So, you have decided to go for postgraduate studies? Great! But now comes what next and how to questions. Key among these is how to secure funding, especially if you plan to go abroad. Not that in-country graduate studies do not require financial planning, but it is much easier since tuition fees would be the main concern (where tertiary education is not free of course). This post focuses on pursuing postgraduate studies abroad, where you have to factor in such other expenses as housing, healthcare, and travel costs.

In general, applying for your desired program and drafting the scholarship essay(s) should go hand in hand. If you are lucky, you might get admitted to a program that also provides funding, but it is more common to get admission and have to find ‘external’ funding. It is therefore important to work on both tasks simultaneously. What this means is that, once you know what subject area you want to get into and have already shortlisted your top five programs, then you should be aware of the funding situation and what to do next.

Perhaps you have submitted your application for admission already. If not, then you probably should have that out of the way. The beauty of this approach is that you can always defer your studies as you search for funding opportunities. Though not always the case, a scholarship is easier to get once you prove that you have an admission letter. Some funding bodies do help you with the school application process though, but that means that your motivation letter has done half the job for you, and you have the top three programs of choice at hand.

When preparing the scholarship essay therefore, you need to have the interview in mind already, as they are two sides of the same coin. Remember that it is your essay that gets you invited to the interview. Therefore, just as a CV is typically important during the job interview, so is the essay to the scholarship interview. Details matter, content matters, the motivation matters and of course, language matters. The point to note here is that consistency is key. The persons who conduct the interview are there to verify information provided in the motivation letter/scholarship application essay. This makes the issue of honesty additionally important. It might sound a bit odd to discuss honesty in this process, but it is imperative to remember that in applying for a scholarship, you are marketing yourself. You must believe in your product (i.e. YOU) and package it accordingly to attract the target audience. In the case of a scholarship, you are presenting yourself as worthy of an investment, since this is essentially what a scholarship is: an investment in YOU. This therefore must be presented in a manner that makes the funding body happy to add you to their portfolio.

This brings us back to the content of the scholarship application letter, and preparation for the interview.

Except for the obvious statement of your academic qualifications, this letter is the link between you as an applicant, your choice of study area, the industry, and community. Execution excellence and professional goals are not enough to guarantee funding. Many more people have these, others even better than you do. What makes you stand out? As a starting point, it might help to answer these:

1. How did you get into this field? Feel free to bring in your childhood, youth, family, personal convictions and whatever that gives a personal touch to your professional choices. But remember, honesty and consistency!
2. What do you do in this field?
3. What are the contemporary debates in this field (locally and globally), what is your position, and how do you envision your contribution?
4. How does the graduate course contribute to the debates above?
5. Why should the organisation help you with your contribution to these debates?
6. What is the plan after the program: for you as an individual and as a professional in this field? What do you want to do with your newly acquired knowledge and skills?
7. What will be the spill-over effect of choosing to invest in you?

Once you have these details covered in your letter, the interview will be a molehill. The writing must be impeccable of course. A captivating read relies on excellent presentation. This also calls for introspection, as you are committing your time, twelve months at least, into a study program away from home. Being candid with yourself is the first step in making sure that the time spent abroad is as smooth as can be (differences in socio-cultural norms and the weather is an issue we shall delve into at a future date). Do your best to control what you can.

But as we mentioned, honesty and consistency are crucial. A walk in the park interview is likely to happen when you have nothing to hide, and you can answer any questions directed at you without needing to think about how you should twist things to impress the interviewers or ensure alignment with the motivation letter you submitted. Do not fall into the trap of embellishing the truth or exaggeration in order to impress. You are unlikely to be an entire panel’s ‘first-ever’ interviewee, so they will smell any BS right way. Be yourself, the best version, the vision, the future package deal. Put that down, then prepare to ace the product pitch.

If this information is ‘too early’ for you as you are still looking for funding, a wonderful place to start is the respective graduate school’s homepage for information on opportunities such as merit scholarships, or institutions and organisations that provide financial support. If you are overwhelmed, lost, or confused, you can always email the respective contact person. We will soon share more information of finding scholarship opportunities here on Dr. Sis.