IUP admissions

[jadespence]

Has anyone had experience with the IUP admissions process, particularly the oral proficiency interview implemented in the last year or so? I was wondering how I should prepare, i.e. what kinds of questions do they ask and what kinds of skills does the interview test?

[muirm]

I took the oral proficiency test before I attended IUP last summer, but it was in person since an IUP teacher happened to be teaching at my university. I don't know how much you want to assume a phone interview would follow the same format as a face to face interview, but I'll give you the lowdown anyway.

The teacher had a sheet of vocab words ranging in difficulty and I had to go through and define/use the ones that I could (this obviously couldn't be done over the phone, but maybe something in the same spirit). After that we did this excercise where she would speak increasingly long/difficult Chinese sentences and I had to repeat them. At that point I remember a section where I had to translate some English sentences into Chinese. We also chatted for a bit, and finally she fielded some questions I had about the experience at IUP.

It was a pretty low pressure situation, and it's purpose is definitely to weed out people that don't belong. If you are confident in your skills then I wouldn't worry. Hope this helped!

[lylestyle]

The oral test is not that difficult. They will ask you some background questions, for example how long have you been studying Chinese, why you study it, etc. They might also ask what your hobbies are, and to describe them a little. There is a reading part, were you have to read some Chinese words, begginning from easy to more difficult. You just read as far as you can go. Don't worry about, and besides, at this point, you know what you know and you're not going to be able to do anything that significantly improves your level at this point. Good luck!

[1on1Mandarin]

I was an IUP student in 2002. I would have to agree with lylestyle that the "interview" (in "" because it is not really an interview, but rather a simple conversation) is not that difficult. What IUP is looking for is if you have a decent base and basic understanding of Mandarin, so in terms of preparation, the best is to just review the things you have learned. Be able to talk about various topics like hobbies, majors, and interests. Most important, pay attention to your tones (IUP is known for an extreme emphasis on tones and pronunciation).

You should get nervous about this "interview," it really is low pressure and laxed. If you are a strong student at your university, you should have no problem.