When searching for scholarships, it can be painful when you miss out on a scholarship application. This could be because, when you weren’t aware of the scholarship, or you knew but were unaware that you are eligible. And sometimes, you might be aware and eligible but the deadline is just a few days away and you won’t be able to get the required documents ready by the deadline day and therefore unable to apply. This wouldn’t have happened if you had the right information earlier. Most times it is good to be aware of the requirements of a scholarship application months before the application window opens. This will help you to prepare the documents that might take you months to obtain, write the exams that you need to write and prepare your essays specifically for the scholarship application and get it reviewed by experts or past winners of the scholarship. The following are proven tips that will help you to find and prepare yourself for the scholarships that are right for you.
1. Specific subscriptions
There a lot of blogs and websites today that regularly post about scholarships. Visiting these blogs everyday might be a daunting task as you definitely have other things to do. However, one thing you can do is to subscribe for their newsletters. Now, I know you might be concerned about getting too many newsletters from several blogs with majority of them filled with scholarships that you are not eligible for. You can prevent this by applying the filters on the websites. For instance, on a website like findaphd.com, you can filter your experience by preferred country of destination, area of study and funding. Another easy way of reducing this is by signing up only on websites that mostly post scholarships that are related to your region of origin. For instance, as an African, signing up on www.afterschoolafrica.com might be quite helpful, as most tips and posts will seem specific to you.
2. Discussion with likeminds
No man is an island of knowledge. It is always good to share ideas and knowledge with people who are in the same shoes as you. They know where it pinches and they understand your struggle and they may have information that you don’t have. This might explain why their approach is different and why it might work better than yours. To do this, it is always good to join online forums where scholarships and grad school admissions are discussed. I would advise that you join both local and international forums as they both have their advantages. For instance, a scholarship-seeking Nigerian that joins the Nairaland forum will be able to get information about scholarships that are specific to Nigerians on how to register for and prepare for standardized tests like TOEFL, IELTS and GRE; how to get his transcripts and other documents ready for WES evaluation; Universities that waive certain standardized tests for Nigerians, interview tips for Chevening and commonwealth scholarship etc. When the same individual joins thegradcafe forum, www.thestudentroom.co.uk, and other forums such as quora, he will understand the challenges faced by the students of other countries and what might make the applications from certain country to standout and more competitive. It could be because they have internships, or because their degrees include some modules that are absent in his, or because the University just prefer students from certain countries or regions. This will help you in making your decisions about which universities or countries to apply to and which ones aren’t worth the hassle.
3. Join the right groups
Just like forums, these days, there are now a lot of Whatsapp and Telegram groups whose main purpose of creation is for scholarship updates and discussions. Even the blog where you’re reading this post from initially began as a Whatsapp group before moving to telegram due to growth in size. Apart from the fact that you get to see regular posts about new scholarships, you can also connect easily with mentors in these groups. This is because, some of the members are already recipients of the scholarships you’re planning to apply for, so they can easily guide you on the application process. They can also help you to review your scholarship essays. Some of them can even share their essays with you. Some groups also have repository of past scholarship-wining essays submitted by their members as well as resources that will help you to prepare for standardized tests. Although, you might need a little bit of networking skills to achieve these. It is not difficult. Just be active while adhering to the group rules and make a few friends on there. The icing on the cake is that sometimes, these groups may also organize information sessions specifically for a particular scholarship application. This is quite common in my group, and these sessions were recorded in PDF format for future use. I’m sure a lot of other groups also do this.
However, it is equally important to be careful while choosing which groups to join. It is much better to join groups that are created and ran by people from your country because the information provided will be more specific to you. Also, you can easily connect with a scholarship alumni or recipient from your country. However, look out for red flags while joining these groups. Some groups are only created to extort innocent applicants. Do not join groups that ask you to pay before joining. Also, whenever anyone comes to the group to advertise anything that will involve financial transactions, do a quick check to verify the information. For instance, if anyone claims to be an agent that helps people to register for standardized tests at a discounted fee, endeavor to check the prices by yourself. Also, do a quick check to see if his business registered. Besides, you need to remember that registering for your tests, and getting your documents and the scholarship application itself done, are things you can do by yourself and does not need to be outsourced to others. Lastly, beware of private chats and report any indiscriminate chats to group admins. Trust me, most group admins will take it up because no one wants their group’s image to be tarnished.
4. Follow the right handles
Email subscriptions on blogs are not the only avenues for getting regular scholarship posts, social media is also a very good avenue to do that. These days, there are a lot of individuals who regularly post about scholarship openings on their social media handles. Notable social media platforms where you can easily find this are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also follow the pages of scholarship blogs on these platforms. Additionally, if you are seeking a PhD scholarship, you can easily follow the handles of Professors whose research interests you and/or laboratories that you would like to join and turn their notifications on. Whenever there are openings in these laboratories, you will be amongst the first set of people to know. Most of them usually post these openings on LinkedIn and Twitter.
5. Take the bull by the horn
Sometimes it is not enough to wait for the opportunities to come to your timeline, Whatsapp inbox or emails; you may have to do the digging by yourself. This is particularly true for University-funded scholarships in the United States, Canada and Australia, where almost all graduate programs have full-funding for international students. It is always better to visit the university websites to read about their admission and scholarship requirements, their usual application window and deadlines and their acceptance rate. Doing this will not only help to provide you with the right information, but also help you to evaluate your chances of getting into the school. For instance, knowing the average GRE score of accepted students for your intended course of study will let you know whether you stand a chance or you need to look elsewhere or quickly rewrite your exams. You will also be able to know whether having other criteria such as research publications will be enough to make up for a lower score. Remember, standardized test scores are not the only criteria that scholarship panels look out for. You will also be able to read about the faculty members and their research interests and latest publications before sending an email.
A common practice for Universities in Australia, New Zealand and some other Universities in Europe is to have funded PhD projects listed on their websites and the details of the faculty member to be contacted by interested students. The funds for these projects are usually already approved and just waiting for a capable student that can carry them out. As a scholarship applicant, it is advisable to check out the list of PhD projects on the University websites and then email the prospective supervisor about your interest and ability to carry out the project. You can then apply for the next scholarship round of the University once the professor agrees to supervise you.