How to prepare for your scholarship video interview

At Imperial College Business School, we are pleased to offer a range of scholarships and significant funding to outstanding applicants across our MBA and MSc programmes.

Candidates will be considered automatically for some scholarships, based on information provided in the application form. For other scholarships, you will need to submit a three-minute scholarship video recording.

So, what is involved in the scholarship application process?

The scholarship application is separate to your application for your chosen programme, so you will need to submit both to be eligible. Make sure you take a close look at the application deadlines and scholarship deadlines. You can apply to the programme until the application closing date, but if the application and scholarship video interview are not submitted by the required date, you will not be eligible for a scholarship.

The deadline for each scholarship, along with scholarship amounts, eligibility criteria and how to apply, can be found on the ‘Scholarships’ page under ‘Fees and funding’ on each individual programme page. You can apply for multiple scholarships, but we recommend that you only apply for those that you have the strongest profile for.

Some scholarships do not require a video response to apply. For these scholarships, you will be automatically considered for this funding based on the strength of your application. However, keep in mind that you still need to submit your application before the scholarship deadline date to be eligible for these too.

How does the scholarship video interview work?

The scholarship video interview will work in a similar way to the interview you completed when applying to your programme. You will be given a question that you will need to respond to, and you will then need to record your answer as a video with our partner platform, Kira Talent.

Your video should be no longer than three minutes and must be submitted and recorded on Kira by the deadline date. There will be a short practice session to help you get used to the platform. Upon submission, you will have 30 seconds to gather your thoughts, followed by three minutes to record your answer. 

Top tips to submit a standout scholarship application

1. Ensure you plan your response sufficiently

The most important thing before recording your video response is to make sure that your answer is well-thought-out. Write some notes of how you can answer the question and ensure that it is in line with what the question is asking you and what the scholarship represents.

Give some structure to your response and plan it out so that you don’t find yourself waffling or trailing your sentences in your video.

2. Go into detail with specific examples

Make sure that your answer isn’t just one long list of everything you have done that vaguely answers the question being asked. All awards have a defined, specific focus, and we will be looking carefully for how you match up to this – sometimes one well-explained example is better than multiple examples that lack detail. We want to find out the really amazing thing that makes you the standout scholarship recipient.

We find that applications are stronger when you focus on a specific area of success or give a strong example of an achievement or project. If your example was as part of a team or group, make sure you showcase what you contributed individually. This is an opportunity to really showcase you.

3. Think of your video as a three-minute pitch

When you are recording your response, think of it as a three-minute pitch. Imagine that you are giving a presentation to a panel. Like a presentation, do your best to present yourself in a calm and collected manner – and let your personality shine through.  

We’re looking for the best in you and are interested in your experience and skills, so please don’t worry if you make the occasional stumble or mistake – we’ll be looking at the big picture of what you’ve told us.

It’s time to submit your application!

Make sure you look at our scholarship pages carefully for more information on the video response question, and scholarship deadlines.

We hope you found this article useful and wish you good luck with your application!