The following are guidelines for completing your Shah Academy Membership application. These ideas will help you to think about how to structure your essay, what to include in your essay, and how to prepare for an interview if you are selected. They are not meant to be step-by-step instructions, nor are they given in any particular order of importance.
Focus your Essay
Below are some questions to think about as you develop your application essay. Use these and other questions you identify about your own learning and leadership goals to help you develop an integrated statement. Essays that are merely a list of separate answers to these questions will not be competitive.
Leadership
- What does leadership mean to you?
- What experiences have informed these understandings?
Impact
- What do you hope to learn through your membership at Shah Academy?
- How does this learning connect to your larger educational and/or life goals?
Interview Questions
In an interview, committee members will ask you to expand upon your essay. Some interview questions that committee members may ask:
- Why should we consider you for a position as a scholar at Shah Academy?
- What characteristics are most important in a good leader?
- Tell us about a time when you had to take a risk.
- Tell us about a time when you had to confront authority.
- Tell us about a time when you had to resolve a conflict. What was your approach?
- Tell us about a time when you had to demonstrate leadership skills.
- Tell us about a time you had to face failure. What did you do to manage the situation?
- What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
- What does the word ‘success’ mean to you?
- How do you handle stress?
- How do you stay organized?
