"The Direct School Admission scheme for secondary schools in Singapore allows students to apply to specific schools before taking the PSLE."
Has your DSA Interview been scheduled? Or are you still figuring out whether DSA is something your child should consider? Read on to understand more about the DSA process and for interview tips!
The Direct School Admission scheme for secondary schools in Singapore allows students to apply to specific schools before taking the PSLE.
Students apply based on their talent in sports, CCAs and specific academic areas. These areas include:
- Sports and games
- Visual, literary and performing arts
- Debate and public speaking
- Science, mathematics and engineering
- Languages and humanities
- Uniformed groups
- Leadership (for example, prefects)
Preparing for the DSA Application Process:
1. Research
Research and read up about the school that you and your child are interested in. Focus also on the talent that your child plans to use to apply and most importantly, discuss everything with your child. If they are not truly interested or feeling forced/stressed out about this choice, it will show in the interview. Some parents also over-prepare and this can be unhealthy if it stresses your child out unnecessarily. Memorised answers and parrot-like responses don’t do well at interviews, while real interest and knowledge about a topic will always be evident.
2. Prepare for a Variety of Questions
Typical questions would include: 1. Why should the school pick you? 2. Describe some of your interests and passions. 3. What are some personal qualities that make you unique? 4. Why did you pick this school? 5. What do you hope to do with your talent in the future?
However, also prepare your child for more introspective questions like: 1. If you were playing opposite your best friend and they asked you to lose on purpose, what would you do? 2. If you made a huge mistake while performing on stage how would you handle it? 3. If you had to pick one scientist/mathematician/famous person to have dinner with, who would you pick? 4. If you are the captain of your team and you are losing the game, what strategy would you use to try and win?
3. Get Students to Discuss Topics with Other Adults
At the end of the day, the interviews are a 2 way conversation and not a speech. If your child can speak naturally with other adults in their lives – uncles, aunts, tutors, friends – get them to have conversations with them about their personality and interests to develop confidence, so that they get used to speaking about themselves candidly and sincerely.
At the end of the day, schools are looking for students who have and can display genuine interest in the talent that they are using for the application, as well as personable students who are genuinely interested in joining the school.