I Flunked My Interview!!! AAAAA

Cornell Contact Meeting, 7 Dec 2008. Venue: Starbucks, 3rd Floor, Suria-KLCC. 3pm. Please arrive 10 minutes earlier.


AND SO I ARRIVED AT SURIA-KLCC AN HOUR AHEAD, AND AT STARBUCKS 10 MINUTES EARLIER AS SCHEDULED.

There was a guy being interviewed by Mr.Yeoh Chen Chow & another lady. I hate to disturb ppl, so i sat down on a bench and read a book.

3.03pm. They were still talking to the candidate at the table. I got worried that they might think that I was late and decided to ask whether it was my time yet. So I went up to them and said, "Excuse me-"

"We're still interviewing another candidate. We will call you later."

(interpreted by maria's convoluted brain as = Shoo shoo. Don't disturb us.)

WHAM! Maria loses 3HP. =A=

3.08pm. Wendy (the name of the other lady interviewer) called me (i was inside the nearby jigsaw puzzle shop trying to calm down). She had to go elsewhere, so it was me and Mr.Chen Chow. She seemed a nice lady ^^

So i greeted Mr.Chen Chow, shook hands, sat down. He was busy writing something. He introduced himself. I think I apologized for disturbing them just now. He asked me to just sit down and calm down.

Questions:

1) Introduce yourself.

Inner me: [Uh Oh. I didn't actually prepare a script. No, I forgot all about the self-introduction that is a sure section in interviews. Whatever, Hentam saje.]

Me: I'm Maria Wang, I'm from Kelantan! I'm studying at INTI now, i'm majoring in Science. I would like to major in Biology, maybe Plant Biology or Environmental Science, but I'm still not very sure...*ramble ramble* [and then I stopped talking while he was still writing and I dunno what else to say.]

Mr.ChenChow: Continue, please continue..

So i just slammed: "I LOVE SINGING!"

Mr.ChenChow: Oh...what kinds of songs do you sing?

Me: Oh, anything that I like, english, chinese, malay, japanese. And *mumble mumble, trying to find the right word*

Mr.ChenChow: Yes?

Me: Opera!

Mr.ChenChow: Opera...*nods* *writes down*

Swt.

Inner Me: [I had planned to sing during the interview, but i thought i introduced the subject too early *cries* So i didn't x.x]

2) It was not the end of the subject. Yet.

What have you done in this field? & What is your dream in this field?

Inner Me: [WHAT?! I've somewhat given up on dreams to become a singer. Aiks, hentam again]

Me: Ermm...*a bit dazed*

Mr.ChenChow (trying to help): Have you performed? In what kind of environment?

Me: Yes, at school, sometimes my music academy holds performances and i will perform there, at church... [gosh i am so long winded]

Mr.ChenChow: Have you written songs?

Me: I tried...but they never work out [OMG WHAT AM I SAYING- I could've told him that soemtimes i will just play something on the piano and record it. I could've told him how me and my brother wrote songs (mostly him) when we were younger and created imaginary artistes and contests and magazines. I could've told him that I am still writing lyrics whenever the mood strikes. Grr! Me stupid!]

Mr.ChenChow: In Cornell, there was this guy who was interested in performing. By his senior year he had organized his own concert and got quite a following.

Me: Oh..wow..

Mr.ChenChow: You could do that too.

Me: O.O...

Mr.ChenChow: Do you play any instrument?

Me: Yes. The piano.

Mr.ChenChow: Which grade?

Me: Grade 4. [Oops! Well, theoretically yes, but I have a Grade 5 in Theory. I didn't tell him. Argh. I should also tell him that i play the organ/keyboard for my church and the church in Nilai]

Next Question.

3) Why Cornell?

Inner Me: Aha! I've prepared for this.

Me: I think Cornell's the perfect match for me. I like a rural or suburban environment, Cornell has it. I want a major in Plant Biology, Cornell has it. Besides, Cornell's School of Agriculture & Life Sciences is the 3rd biggest one in the US, am I right-?

Mr.ChenChow: It's the best.

Me: -uh yes, that's why. Also, i want a fun campus life, as i know, most students at Cornell live on campus right?

Mr.ChenChow: Oh...what do you know about the campus life in Cornell?

Me: I don't know.

[o口o]

Mr.ChenChow (saving the situation): There are around 1000 clubs at Cornell. (elaborate a bit). Which clubs are you interested in?

Me: Uhmm...do they have-

Mr.ChenChow: Don't need to worry about whether they have it or not. They have everything. If they don't, then you could start a new one.

Me: I guess the Catholic Students Society, definitely music, (i forgot what else i said). And of course, charity! Things I've never done before.

Mr.ChenChow: Like?

Me: Jungle Trekking!! (it has been my secret wish for the longest time)

Mr.ChenChow: *jots down and looks up* And?

Me: Um..mountain climbing (continuing this strain of thought T.T)

Mr.ChenChow: Actually you could do that in Malaysia too.

Me: Yes, but my parents are always telling me, that i cannot go without a guide, without adult, it's very dangerous *rolls eyes*

Mr.ChenChow: Maybe you could find a group of friends who has experience, and go together. There are alot of good sites for jungle trekking around here. _____(i forgot where) and FRIM.

Me: Ah, FRIM...I would like to go there.

[some more conversation here]

4) If you could bring any speaker to Cornell, who would it be?

Me: Speaker? *makes hand gesture like a bird's beak opening and closing*

Mr.ChenChow: Yes, a speaker.

Me: can i bring....Nik Aziz?

Mr.ChenChow: Why?

Me: Well...i heard his speech once, live. He has such a deep voice that is so charismatic. He could talk about Islamic principles, in such a way that even non-Muslims can understand what he's trying to say. It impressed me. It's very moving, very charismatic...

Mr.ChenChow: Every week, 40 speakers are invited to the campus to give talks. Anwar Ibrahim has been there a few times, Dr.Mahathir has also been there. We have lots of money for this purpose. If you gave Nik Aziz 10million [if i didn't hear wrongly], why can't he come?

Me: O.O

5) If you could choose any courses at Cornell, other than those related to your courses, what would it be?

Me: Philosophy! *gets ready to elaborate*

Mr.ChenChow: And?

Me: And definitely music. And ____, ____, _____, ______ (i forgot what I said = =)

Mr.ChenChow: Did you know about the various courses I took in Cornell?

Me: Yeah, I heard about how only 20% of the courses you took were related to engineering.

Mr.ChenChow: (gives many examples of the courses he took: horse-riding, wine-tasting, accounting etc etc etc)

Me: (continues wish list of the courses i want to take...actually brain stuck)

6) What do you see yourself as in 10 years time?

[Gosh, I should've known this would come.]

Me: (crapped about doing research in Malaysia, i think saving trees and forests and crap)

Mr.ChenChow: *repeats question* How do you see yourself, 10 years later? 20 years later?

Me: A mother! With 3 kids!

Mr.ChenChow (getting desperate): What do you want to do? What is your ambition?

Me(also desperate): Cameron Highlands! Unplanned development! Now you see, they are just building factories and cutting down trees and it looks so ugly now! (crap some more, with grammatical mistakes unrestrained) ....I want to return Cameron Highlands to its original state!

Mr.ChenChow: Ah...have you been there before?

Me: *nods*

Mr.ChenChow: Have you done anything about it?

Me: ...

Mr.ChenChow: Actually, as a student, you can do a lot of things. Even if you can influence just one person (to be more environmentally-aware), it's a lot.

Me: *listens intently*

Mr.ChenChow: You could start something at INTI. Next semester, your SATs are over, you will have lots of free time.

Me: Ah! Yeah, INTI produces a lot of rubbish. I could...

Mr.ChenChow: *waits patiently for my idea*

Me: *in a low voice* a campaign..(craps lamely becoz i have no idea how to go about it)

Mr.ChenChow: Make use of the 8 months you have before going to US. Make use of it.

Me: *nods*

7) Is there anything about Cornell you want to ask?

Me: Actually I want to ask about the research program.

Mr.ChenChow: All the professors do research. (explains a little about research)

Me: Actually I went to the Cornell website to search and there were so many professors doing research on plant biology.

Mr.ChenChow: Then you google the professor's name and see what he's researching about.

Mr.ChenChow: Anymore questions?

Me: Umm..how is the weather like-

Mr.ChenChow: Keep this question for the dinner session. Are you coming for the dinner session? (me nods) If not, I'll have to answer the same questions for each candidate...Anything specific you want to know?

Me: Hmm...(since you're not from CALS) no, don't think so.

8) Anything else you want to tell the Cornell Admissions Board?

Me: Ah umm, as you said before, cornell is for jack-of-all-trades, I'm that, jack-of-all-trades...

Inner Me: [=.= Gosh what a lame answer. Sounds like you're pathetically trying to get on their side]

Mr.ChenChow: Anything else you want to ask?

Me: Erm...how was the interview session today?

Mr.ChenChow: It was quite ok, actually. We had 8 candidates today. (talks about the interviews). This year it's better because it's spread out. Last year there were a lot of last-minute appointments and we had up to 16 interviews per day!

Inner Me: [Actually I was asking about my performance...never mind, this is fine too ^^;;]

(casual conversation on this topic)

Mr.ChenChow: Anymore questions?

Me: [sensing that i should get out of here already] No, thank you very much!

I stood up and left. Another girl (I think i saw her during SAT2 but I didn't know her. Actually she's from INTI lol) took my place.

p/s Please note that i've cut short some of the conversations, and might've left out some 'sub-questions' and some of my answers. My not-so-reliable memory.

--------可可可可可可--------我乃可怕的分割线--------怕怕怕怕怕怕-----------

ARGGHH! I'M SO LAME SO LAME SO LAME SO LAME!!!!!!!

It's my own fault for not preparing properly. And for holding back so much.

And I discovered that I'm too long winded= I use more words than neccessary to convey something.

And my mind is not properly connected to my mouth because so many things get filtered out before they get to my mouth.

And my speech is very messy. I say things and just drop them all over the place. The dialogue I wrote here is not an accurate representation of what I actually said (even if i could write it out you will probably go crazy reading it)

Mr.ChenChow told me the other unis i'm applying to don't conduct interviews. Thank God. Brown has a phone interview though and i haven't contacted them(0_0)

Here's Gelato Fruity's Mango Gelato I ate after the interview to console myself (T_T) So pathetic.

(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)我是爱哭的份分割线(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)

I don't know whether I'll be able to do what Mr.ChenChow suggested. Although I want to do a lot of things, but I'm not a good multitasker. I can only focus on one thing at a time. Definitely I must focus on my studies if I want to get good results. I do want to organize some events, especially for charity or environmental issues, but I don't know how to do it. I don't know how to go about it. "Make use of this 8 months wisely." I hope I can. As an initiator as well as participant. I really want to do something with our Catholic Students Society.

BUT

Now I must first complete the task at hand. My admissions essay and personal statement and activites log. and TOEFL. I must do it! If not my parents' hard-earned money and hardworking taxpayer's money will go to waste. Applying to US unis is not cheap. You have to pay USD$60-70 for each uni you apply to as application fee. Not counting courier fees and test fees (although you can claim some of it from JPA you still have to pay for them first)

DRIVE!! DRIVE!! MOTIVATION MOTIVATION!!! Don't you dare slack off!

Please KICK ME IN THE ASS because you don't know how pulpa* i've been for the past few days and TOEFL is this saturday and the deadline for commonapp is 31 December and i still have at least 5 essays to write.

*pulpa- please refer to Miao's previous blog entries

GAMBATTE!!!!!