How To Position For Scholarships : Easy Steps To Get Scholarships

Many scholars are have been asking what are the steps to get scholarships? Therefore, this article is written to answer this question

Introduction

Scholarships are one of the great ways to fund your study, although getting one is not easy. As uneasy as it may seems however, it is doable. Doable as it may, there is not fixed road or procedures to winning a scholarship but there are certain steps you must take to get yourself one. So in this article, we will walk you through some highlights of getting a scholarships for your study either PhD, Masters or Bachelor degree there are tons of scholarship opportunities for any cadre of study.

Types of scholarships

As a scholarship applicants, you should be aware of the type of scholarship you want to apply for. Been aware of this fact will guide you in your process and might make your application stand out. Let look at the type before we go into the steps to get scholarships

1. Academic Scholarships

Some scholarships are designed specifically for academic excellence. This type of scholarships place more emphasizes on academic qualification and those with strong academic standards are only eligible to apply. If you are of low academic standing, you might not have upper hand in this type of scholarships. Example of scholarships of this type are the Mastercard University of British Colombia Scholarships, the prestigious Erasmus scholarships, Swiss Government Excellent Scholarships among others.

2. Leadership Scholarships

This type of scholarships placed more emphasizes on your leadership tract records and community engagements than your academic achievements. People of low academic records of strong community engagements and leadership are the ideal candidates. Example of this type of scholarship are: The World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program, Chevening Scholarships, Commonwealth Scholarships among others.

Positioning for scholarship

Landing a scholarship involves great deal of work. Therefore as a potential applicant, you must be ready to do the work. Though scholarship might be likened to free meal but in reality somebody somewhere is paying for it. Therefore the sponsor want to ensure the beneficiary of his/her gesture really need it and will make the best use of the gesture. As a result, you must present yourself as the best person in need of this gesture not from empathy point of view but on your ability to show results with the help. So before you approach or apply for any scholarships, what are the things you need to do? Let us discuss this before we go into the steps to get scholarships.

1. Good Academic record

For you to attract fully funded scholarship opportunities, you must ensure you have strong academic standings from your previous studies. Incase you have graduated and the result you have is not that strong, you can still support it with other items listed below.

2. Outstanding leadership record

Whether you have strong academic record or not, ensure you add leadership record to your profile. This will be of invaluable assets to your scholarships application. Scholarship bodies are looking for applicants with proven leadership record that can lead/bring positive change in their respective community. So applicant without any leadership experience will not be an idea candidates to benefits from this benevolence.

3. Active community engagements

Along with your academic records, ensure you have volunteering and community engagement experience. Scholarships bodies want to know how you have contributed to development within your community in your own capacity.

4. Membership or Professional Club alignment

This very essential as well, having an affiliation of professional bodies will not only be an asset to your application but it also shows your networking ability. Professional body like Nigerian Society of Engineers, ICAN etc are of positive leverage for your chances.

Where to get scholarships

There numerous bodies awarding scholarships every year. We also need to highlight this before we delve into the steps to get scholarships. Some of the popular ones are:

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission website 
Chinese Government Scholarships website
Erasmus Scholarships website
Mastercard Foundation Scholarships website
Fulbright Scholarships website
Chevening Scholarships website
Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarships website
You can see the list of ongoing scholarships here
Documents needed for scholarships application

Different scholarships have different requirements. Therefore this list might not be an exhaustive one. However, below is the general documents:

Degree certificate
Transcript
Language proficiency
International Passport
Letter of intent/Motivation letter
Research proposal (for Masters and PhD programs)
Reference letters

How to apply

Each scholarship program have different application window and process. I will therefore advice you check the scholarship website to know the application window and the requirements. Some Scholarship requires that your university send your transcript by courier. Please be informed about this.


Tips to Winning Scholarships

Once you have your list of scholarships ready and their respective deadlines and requirements, you’re ready to get rolling! How can you ensure that you are on the right path to winning the scholarship money? Here are a few tips to apply:

Be sincere steps to get scholarships

Apply for the scholarships that actually match your qualifications. Scholarships will list their eligibility requirements, so make sure you match them before wasting your time to apply.

Pay attention to details

Scholarship reviewers have a lot of information and applications to look over, so make sure you only provide the information they are asking for. Often times, they will give you a chance to add any extra insight that may be useful to know in their review process, so you may have an open-ended opportunity to share something you want with them in that field.

Be proactive

The entire process can get overwhelming, but you can decrease that feeling by being proactive. Start early and check before you’re enrolled or accepted into university for the scholarships that you want to apply to. In fact, many scholarships are awarded before the school term even begins.

 Meet deadlines

As mentioned before, creating a spreadsheet or list of scholarships you’re applying to with their deadlines is a good way to never miss a deadline.

 Prepare for interviews steps to get scholarships

Some scholarships will require an in-person or virtual interview. You can prepare for these by practicing common interview questions by yourself or with a friend or family member. The more prepared you are, the more likely you’ll be impressive!




Conclusion on steps to get scholarships

Studying with Scholarships are good way to go as it will afford you the opportunity to fully concentrate on your studies, but it requires great deal of work which worth it at the end. Goodluck!

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Sources: https://scholarsinfodesk.com/2022/01/07/how-to-position-for-scholarships-easy-steps-to-get-scholarships/

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