Are you applying for 2022 international scholarships?. Have you started gathering the necessary documents you need for applications or you’re at a bridge thinking of how to start? Well, this pool of information is for you. You may need to scroll a little bit more though, so let’s get at it.
Scholarship applications can be confusing or even tedious especially for first timers. The question of how is always evident. However to solve this we have gathered the required documents you need to have before proceeding to applying for your dream school. Here are the documents:
- Academic CV
- Recommendation letter(s)
- Statement of purpose.
- Academic Transcript.
- International passport.
- Degree Certificate.
- Evidence of English language proficiency.
- GRE/GMAT.
1. Academic CV:
As a scholarship applicant, you need to have a CV dedicated for this purpose. Your CV in this regard should include your academic achievements, prizes, extracurricular activities, leadership positions, skills (academic competence and soft skills) and work experience (relevant or not).
To note, your scholarship application CV to international schools should not include information such as your age, religion, state of origin, gender, and other information not relating to your achievements in significant areas. Unless otherwise stated you should not include them in your Academic CV.
2. Recommendation letters
Recommendation letters are one of the most crucial documents required for scholarships. You need academic references from your lecturers and professional references.
Virtually, every scholarship body will request for referees. It is typically done in two ways. It is either you’re asked to provide the email of your referees while they contact them directly, or you’re told to provide a reference letter from referees.
In order to be on top of your game you must be prepared for both refrence formats A very good way to prepare is to let your referees know that you will be applying for scholarships and that you might need to provide their emails as references. Also request for a reference letter from them and keep it.
A lot of Academic Lecturers in Nigeria for instance may not write a convincing reference letter for you, which is why it is much more advisable that you draft the letter yourself and give it to them.
Some referees will save you the stress of asking for the same reference letter every time, so they permit you to edit and use the letter for subsequent scholarship applications.
When we talk of referees you should always choose people who can speak of your reputation and achievements in clear terms. People you’ve worked closely with either academically or professionally for s period of time. For example, your project supervisor will make a good referee.
Don’t forget to contact your referees now.
3. Statement of purpose
The Statement of purpose (or personal statement, motivation letter) is perhaps the most important 1-2 page document for scholarship applications. There you have the opportunity to tell your story, address the issues that you may not have addressed in your CV, highlight your future plans and convince the panel.
You don’t have to wait until you write your English proficiency tests before you start writing your statement of purpose. Some people spend months perfecting this piece of writing so it can be as catchy and convincing as possible. Start writing your SOP now and give people to review for you.
There are types of SOP writings depending on what the school you’re applying to requires. Some departments just want you to write a personal statement while some outline the things they want to see in your SOP. They ask certain questions, give you a typing format, and word limit. Make sure you read through your course and school requirements before writing your SOP.
4. Academic Transcript
Once you’re able to save some money, this is the first document you should start trying to get due to the bureaucracies involved. Getting your transcripts from Nigerian universities can be unnecessarily difficult and can take between weeks to months.
You don’t want your transcripts to be the stumbling block to your application. It is important that you start applying for it the moment you’re graduating. Most Universities issue a student copy transcript, it is also known as the unofficial transcript and can be used during your applications.
This copy is also easier to proceed. Upon admission, the University will later request for an official transcript for your previous degree. However, some Universities only issue official transcripts which is way more expensive and will cost you a lot if you’re applying to more than one international school at once.
5. International passport
As scholarship enthusiasts, you should start planning on getting this the moment you ever think of scholarship application. It’s the most important document you need, you can’t do without it. Getting an international passport in Nigeria is almost the same hardwork as getting an academic transcript from public universities.
It is also expensive, you will need at least 25k to get this. This may be huge for some hustling scholarship enthusiasts but it is inevitable.This is why you need to start saving up early.
You will be asked to upload your International passport while applying for admission and scholarships. You will also need it if you’re writing English proficiency exams or GRE/GMAT. And while these exams are optional, international passport isn’t.
6. Degree Certificate
If your certificate isn’t ready by the time you’re applying for scholarships, the Statement of Result issued by your school will suffice. Most universities will accept your statement of result if you’re yet to get your degree certificate. In fact, some folks are already doing PhD and yet to get their degree certificate.
7. Evidence of English language Proficiency
This is measured in many forms. Some schools (especially in the UK) accept at least a credit (C) in English language in your WASSCE exam. Some other schools will accept a letter from your school stating that English was your medium of instruction.
Some Nigerian universities charge a fee in the region of 1k to issue this letter while others don’t. However a lot of schools will insist that you must upload IELTS/TOEFL test results. Not everyone can afford this. Some schools now accept duolingo which is cheaper.
In any case you have to choose between ielts and toefl, due to funds, decide based on your preferred destination. E.g most schools in Europe will ask for IELTS,while USA schools prefer TOEFL. Peradventure you couldn’t afford to write any of these exams, you can request for a waiver from the school you’re applying to.
Lastly, some schools have finally decided to waive English proficiency exams for applicants from some countries. For example, some schools in the US exempts Nigeria from writing language tests. you can look out for these schools.
8. GRE/GMAT
The examination you’ll write out of these two depends on your preferred destination. If your target is USA/Canada, be prepared to write this and combine it with TOEFL. Some Canadian schools will accept IELTS and won’t mandate GRE/GMAT. Most USA schools will ask for GRE. Some courses like Business Administration requires GMAT exams.
GRE/GMAT can be tough and requires an average period of three months for adequate preparation. Your score in the GRE, together with your SOP and CGPA will greatly determine your admission, scholarships and grants. You can start your preparation today so as to have an excellent score.
That’s it folks. With all these we believe it is time to start gathering your documents and get ready to resume later in the year. All the best in your applications.