Studying abroad is the dream of numerous international students. Although this dream has been actualised by many, it is still only a dream to thousands of students worldwide. This is due to the competitive nature of international scholarships. Thousands of applicants compete for tens and hundreds of available scholarships. This leads to survival of the fittest. Only those who are able to submit a compelling application win the day. This is why I want to give you 5 strategies that can help you become competitive and win the scholarship of your dream.
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1. Apply to program/country specific scholarships
Applying to program based scholarships helps to reduce competition compared to applying to general scholarships. In this case you only compete with people applying to the same program. If the scholarship also becomes country specific, this is a further streamline, which greatly increases your chances of winning the scholarship.
Take for example, you apply to a scholarship which is only for people from Nigeria interested in a masters program in Data Science. This does not only cut off people from the rest of the world, but also people from Nigeria who are not interested in Data Science. So next time you apply for scholarships, make sure to target programs/country specific scholarships.
2. Think like the Scholarship reviewers
Thinking like the scholarship reviewer is very vital, as this helps you see your application not from your perspective but from the perspective of the reviewers. This means you have to become a mind reader. You need to read the mind of the reviewer of your application document. What are they looking for? What would they think about when they read my letter of motivation? What comes to their mind when they read the first paragraph of my Essay. How would they feel after the last paragraph? Little details like this are very important. You have to put yourself in their shoes, selecting 10 applicants out of 500 is not an easy task. The earlier you start to think like them the better it is for your application.
One way to know how the reviewer thinks is to make sure you read and understand the eligibility criteria or requirements of the scholarship. Read through the program requirements and all documents or information about the scholarship. If you don’t understand the requirements, you can use an AI tool, like chat GPT to understand the requirements better. By pasting the scholarship link and/or text into ChatGPT and prompting. “What are the expectations of the scholarship reviewers for this scholarship” or “help me understand the scholarship eligibility criteria better, what should I do or how should I sound in my application to stand a better chance”. Doing this can put you ahead of other applicants.
3. Focus on your essays/ letter of motivation
While there is not a lot you can change when it comes to your final university grade or work experience, what you can actually change or do better at is your essay or letter of motivation. I consider this to be one of the most important documents in your scholarship application and it is what distinguishes applicants when there is a tie in other scholarship criteria. It is important that you do not joke about your letter of motivation. It requires a lot of critical thinking and at the same time simple as possible. It is very vital to read through the scholarship and program website thoroughly, understand the eligibility criteria, the requirements for the program and the core values, aims or goals for the scholarship/ program.
There is always a reason why a scholarship was established. You need to know these reasons and they have to be reflected in your essay. For example, there are scholarships which are geared towards climate change sensitization in your home country. You must be able to connect your present and future ambitions towards this course in the essay.
4. Apply early and stay organized
If your goal is to win a fully funded scholarship, then you must send in your application on time as this helps you to avoid unnecessary pressure and to stay organized. Rushing to submit a scholarship application can lead to errors you could have easily avoided by just submitting on time. Apart from errors and pressure, you will also be avoiding technical challenges that may arise due to the high volume of submission from other applicants. This may also stand you out as a serious and time conscious applicant which may also increase your chances of getting the scholarship.
5. Gather strong recommendations
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A compelling recommendation letter can significantly boost your chances of winning any scholarship. Choose referees who know you well academically or professionally and can speak specifically about your strengths, character, and achievements. Generic recommendation letters won’t help. Ask your referees to tailor their letters to the scholarship goals and highlight your qualities that align with the program. To get this you may have to provide your referee with more context, such as your CV, your motivation letter, and details about the scholarship, so they can write a focused and impactful recommendation for you.
Conclusion
Getting a fully funded scholarship can be very rewarding and fulfilling but it also takes a lot of work. To make things easy, focus your attention on the benefits you stand to get other than the temporary stress you may go through to get there. The truth is all scholarship bodies would only want to award a scholarship to the best applicants and you want to put in your best to stand out as one.
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