Scholarship tips

2. • **I got 6 scholarship offers within 6 months after completing my undergraduate studies.
• **
• *Here is what worked for me.
• *
• 𝟏. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭: There are so many scholarship pages and groups available on social media platforms (e.g.,
Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Join them and set alerts to make sure you don't miss any scholarships available in your field. Several websites are also
available that send such alerts. Also, follow professors in your domain on social media (e.g., Twitter) as they do announce such scholarships on
social media too.
• 𝟐. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬: Sending emails to professors having no funding/scholarship might not be too useful for either
party. Better contact professors who have already advertised scholarships or open positions.
• 𝟑. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭: Getting a scholarship for your PhD or master's studies does not happen in the blink of an eye. It takes time and
effort. So be patient and persistent. You will get it.
• 𝟒. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲: You will often come across negativity. For example, it is too challenging, your profile is not so good, and only
certain groups get it. Stay away from such negativity.
• 𝟓. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: You will apply for many scholarships. You will be rejected for many scholarships too. It happens to almost everyone.
It hurts but don't get demotivated. Get used to rejections. Learn from it and move on to the next one.
• 𝟔. 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐒/𝐓𝐎𝐄𝐅𝐋, 𝐞𝐭𝐜: Many students keep delaying it. It's costly but it's worth an investment. Having an English score makes you eligible
for so many scholarships.
• 𝟕. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐕 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜: Make your CV and email specific to the professor, scholarship, and research lab. The one
assessing them should resonate with the content.
• 𝟖. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: Whilst a research proposal and cover may not be required for initial contact, it does give
a very positive impression. It shows that you are hardworking and serious. Prepare and share these.
• 𝟗. 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧: You can't improve your GPA or grad school. However, you can improve
your search process, CV, email, cover letter, and research proposal. So, don't keep them as such. Keep improving them in an iterative manner.
• 𝟏𝟎. 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤: Learn from people who have traveled this path already. There is no harm in asking your seniors or professors to have a
look at your CV, research proposal, and so on. Going the extra mile always generates some additional fruit.
• Credit: a LinkedIn post.