Another year to begin to run the marathon race of scholarship application accompanied with the japa syndrome. However before you begin the race, it is important to understand the climate of the scholarship that you want to apply to.
What is Climate? This are weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period of time. Now, let me tell you how this relates with your scholarship applications. Scholarship applications come with certain climate that should fuel you into preparing for such application but unfortunately, people don’t understand this.
Here are two key things to know about the climate of your scholarship:
- What is the selection percentage of that scholarship? This means that you need to understand what your chances are with the scholarship, their eligibility criteria and their selection processes. I once applied to a scholarship and I was told that I couldn’t get it because I did not have enough work experience. For that scholarship, they place a higher value on work experience than the school degree which is their that climate. Some scholarship climate is international experience, some scholarship climate only focus on first class students and the list goes on.
- What is the financial climate of the scholarship? A friend of mine mentioned few years back and told me that he couldn’t take up a PhD offer because the stipend that accompained that offer cannot cover he and his immdiate family. He eventually got a better offer and they are doing fine now. I will say, while applying for scholarship this year, pay attention to the financial resources of that scholarship, can you afford the application fees? How can you raise money for the application fees? Is the stipend worth it or you will need to do part time jobs while studying to augument your stipend? Can you combine these options while going through gradute school? These are relevant climate questions you ask before applying for a scholarship.
It is pertinet to pay attention to the climate of your scholarship this year in order to position yourself properly to mitigate the unforseen love letters and adapt to better options. Taking these delibarate steps will guide against wasting of time on certain applications this year.
Best Wishes.
