One of the first step towards achieving this goal is to have the right information and procedures. You're a step ahead of some people. The truth is you can do it yourself with the right knowledge and other factors.
We found out that so many people that come to us do not have the finances for going abroad, so we suggest going for studies through scholarship, but most of these people too do not know the procedures for scholarship and admission application. So that is the reason for this article. Scholarship abound. It's present in uncountable countries and comes in different forms.
Many scholarship opportunities exist for masters and PhD including Bachelors. They come in several ways; many of them are not termed scholarship. They can come in form of Graduate Research assistantships, Graduate Teaching assistantships, Program level scholarships, School level scholarships and scholarships from external bodies and organizations. To begin this journey, you need to get the list of schools, not just any school but schools that are DLI(s). Choose a program from the program list, check if it’s research or coursed based and the requirements. Make sure your grades meet the minimum GPA of the program and courses that can go for that program (Msc/PhD). You also need an experience (internships, volunteer, and work) in that particular program. Those going for PhD need to make sure they have published papers. It is not usually compulsory for Msc but if you have any, it’s a plus! In this journey, you need to be very patient and consistent. You may get many negative replies especially when contacting faculty members but you should not give up till you achieve your goal.
Scholarships comes in different forms and sometimes require different criteria. Some require very good grades, some require community or volunteer experience, leadership experience too, some require research experience and internships. There are also need based scholarships, including scholarships for a particular country or zone. It depends on the one you want to go for. But in general, make sure your grades are good, publish your undergraduate thesis if you can. Attend conferences, go for internships, have good relationships with your professors because you'll need them as referees.
Mindset
Mindset is one of the things that affect your scholarship or admission. So many people feel they can gain admission and scholarship by telling how poor their families are and how they need help to improve their conditions. Many scholarships aren’t given on pity unless they’re need-based.
In this context, we are going to look at two types of mindsets and the one you should adopt as an applicant. We have the Expatriate and Immigrant mindsets An expat is someone that works outside of his or her country for a period of time. Expats or Expatriates feel that they go to other places to add value.
Immigrants are people who move to a foreign country to live permanently, let's say those in search of greener pastures. But in reality, Expat is given to people with western origins. Africans and Asians are considered Immigrants no matter their status and class. Don’t let that affect your mindset because same way westerners feel that they migrate to add value to a particular place, is the same way you are going to add value to them. Therefore, you need to adopt an expatriate mindset.
Why you should have an expatriate mindset
Application fee is a contribution to Canada / UK/ US/ Germany/ Australia or any other country you wish to go to. You add value to them even before going. Teaching assistance, research assistance and dissertation etc are contributions to the school. The fact that you have something to offer makes you an expatriate. Remember that your mindset can affect your essay writing and interviews.
This is for those whose grades are low.
If your grade is low and you're thinking of giving up, please don't give up, there are things you need to know: Grade is not the only factor that determines an admission or a scholarship. There are many other things that the admission committee look out for aside grade.
These are your documents especially personal statement or statement of purpose, recommendation letters. Grade accounts for only 20% of the criteria, recommendation letters account for only 10% and your documents account for 70%.
Therefore, if you have a good grade without good document and stellar personal statement or statement of purpose, you might not be admitted. Also, you may have a low grade but with stellar personal statement, and recommendation letters you could get admission and scholarship. Again, something in your essay can grab the attention of the admission committee or a professor. So if you have a low grade, you shouldn't give up because meeting the required GPA does not guarantee admission.
What’s your obstacle in this journey?
Money :Little or no money can hinder you from applying and other things and sometimes you may have your money but can't still apply. To tackle this problem, you need to plan ahead and save up for your application fees, you can talk to people to help you out too. However, there are some schools that don’t accept self-funding; this can be a problem if you really don’t want to wait for a scholarship. Search well to know about a school and program of interest.
Marriage/relationships: Some people may not want to put their marriages and relationships at risk and are scared of applying so as not to lose their spouse or partner. You can go with your spouse, kids and common-law partner if the visa officers approve. That is why you need to convince them that your family will not overstay and you will also show financial support or proof of funds to cater for them. The proof of funds can be in your name, family member or a close friend. If approved, your spouse or common-law partner will be given an open work permit and your kids who are minors are entitled to attend their public schools.
1. METICULOUS SCHOLARSHIP/ADMISSION PLANNING
To have a successful application and good news at the end, you need to plan meticulously by:
Giving yourself some time for preparation:
Application portals for example in Canadian Universities or some Universities in some other countries open September(for Fall semester) each year and some October. Fall is mainly the time some schools accept International students and as an international student, you need to apply 8-12 months prior to the Fall semester to enable the admission panel review your documents and take their decisions. Another reason is to have enough time to prepare yourself for your migration and your study permit. In order to apply on time, you need few months to prepare especially if your documents are not handy.
When is the right time to start?
If you want to apply by September, you can start researching by May. You use this month to familiarize yourself with the website( school, department), the requirements, scholarships etc and start pulling the paperwork together for application. By June, you make sure all the documents are ready. As soon as the documents are ready, you can start contacting supervisors if your program requires it through email. Some may want you to attach your CV and transcript when sending the mail.
You'll need recommendation letters from either your previous professors, or work supervisors. With their busy schedules in mind, you have to let them know they'll speak on your behalf on time. So you start all these by July. By August, you work on your essays, be it personal statement, letter of intent, statement of purpose etc. These essays confuse people a lot. You need to make sure you know the differences and the formats for writing them.
By September, you're aware of the requirements, tuition, gotten your documents, application start date, deadlines and contacted your referees. If all the requirements are ready and have seen the start date, you can apply immediately the portal opens in order to be among the first set of persons because admission/scholarship are very competitive and so many people are qualified. Some deadlines are March, but make sure you don't apply very close the deadline.
Takeaway :
Admission and scholarships are very competitive and there are thousands who apply for them. Also, many people are qualified not just you. A good planning will go a long way in helping your success. Plan meticulously and be an early bird.
2. APPLICATION COMPONENTS/ADMISSION
Application components are very crucial parts of an application which if not meticulously planned can deny an applicant admission. They are one of the first things you look out for in a school's website or program's website.
The following are required for application and admission process for graduate studies:
1. Application fee: This varies in schools and it is a non-profit refundable fee which you pay when submitting your application. Make sure to check a school's application fee before applying. But, application fee is waived for some countries that are among the world's 50 least developed countries e.g Ethiopia, Nepal, Uganda etc.
2. Transcripts/ Academic records: Applicants must provide copies of academic records of all post secondary institutions they attended. Some schools demand for unofficial transcript which is the one you upload during application and some official. Official because, it's been sent from your university straight to the one you want to apply to in a sealed envelope and endorsed by the Registrar or through a secure electronic delivery by the issuing institution.
3. Letters of reference: Recommendation letters or reports must be sent by your referees. A form is sent to your referees from the school to write about you and send back to them. You won't see what they write so it's best you choose people who know you very well and have your interest at heart. This can stop you from getting admission because if your referees decide to write something bad or something generic, your admission will not be granted. Referees are very important and shouldn't be taken for granted. Make sure he/ she has an institutional email.
4. English Proficiency Exam(if required): Most schools in Canada/UK/US etc exempt some African countries whose official language is English, from English Proficiency test and its stated that if your language of instruction in the school you attended is English, you don't need to write an English Proficiency test but you'll provide an evidence.
5. Statement of Interest or Purpose and Personal statement
These confuse applicants a lot.
Statement of interest may also be called "statement of intent" which is simply a description of your research interests. You need to tell them your interest or goal and how your past education and experiences deem you fit for the graduate program. While Personal Statement gives the admission committee a glimpse into a candidate's personality. It combines specific, self reflective anecdotes with details about past experiences( internships, volunteer experiences)
6. Academic CV: This is what you need to sell yourself aside your PS and SOI or SOP. Make sure it's updated.
7. Supervisors: Supervisors are faculty members who mentor grad students in their research. Many thesis- based programs expect students to identify a faculty member who will mentor them prior to application. If you have the consent of him or her you have a high chance of getting admitted.
8. Supplementary Information such as GMAT, GRE, research proposal etc may be required by a particular program.
Types of admission
1. Unconditional admission: This is granted when an applicant meets all admission requirements and all final official documentation has been received. If an applicant with a bachelor's degree or its equivalent does not meet the requirements above, but have significant formal training and relevant professional experience to offset such deficiencies, may be granted admission on recommendation of an appropriate graduate program or faculty member.
2. Conditional admission:
This contains condition(s) that must be met before ab offer can be considered final. Condition like provision of official transcript( sent directly from your school to them). Admission won't be finalized till the university received and validates required official documentation which substantiates scanned documents previously submitted.
Takeaway
1. Make sure your meet a program's requirements before applying. If you don't, look for the ones you meet theirs.
2. When building your CV or your PS, do not plagiaries, write yours especially PS, it's personal.
3. SOME SECRETS OF GETTING A SCHOLARSHIP/ADMISSION
1. Proper School Search :
You ought to know how to search for scholarships and all the information you need. You can miss a scholarship or admission due to lack of information.
Make sure you search well on a website before contacting the program's coordinator or graduate coordinator in order not to leave a wrong impression when especially when asking a question that's already on the school's website. Some scholarships are advertised online while some can be found on a school's website or program's website. You should also know the type of school( university or college, DLI or not), type of program and types of scholarships.
2. Choice of Program: Don't just go for a program you know nothing about because you feel it's good and trending. Go for a program related to your undergraduate program or a program you have a professional training on. The reason is because you may not be able to defend that program if called for an interview. This got someone's visa denied because he couldn't explain a simple term from the program he applied for. You may not know where your question can come from.
Also, if your undergraduate program isn't related to your program of choice in masters, it can get your application rejected.
3. Scholarship application:
You're the right person to do the scholarship application, because it'll help you during interviews. When you do your school/ program search by yourself, you'll be familiar with so many things on the website. Someone got a rejection during interview because he misplaced the ranking of his university of choice, he said the university is among the first 3 top ranked that's why he chose it. But that was not true and they assumed he doesn't even know the school very well. Assuming you want to fund your studies, when you do your search, you'll know the schools with low and high tuition, you'll also know if they expect you to get a supervisor prior to application and so.
4. Contacting a program coordinator/ supervisor: Make sure you use a professional email address e.g first name. lastname @ gmail.com: James.Mensah @ gmail.com. Don't ask a question that it's answer is already on the website.
5. Seek out the less competitive scholarships: Less competitive scholarships are less competitive not because they're not good but most are partially funded. Some cover only tuition, instead of missing out on all, it's better you secure the partial scholarship and seek help from people. You can use your admission letter or your partial offer to source for funds.
6. Consistency and patience: You need to be patient and consistent in pursuing your dream of studying abroad, scholarship or admission may not come when you expect it and the more you apply, the higher your chances. Someone said he got 15 rejections and almost gave up but when it was his turn to shine, he got two at once. Another person wrote up to 300 supervisors for two good years and today he got a scholarship in one of the best universities in the world. There were many disappoints behind the success of such people. So don't give up if yours don't come easily.
7. When writing your essay or letters to supervisors
Make sure your interest aligns with theirs and don't write pitiful essays thinking that it would get you a position, because scholarship isn't given on pity unless it's those ones that they award to candidates who show strong financial constraints. Let them feel that you have something to offer them, that you're not a liability. They want someone who can offer them something and they in turn offer you something which is Scholarship.
