Why most students fail to obtain their dream scholarship overseas – Part 1

I might not be the Nostradamus or the Oracle you seek, but if you diligently apply the principles highlighted in this article, I am sure (Ceteris Paribus—all things being equal) you will obtain that illustrious scholarship you have been seeking and waiting for within a year or two. These principles are not learned from books but are acquired, learned and applied in the course of my journey.

Before starting, I must say that the route to landing that dream scholarship might not be a simple in some cases, while others might obtain it easily. In both cases, the hints given in this article work.

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The first and most important point is not to leave your day-to-day activities or job and direct all your attention on obtaining a scholarship. Please carry on with your daily life, routine, or work and devote about 1–2 hours per day searching or working on your scholarship application. One thing you must understand is that the process of obtaining a scholarship—from your application to the administrative/academic staff, the committee review at the University you are applying to, and then back to you—is a long and tedious process. So, looking for a scholarship is like driving home from a stressful day, while you are also thinking about the delicious meal awaiting you at home, it requires multitasking.

What do you want? You need to know the type of scholarship you are looking for and from which country. Most people make the mistake of following a friend’s decision or the advice from a family member, without thinking what their own strengths and weaknesses are. For example, do you find University course work challenging or are you not a fan of the grade ranking system? If that is the case, I suggest you don’t head for the USA, Canada and most countries in the Middle-East because they practice the American system. However, if your strength is in analysing data, and you won’t get tired of sleeping or living in the laboratory to generate more research data, I suggest Australia and New Zealand. In those countries, from the first day of your PhD research, you are expected to carry out your laboratory induction, so that you can start work immediately.

Thirdly, stay focused. No matter how many Professors fail to reply to your emails or the countless rejections that come your way, please do not give up. Rejection is part of the game in the research world; even Professors get their papers rejected by several journals on a regular basis. I am sure that you have heard that even Einstein’s paper was once rejected in 1936, so be happy.

I must stop here because of the limited length of the article. If you would like to know what the solutions are on how to get your dream scholarship overseas, irrespective of where you live, and which countries offer the most opportunities and why, watch out for part 2.

Written by CluestoLife

Email address: [email protected]