was this guy standing at a corner who looks really like Kim Hyung Joon from SS501... i was really really shocked... he was so handsome but like all Malaysian guys, there's always something missing... he was not as tall as i liked him to be... oh well... but i found out that he was there for the quantity surveying interview... haih... i hope i get to meet him again... so we entered the hall and the briefing began... there were a few useful information this time like the results of the USM application will be announced on the first week of June...
After the lecture, we were ushered to one of the studios for our drawing test... as the test i did was for interior design, i cannot compare it to the others which i have taken, but it honestly, it was the easiest ever... the question was just to redesign the interior of the room we are sitting in now (the studio)... while we were busily drawing (i can't believe how much my hand trembled when i was drawing... i couldn't even draw a straight line... it wasn't even hard and they gave us plenty of time... why were my hands trembling??), the lectures for the architecture course explained the question for architecture... the question was something like draw a monument on an island with a bridge, bla bla bla... it was though... at that moment, i was thankful i am not the one facing that question...
After the test, we waited AGAIN for the interview session... AGAIN, it was not formal... asked some simple questions and some not so simple ones... i felt the interviewers and i had a pretty good time discussing some stuff... and i found out that they are interested in the Twilight series... hmm... i didn't really take the interview too seriously... the course was not what i wanted... i just feel guilty because the interviewers were really nice... it's easy to hurt the people you hate than hurt the people you love... haih... anyway, my mum's hopes of me staying in Penang is literally over...
Conclusion
Well, there's a week left till the USM results are being announced... i've told my parent that no matter what course USM is offering me, as long as it is not architecture, i'm going to reject it... so now, we're basically getting ready to leave Penang... i'm hoping i get UTM... not because i want to leave home but UTM's architecture course is the only one which is 5 years straight without a break in between... i like that... i don't want to go through the interview process again to continue to Part 2... i HOPE i get UTM...
The only things in life you regret are the risks you didn't take.
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