Why do Students feel Stress During College Interview?

College interviews are one of the most anticipated events in a student’s life. Yet when the day actually comes for them to appear for a college interview, they may feel too stressed about it, which can negatively impact the outcome of the interview. This stress that they experience usually comes from a number of conflicting thoughts that crowd their mind before the interview.

From personal ambitions to the expectations of their parents or guardians and the whole thought of being left out while other friends do well, can be extremely taxing for a student. But you can effectively handle the situation and not let stress impact the interview.

Societal Cognitive Behavior

The society plays an important role in how we perceive anything. Everything from gender bias to the stress you experience before an interview is a result of how society trains you to think about the situation. Since interviews are always considered to be an event which can transform your future, and people would always get down to telling you how an interview can go wrong, you are likely to believe that an interview is a dangerous thing.

But this belief is far from the truth. An interviewer intends to gauge a person’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses to identify how effectively would the organization be able to play a role in meeting your ambitions. If you go in an interview believing that you are not good for it, then you are more likely to get rejected. Instead, if you choose to see it as your chance to prove yourself before the interviewer, then you have a better chance of getting selected.

Parent or Guardian Expectations

A number of parents and guardians verbally and non-verbally communicate their own expectations with the students, which can cause greater stress for the student. When a student looms over how hopeful their parents are from the college interview, they may end up in greater stress and it can cause them to underperform during the interview because of lack of focus.

How to Overcome such Stress:

Focus on your Achievements and Abilities

If a person is told right before an interview that they are not good in interviews, then it is likely that they are going to process this in their minds and actually not do very well in the interview. On the other hand, if a person is reminded of their achievements and abilities, then they will be able to perform in a better way and do well.

Use Humor to Cope with a Difficult Situation

If you feel too stressed before your college interview, then try to reduce the stress with the help of humor. Here are a few ways to do this:

• Find a humorous way to perceive the situation of stress that you are going through
• Look around yourself to find something funny or laughable
• Imagine a funny story or joke and allow yourself to smile or laugh about it.
• Laughing or even smiling can be an excellent stress buster.

The stress of a certain level is almost unavoidable and in many cases can cause you to outperform others. But too much of stress or anxiety weighs you down and reduces your ability to think clearly. We hope these tips help you understand why you feel stress and how to overcome it.