In the previous two articles, we analyzed the application process and essay questions. In this article, the teachers at Hillhouse, who provide comprehensive private school application guidance, will focus on analyzing the key points of the interview section to help families increase their chances of admission.
1. Group Assessment (Group Interview)
Group interviews are only for kindergarten and students in grades 4-8. In the group assessment, admissions officers focus primarily on a child's teamwork, communication skills, leadership potential, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities. They want to see how the child interacts in a team environment, whether they can listen to others, effectively express their own ideas, and actively participate in discussions or tasks.
What is a group interview?
Group assessments are an important part of the private school admissions process, especially for students in grades 4 through 8. These assessments aim to examine how students interact, solve problems, and collaborate with peers in a structured environment. Rather than focusing solely on academic performance, these activities help admissions officers understand students' teamwork skills, communication abilities, and capacity to work towards common goals.
Typical group assessments might include the following hands-on challenges, for example:
- Building structures using limited materials (such as the challenge of building a tower using A4 paper and tape).
- Teamwork to complete the jigsaw puzzle
- Solving real-world problems together
- Participate in group discussions or debates
What is a Group Assessment?
Group assessments are designed to evaluate how students interact, problem-solve, and collaborate with peers in a structured environment. Rather than focusing solely on academic performance, these activities help admission officers understand a student's teamwork skills, communication, and ability to work toward a common goal.
A typical group assessment might involve hands-on challenges, such as:
- Building a structure using limited materials (eg, an A4 paper and tape tower challenge)
- Completing a puzzle as a team
- Solving a real-world problem together
- Participating in a group discussion or debate
What do admissions officers hope to see?
In group assessments, admissions officers focus on students' collaborative abilities, not just the final result. Here are the key qualities they assess:
1. Teamwork Skills: Students should actively share ideas, listen to others, and make meaningful contributions to the group. They should be willing to compromise, adjust strategies when necessary, and support teammates rather than trying to dominate the entire activity.
2. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking: Creativity and strategic thinking are crucial. Students should be able to propose innovative solutions, plan ahead before taking action, and demonstrate resilience when facing challenges or setbacks.
3. Communication Skills: Clearly expressing ideas, respecting others' interactions, and providing constructive feedback are important abilities. Admissions officers will observe whether students encourage quieter peers to speak and effectively participate in discussions.
4. Leadership and Initiative: Taking appropriate responsibility, guiding the team without being overly controlling, and motivating others to remain engaged are all key aspects of leadership. Students should support teamwork and foster a positive collaborative environment.
5. Adaptability and resilience: When plans fail, students demonstrate flexibility and a growth mindset by maintaining a positive attitude, persisting in trying new methods, and accepting feedback for improvement.
What do admission officers want to see?
In group assessments, admission officers focus on how well students work with others rather than just the final outcome. Key qualities they assess include:
Teamwork & Cooperation – Students should actively share ideas, listen to others, and contribute meaningfully to the group. They should be willing to compromise, adapt when needed, and support teammates rather than trying to dominate the activity.
Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking – Creativity and strategic thinking are essential. Students should generate innovative solutions, plan before taking action, and demonstrate resilience when facing challenges or setbacks.
Communication Skills – Clear expression of ideas, respectful interaction, and constructive feedback are important. Admission officers observe whether students encourage quieter peers and engage in discussions effectively.
Leadership & Initiative – Taking responsibility appropriately, guiding the group without being overly controlling, and motivating others to stay engaged are key indicators of leadership. Students should support teamwork and foster a collaborative environment.
Adaptability & Resilience – The ability to stay positive when plans don't work, persist in trying new solutions, and accept feedback for improvement demonstrates flexibility and a growth mindset.
Hillhouse's explanation : Group interviews don't involve admissions officers asking questions to group members; instead, it usually involves a group working together to solve a problem. A common problem is building the tallest possible tower using A4 paper and tape. Feedback from students who actually participated in the interviews indicated that one of the questions Hillhouse prepared for was very similar to one they had practiced with . In that case, we also used A4 paper and tape to complete a specific challenge. In this problem, admissions officers aren't focused on the final height of the tower; they observe the students' communication, teamwork, task allocation, practical skills, and other comprehensive qualities.
2. Shortlist for Interviews: Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed at home.
After being shortlisted for the interview, families will face the final round of interviews, which will involve separate interviews for the student and the parents.
At the start of the interview, students are interviewed individually for 20 minutes, with questions including what they are good at, what they are not good at, what they like to do at school, etc.
After making it to the interview shortlist, families will go through the final round of interviews, which includes separate interviews for the student and parents.
The interview begins with a 20-minute session where the student is interviewed alone. Questions may include topics such as what they are good at, what they are not good at, and what they enjoy doing at school.
Hillhouse teacher's analysis : When answering questions about a student's weaknesses, avoid mentioning personality flaws . Instead, focus on areas for improvement. For example, mention that the student's public speaking skills are not yet strong. Additionally, when answering, also explain how the student can improve their weaknesses . For instance, to enhance their speaking skills, the child proactively joined a public speaking club and actively participated in its activities.
When responding to a student's weaknesses, avoid mentioning personality flaws. Instead, focus on areas that can be improved. For example, you can say that the student's public speaking skills are not very strong yet. Additionally, when answering, also mention how the student is working to improve their weaknesses. For instance, to enhance their public speaking skills, the student has proactively joined a speech club and actively participates in its activities.
After the student interviews, parent interviews will be conducted. The parent interviews mainly include the following questions:
St. George's highly values family community service. Please briefly describe your family's contributions to the community.
Hillhouse teacher's analysis : A common misconception among parents when answering this question is that they list their family's donations, charity awards, etc. However, the St. George's interviewer explicitly asked for specific community activities in which the parents personally participated , and what community contributions the parents made through their actions.
When answering this question, a common misconception among parents is simply listing their family's donations or charity awards. However, the interviewers at St. George's have clearly stated in the question that they are looking for specific community activities in which parents have personally participated and actively contributed to the community.
Why did you choose St. George's? What aspects of the school did you value most?
Hillhouse teacher's analysis : When answering this question, admissions officers don't want to hear general praise of the school, such as its excellent academic resources, strong alumni network, or abundant extracurricular activities. These are things everyone already knows. Admissions officers want parents to have a thorough understanding of the school's vision and values, and to explain why their family and child's values align with the school's values. A better answer is : By understanding the school's values (which requires the family to conduct some research on the official website), we found that our family's values particularly resonate with several of them. Then, we should use specific examples to demonstrate why our family's values align with the school's.
When answering this question, the admissions officer does not want to hear generic praises about the school, such as its excellent academic resources, strong alumni network, or diverse extracurricular activities, as these are already well known. Instead, they hope that parents have a deep understanding of the school's vision and values and can articulate why their family's and child's values align with those of the school.
A strong response would involve researching the school's core values (by reviewing the school's website) and identifying specific values that closely resonate with the family. Then, using concrete examples, parents should demonstrate how their family's values align with those of the school.
The above application questions and interview analysis are summarized from the real experiences of students tutored by Hillhouse.
You can view Hillhouse's past application analysis for St George's, a top private school in Vancouver, at the following link:
Analysis of application documents for St George's, a top private high school in Vancouver.
Application Process Analysis for St George's, Vancouver's Top Private High School
