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An education is an asset that lasts a lifetime, which is why most of us lay a lot of emphasis on getting a good one. Not all of us can afford to go to the best schools, but there’s where scholarships lend a very welcome helping hand. Again, not many of us are blessed with the skills and dedication that it takes to land the most prestigious or well-endowed scholarships that are on offer. If you’re on the lookout for a scholarship to bankroll your education, the pointers offered below will come in handy.
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This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of the best colleges. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.
Getting a scholarship for an overseas study is a competitive process. This is because many people like you want the scholarship, but not all can be awarded. The cholarship money is simply not enough to fund all at once. Also, the scholarship providers want to ensure that only the best, well prepared applicants are selected and so the money is spent rightly and efficiently to what it is intended for. So, you have to be a winner!
Lots of people have won scholarship. You hear this every time. But how have they done this good job? Are they luckier or more superior or intelligent than others? No, they are not! If you ask them about the winning secrets are, they may simply give you the following lists: things to prepare or consider before applying a scholarship.
Academic certificate and transcriptSoon after graduation, do not wait. Obtain your original academic certificate and transcript, and make some copies of them.
You need to certify them and, remember, that people at university are some times going somewhere when you need their signatures. More importantly, you need to translate both your academic certificate and transcript. Check around, there maybe some people have done the same.
This will ease the task. If not, they are yours anyway. When you are done, it is wise to get other people to see them. They may give you valuable inputs, even correcting misspelled course names. Again, you need signatures of dean and rector on the translated version of your academic certificate and record.
Research proposal
You need to decide earlier which study route you are going to undertake - course or research or both. If you prefer a course-based study, you do not need a proposal. But if you are going to do a research, you definitely need a research proposal.
Good research proposal require time and energy to construct. So it is always better to prepare it earlier. Basically, the proposal will not be much different to the one you have done previously in your research as part of your undergraduate study. This will include background, objective, problems or questions to answer, hypothesis, methodology, and references. These are the essences of a proposal.
When you are done with those basic requirements, ask suggestions from others. When the application is open, check if the scholarship provider requires a bit more to what you have prepared.
Letter from intended university and supervisorsDownload application form from the university website and fill it before send it back to the university. The university will respond you and issue you with a letter of acceptance. You may indicate in the form that you will begin your study next year, waiting for a scholarship which you are now struggling for. Most likely they will issue you with a conditional acceptance. They will keep reissuing this until you succeed with your scholarship application.
While your are in the website, go to your targeted department or school to find your potential supervisor. Even, this needs to be done first before filling in a admission form. The reason you will not studying in this university unless you have got an academic staff willing to supervise you.
So get their email address, and make contacts with them. In the first time, you just need to introduce yourself, mention your academic background and your research proposal, and ask if he/she is available to supervise you. If they are busy because there are many students already under their responsibilities, don't panic. Ask him/her if they know people around there who are still able to take additional students.
The good with the letter from university and supervisor when you have them at hand is that you can attach them to your application form and present them to the interviewers. These letters will increase your chances of winning the scholarship because the interviewers will so impressed that you are better prepared and have taken more advanced steps compared to other candidates.
Family
For those who are married, this must not be overlooked. Not all scholarship providers allow you to bring family members (spouse and children) with you. The majority is yes, but you need to ensure whether additional funds for family members are available or not. If not, this means you have to be prepared to fund them yourself. Even if they do provide additional funds for family members, there are always cost to be funded using your own money.
This is because the scholarship, usually, will only fund basic needs such living expenses, health insurance, health clearance before departure and visa. Other than these such as cost of transportation - international or domestic - are usually not covered and so funds for these have to be prepared.
More need to think if your spouse is working, especially if it is in a government institution or department. Will she be allowed to go with you or not? If, how are you going to overcome this. A discusion with spouse is needed here.
Work
If you are currently working, you need to check if your employer support you for a further study or not. If yes, it will allow you to go and may provide you with financial supports as well. Generally, government bodies support for human resource development of their employees and so this is not usually a problem for public servants. This is not the case for private enterprises, so many candidates working in these commercial bodies have had to maka a tough decision.
Health
Health status is another consideration for successfully obtaining a scholarship. Some people are fail or at least postponed to start their study because of health problems. So, if you intend to apply for a scholarship, keep practicing those healthy habits. Most scholarship providers will provide a health insurance to their awardees, but you need to make sure about what all this insurance covers. Does it cover dental and eyes-related health problems? If it not, then it is cheaper for example going to a dental practitioner or buying glasses here than there.
Driving license
It is advantageous to have a car there, not only to support your daily academic activities but also for your leisures. This is especially true if you are going there with your family members. But to do this, you need to have a valid license. Check with the scholarship or with experienced people whether a foreign license can be used in the intended country or not. This include different policies from one state to another. If students are allowed to use a foreign license, get one here or revalidate your old one. Obtaining a driving license there is expensive and time demanding.
So, these are things that you may prepare or consider before applying a scholarship. Remember that a good preparation equals to halfway through the whole process. Be prepared and win the scholarship!
author: Damry, University of Tadulako, Indonesia
Banyak orang mengatakan, baik melalui millist maupun forum-forum di internet bahwa memenangkan beasiswa ADB sangat susah. Memang demikian. Orang bijak mengatakan bahwa didunia ini memang serba susah, alias tidak ada yang mudah, tetapi tidak ada yang tidak mungkin.
"Anything is possible ... "
kata dalam iklan merk minuman produk amerika yang cukup terkenal itu. Ya .. anything is possible, semua serba mungkin. Sulit atau susah, sebenarnya relatif, tergantung bagaimana cara pandang kita.
Kembali ke masalah beasiswa ADB. Mungkin memang sulit memenangkannya, akan tetapi dengan persiapan dan metode yang efektif, bukan tidak mungkin, sangat mudah untuk memperoleh beasiswa ini, terutama bagi mereka yang ingin melanjutkan sekolah di luar negeri, baik untuk Master program maupun Ph.D program.
Langkah pertama
Langkah pertama yang harus dilakukan adalah persiapan mental. Dalam hal ini adalah keseriusan, kesungguhan, konsistensi dan pantang menyerah. Penyakit akut terbesar penyebab gagalnya perjuangan adalah lemahnya mental. Sebelum mentalnya kuat, sebaiknya jangan coba-coba, atau lebih baik mundur dari perburuan beasiswa, ini saran saya loh ...,
kenapa ...?,
gak akan ada untungnya ...,
gak akan ada artinya ...,
Habis waktu, tenaga, waktu, biaya, belum lagi pikiran, emosi, waktu luang, ....
cape dehhhh .......
Memang sih, mendingan dicoba, walau gak serius, nanti kan bisa dijadikan pengalaman. Memang betul, kegagalan adalah kunci keberhasilan, tapi itu untuk "kegagalan dalam kesungguhan berjuang", bukan gagal dalan "keisengan" dan coba-coba. Lulus syukur, gagal biarin.
Tolong bedakan, "coba-coba" dan "kesungguhan". Bagaimana kita akan tahu letak kesalahan kalau tidak sungguh-sungguh mengerjakannya. Sebagaimana saat kita ujian tulis (UAS atau UTS), jika tidak ada kesungguhan, berapa ratus kali pun UTS/UAS di ulang, hasilnya gak akan ada bedanya. Nol besar.
Jadi persiapkan mental. Mantapkan, dan pastikan, program studi apa yang akan menjadi sasaran. Ekonomi, Science, Sosial, Sastra, dll. Pilihan kampus mana dan negara mana, lebih baik di-nomor-dua-kan dulu.
Berangkat dari titik acuan
Selanjutnya adalah start perburuan. Kita pastikan awal keberangkatan. Untuk beasiswa ADB, mulailah dari situs resmi adb http://www.adb org. Dari sini gali semua informasi mengenai ADB. Saya akan arahkan lebih khusus lagi, yaitu ke Japan Scholarship Program dibawah ADB. Situsnya adalah http://www.adb.org/JSP. Pada situs ADB-JSP, hampir semua informasi yang dibutuhkan sudah tersedia.
Mulai dari prosedur pengajuan, batas waktu pengajuan, hal apa saja yang harus dipersiapkan, dan sebagainya. Jika bingung, klik bagian Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ), atau jika tidak ditemukan disana, kontak sekretariat adb pada kolom "contact". Berdasarkan pengalaman, respon mereka cukup baik. Saya selalu menerima reply kurang dari 24 jam atas pertanyaan yang diajukan.
Perburuan dimulai
Pada situs adb-jsp, terdapat kolom yang menjelaskan institusi/kampus yang bekerja sama dengan ADB. Artinya, jika dipilih kampus-kampus tersebut, maka ada peluang untuk mendapatkan beasiswa ADB. Berdasarkan pilihan program studi yang dijadikan sasaran, maka sebaiknya pilih disini. Nama kampus dan negara tujuan. Apabila tidak sesuai dengan keinginan, maka anda harus mencari jenis beasiswa lain selain ADB, Karena ADB hanya meng-cover kampus-kampus tersebut saja. Pilih salah satu kampus di negara tertentu dimana tersedia program studi yang kita maksud. Kontak pihak admission yang bersangkutan dan download semua form yang dibutuhkan.
Atur strategi untuk menang
Sulitkah ujian untuk memenangkan beasiswa ADB dengan saingan ribuan orang ? sebagaimana saya ungkap sebelumnya bahwa kesulitan adalah relatif, tergantung sudut pandang yang kita gunakan. Mungkin anda akan terkejut apabila saya sampaikan bahwa form dari ADB tak lebih hanya lembar dengan kotak checklist, apakah kita memenuhi persyaratan atau tidak. Saya akan uraikan salah satu contoh persyaratan yang ditawarkan ADB untuk perolehan beasiswa. Tiap tahun mungkin saja konten nya berubah.
Syarat memperoleh beasiswa ADB :
Ini hanyalah sekedar contoh, dan biasanya, form seperti ini sudah disediakan kampus-kampus yang bekerjasama dengan adb. Tiap kampus mungkin saja mempunyai persyaratan tambahan yang berbeda, tetapi syarat umum kurang lebih demikian. Syarat tambahan hanya merupakan pelengkap dari syarat umum. Jadi, tidak ada tes, ujian dan lain-lain. Hanya isi checklist formulir saja.
Disarankan untuk mengisinya secara jujur. Anda juga akan ditanyakan berapa besaran gaji pertahun yang diterima (dalam US$). Strategi mencapai kemenangan dengan berdusta saat pengisian form hanya akan merugikan diri sendiri dan dimasukkan kedalam daftar hitam (black list) dan catatan hitam anda akan muncul selamanya.
Jadi bagaimana strategi untuk menang ? strategi nya adalah tidak lain anda harus bisa diterima dikampus tujuan. Satu hal yang pasti adalah bahwa Tes uji untuk memenangkan beasiswa ADB adalah tes untuk bisa diterima dikampus yang kita tuju. Apabila kita bisa diterima dikampus tujuan, maka bisa dikatakan hampir 95%, pengajuan beasiswa kita akan disetujui ADB. Kegagalan pada tahap ini, bisa dipastikan karena kegagalan kurang lengkapnya atau kurai sesuai dalam syarat administrasi.
Tinggal masalahnya adalah bagaimana caranya agar kita bisa memperoleh ijin masuk kampus atau diterima sebagai mahasiswa dikampus tersebut, dan ini sangat tergantung pada syarat apa yang diminta oleh kampus tersebut, dan ini dapat dipastikan, tiap kampus akan memiliki persyaratan yang berbeda, tergantung kebutuhan.
Kembali kepada mental. Terus berjuang pantang mundur, belum tentu kita lebih buruk dari orang lain yang mejadi saingan kita, dan belum tentu juga orang lain lebih baik dari kita. Jangan takut gagal, karena kegagalan hanyalah sebuah awal dari keberhasilan. Jangan takut kekurangan uang dalam berjuang, karena apabila kita sungguh-sungguh, maka Allah adalah Maha Tahu dan rizki akan datang dari jalan yang tidak disangka-sangka.
Jangan takut kurang tidur karena kita begadang terus tiap malam demi mempersiapkan bahan tesis untuk ditawarkan keada para professor agar bersedia menjadi advisor kita, yakinlah bahwa, setelah tecapai cita-cita nanti, tidur kita akan lebih baik dan lebih nyenyak dari sekarang. Jangan lupa Do’a. Kerja luar biasa hanya akan bisa membuahkan hasil apabila diiringi dengan do’a yang juga luar biasa.
Selamat berjuang, semoga berhasil dan tercapai kemenangan. Salam sukses.
Artikel ini diambil ditulis oleh Erwin.
Nearly all applications to graduate school require at least 3 letters from individuals who can discuss your competencies in a coherent way and recommend that you be admitted to graduate school. Many students find that it is mot difficult to select persons to approach for letters of recommendation. Others aren't sure of who to approach -- or if they have a potential recommender at all. Regardless of your situation, plan ahead.
Who will you approach? Who will you consider? Remember the main criteron of the letter of recommendtion: It must provide a comprehensive and positive evaluation of your abilities and aptitude. It should not be surprising that letters from professors are highly valued by admissions committees. However, the best letters are written by faculty who know you, from whom you have taken muliple classes and/or have completed substantial projects and/or have recieved very positive evaluations.
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Professors provide insight into your academic competencies and aptitude as well as personality characteristics that may contribute to your potential to succeed in graduate school, such as motivation, conscientiousness, and timeliness.
Some students include a letter from an employer. Letters from employers are useful if you are working in a field that is related to that which you intend to study. However, even a letter from an employer in an unrelated field can be useful to your application if he or she discusses skills and competencies that will contribute to your success in graduate school, such as the abilty to read and integrate information in order to draw conclusions, lead others, or carry out complex tasks in a timely and competent fashion. Essentially it's all about spin -- spinning the material so that it matches what committees are looking for.
An effective recommendation letter is writtn by someone who meets some of the following criteria:
Many students become nervous when they see this list. Remember that no one no one person will meet all of these criteria, so don't fret or feel bad. Instead, consider all of the people who you might approach and attempt to compose a balanced panel of reviewers. Seek individuals who will collectively fulfill as many of the above criteria as possible.
The biggest mistake most students make in the recommendation letter-phase of the graduate school application is to not think about who to approach and simply settle for whoever is available. This is not the time to settle, choose the easiest path, or be impulsive. Take the time and make the effort to consider all of the possiblities -- each professor you have had and all persons you have come into contact with (e.g., employers, internship supervisors, supervisors from settings in which you have volunteered). Don't rule any one out at first, just make a long list. After you have created an exhausted list, rule out those who you know will not give you a positive recommendation. The next step is to determine how many criteria those remaining on your list might fulfill. And move on from there to begin approaching potential referees.
From Tara Kuther, Ph.D.
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