Winning a scholarship is not an easy task because there are a LOT of scholarship seekers and only a few scholarship prizes available.
In terms of numbers, millions of students compete for only thousands of available scholarships. So, how can you boost your chances of receiving a scholarship?
1. Find scholarships that only few know about
Knowledge is sometimes essential in earning a scholarship.You must have came across popular worldwide scholarships and flagship scholarships of popular universities over your months of seeking. These scholarships are fantastic to apply for, but they are quite tough to obtain. School-specific or department-specific scholarships are one form of scholarship that you may have a better chance of receiving.
School-specific scholarships are useful to apply to because they are unique to your field of study and, more significantly, fewer people are aware of them because they are not as easy to find as university-wide scholarships and are not as well-known as popular scholarships. In general, there is less competition for these scholarships, which increases your chances.
2. Apply only for scholarships that are best matched to you
This advise entails determining which scholarships are best suited to you. In an ideal world, you would apply to a scholarship program that is specific to your nation of origin, has eligibility rules that match your qualifications, and prioritized topics of study that are linked to your degree/research/experience.
3. Stand out in your scholarship application
Because scholarship applications are highly competitive, yours must stand out from the crowd. This means that you must not only satisfy but also exceed the scholarship criteria established by the scholarship giver. The trick here is to understand the scholarship provider’s specific criteria and use them to your advantage. Once you understand their criteria, you may come up with innovative ways to showcase the strengths of your scholarship application.
If you don’t have stellar academic credentials, for example, you can highlight relevant extracurricular activities in your personal motivation letter.In another case, you can do some additional research on the scholarship provider’s current areas of focus because students are sometimes picked based on their chosen field of study or research – whether it corresponds with the scholarship provider’s primary mission/themes. It is also beneficial to be familiar with the profiles of prior scholarship recipients; this will give you an idea of the type of student that the scholarship sponsors seek.
