Interviews.

After ploughing through five of these little fifteen minute (median length) terrors in the last nine days, I must say that they aren't quite the traumatising experience they used to be, for me. But that is not to say that they have become less of a challenge, because:

1) only fifteen minutes of yourself are presented to the interviewers, and will decide the eventual outcome
2) this outcome has a tendency to affect the rest of your life.

They are therefore terrifying not least because the stakes are high, and when stakes are high one tends to become self-conscious, and self-consciousness can only lead to a hijacking of processes that could otherwise have been handled with greater efficiency by the subconscious. Thus jeopardising the outcome. It's rather brutal when you think about it. The other reason is that you go to interviews to be judged. We are beings evolutionarily hardwired to fear being judged, because in those hunter-gatherer communities a judgment passed on you quickly spreads within the tribe. Today the consequences are no longer quite so grave, but well blame it on evolution.

There are so many aspects to juggle - dressing, body language, vocal tones, content etc. And it's one against [number between 2 to 12] so the likelihood that all these aspects are being scrutinised is rather..high. Which is why girls probably fare better in interviews because 1) they can multitask better 2) their awareness of social psychology/human behaviour is superior.

That said, here's what happened at each interview:

A*STAR 1st round - Was telling lame jokes and throwing people into laughing fits in the waiting room, probably derailing their trains of thought. Psychological warfare. Went into the room trying not to laugh. Interviewers were merciful and asked rather simple questions, so it was more or less a recital.

PUB final round - I think I overprepared. Heard that chances are you'll get through this round so long as you don't act like a complete lunatic, but I went in and threw all the glory and achievements of PUB in their face.

USP - By far the toughest interview I'd ever had. Lasted 30 min. Interviewers were an American and a Scot (I think) and they were razor sharp, firing back at me for everything I said. So it was about me dodging their rapid-fire questions until I finally gave way.
Me: "I think you got me there"
Them: "That's the whole point."
Sadists.

A*STAR 2nd round - more or less like the first, only with more gesticulating from me as I attempted to explain filtering using a syringe and a clamp.

NUS Law - Spent the whole time discussing JK Rowling and Steven Vander Ark. They concluded that I must be a huge Harry Potter fan. (I haven't read a single book in the series, nor do I intend to)

I liked the seniors at the Law interview a lot. Very fun people. Hope I get to attend the Law camp in June!