Top tips

1.Give full answers to explain your situation in detail

The interviewer will not have access to your visa application form, or any other information about you. This means that you have to explain your answers fully – do not assume that the interviewer already knows about your situation. For example, if you have studied with a UEL partner before, you will need to tell them this as they would not already know.

2.Answer as naturally as you can, as though you are chatting to a fellow student

Some questions are only asked to check your English language fluency, there is no right or wrong answer. Questions may include where you have travelled to before, or other topics not related to your course of study

3.If you are genuinely planning to come to the UK to study, the interviewer is not trying to catch you out!

The purpose of the interview is to check that you can demonstrate in conversational English that you genuinely want to study at UEL. The decision as to whether to grant or refuse your visa application is not made by the person interviewing you – the transcript forms a part of the information used to assess your application. The interviewer is unlikely to have detailed prior knowledge of your country and will not have prior knowledge of your plans, motivations and experiences, so if it is relevant to the question – tell them about it!

4.Prepare for the interview well, but do not rehearse specific answers

To help you prepare, think fully about why you are choosing to study your programme at UEL, and the questions listed above. However, part of the purpose of the interview is to check you can speak English naturally, so do not give fully rehearsed pre-prepared answers. If you have any friends, family or colleagues who speak English, talk with them in detail about your plans and motivations for study in the UK – this is the kind of conversation you will have in your interview. It might also help to watch British films to get accustomed to the accent!