Scribd
Upload
918 views2 pages

JMSS Interview Process

Uploaded by

watermelonkitty710
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
918 views2 pages

JMSS Interview Process

Uploaded by

watermelonkitty710
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

JMSS Year 10 Interview:

The first part of the JMSS interview is the group interview which is a multi-stage interview
consisting of 5 people in each group. The second part is an individual maths puzzle, in
previous years it was a mathematical test, in 2024 it was a maths puzzle. The last stage is
the individual one-on-one interview.

Group stage:
4-5 students work together to solve a riddle or problem. This is where communication is key
as assessors look for individuals who show leadership, communicate with other team
members and work together to propose a complete solution. Whether you did or did not get
the correct solution does not matter, rather they are assessing the ability of applicants to
meet new people and take on leadership and collaborative opportunities.

Being able to speak loudly and clearly, and getting out of one's shell is truly important.

Individual Interview:
This is where you would have submitted two current school reports, a CV highlighting their
top 5 achievements and awards (make sure to bring these to the interview), extra-curricular
activities and leadership roles.

The interview will go on for 10 minutes where assessors will look over your CV and discuss
your achievements and awards (that is why I recommend knowing every detail and sounding
very passionate about your achievements). As often times during this interview you may get
asked questions such as “which of your achievements are you most proudest of”.

You must be enthusiastic and passionate about each and every one of your answers,
showing the interviewer you really care about what activities you have participated in and
showcasing yourself as an eager learner.

Examples of desirable achievements:


High ranks in Olympiads, Academic excellence awards, participation in local science
fairs/community science initiatives, NAPLAN certificate of achievement, Australian Maths
Competition results, ICAS distribution.
Awards/participation in activities that are heavily science or mathematics based are most
desired. After this, volunteering in programs such as Clean Up Australia Day, school clubs
are the second best thing. But again science achievements are most preferred.

After this they will ask about your interest in John Monash Science School and why you have
applied to the school. This is where we would highly recommend reading upon the different
programs offered at JMSS and talking about these as opportunities if you were admitted.
Topics such as the World’s greatest shave, mathematics day, electives such as
pharmaceutical science are great indicators. You should be showing your passion for
science EVEN IF THE INTERVIEWER DOES NOT ASK YOU FOR IT. That is key, you must
be confident and express your passion and interest in the discipline as much as possible.

Anytime during the interview you will additionally be asked for any scientific achievements -
this will be very important and be one of, if not the most heavily weighted component of the
interview, so you MUST have such achievements ready to go.
Finally the interview will end with a science based question (e.g what is more important
innovation or discovery), when asked this question it does not matter which option you pick
but rather you speaking your thought process aloud and referencing scientific information.
For example: innovation may be more important as it represents the ingenious mind of
humanity’s progress, rather than just discovering some new land. An example of this can be
seen in the polar ice caps in Antarctica, where scientists have innovated new technology to
drill inside the ice caps and determine its age by reading the slow accumulation of frozen
water..

Really think about the answer you give before answering, do not pick generic answers to
questions as almost everyone will be attempting the same thing, rather really think about
how you yourself would answer this question. Be unique.

And of course always smile throughout the entire time

Interview tips:
Show genuine enthusiasm for science and technology and relate back to science whenever
you can

You might also like