Step 1. Targeting
Before rushing into battle, analyze the information you have and draw up an “attack plan.” You need to identify your academic interests; realize where and why you want to go. Find out about as many scholarships as possible for studying in your chosen country. Then “try on” the admission requirements: do you fit the established standard for age, citizenship, and level of education. It is no secret that each program has its own target group—a specific segment of people it is designed to support. Try to understand whether you are among them. And begin the work.
Step 2. Disposition
Scholarship programs can be very different, but the selection process is almost the same in all cases: you need to pass a language (and sometimes an academic) test, submit documents on time, and go through an interview. The list of required documents is always in the program description. It usually consists of the following items (depending on the specific case, some may be mandatory, some optional): an application form; a short autobiography (Curriculum Vitae or CV); an essay (a short piece of writing); recommendations; language test results (TOEFL, IELTS, etc.); a copy of your diploma and other educational documents. All papers are usually filled out and submitted in a foreign language. From official documents (diplomas, certificates, etc.) you need to make a copy, translate it, and have it notarized. This will require some money, but, for example, you can have a copy of your diploma notarized for free at the university that issued it.
Step 3. Application Forms
You can download the application form at any time from the program’s website or ask the nearest office of the program organizer to send it to you. As a rule, you are allowed to use a photocopy of the form. Do not be surprised if the application asks you to provide the same information as in your autobiography. The application form is a document that helps to build a portrait of the ideal candidate for a particular scholarship. Read the questions carefully, and you will understand what facts of your biography you need to highlight to attract the attention of the selection committee. For example, Oleg Efremov, a second-year student at the law faculty of Moscow State University, received a scholarship from the University of Wisconsin (USA) for a semester not so much because of his rather average academic performance, but because he listed in his application his performances in school plays and student KVN games. The university administration saw in this signs of the social activity of a future lawyer. Therefore, be sure to indicate that you were involved in sports (sang in a choir, were a young naturalist/scout, etc.).
The selection committee reads the résumé (CV) if your application form has caught its interest. It should describe your activities and achievements fully and vividly, but within one page. Here you should praise yourself for concrete deeds and describe in more detail the points that demonstrate your positive qualities, again based on the expectations of the program representatives. That is, it is correct not to send the same generic template to everyone, but to create a version for a specific program.
Step 4. Essay
The purpose of an essay is to find out what kind of person you are, what you want from life, and also to determine whether you can express your thoughts clearly. Quite often, candidates are asked to briefly outline what goals they pursue when they plan to spend a year or two of their lives and the scholarship provided by sponsors on education. In such an essay (called a Statement of Purpose), you typically need to clearly explain why you chose this particular program; how what you are going to study relates to your experience (study and/or work); and what you plan to do after finishing your studies. The typical length of an essay is 500 words, of which 50 are recommended for the introduction, 200 for the main idea, another 200 for examples supporting the main idea, and 50 for the conclusion. Make a bullet-point plan for organizing the material. When you finish the essay, it is recommended to check the text for logic and mistakes at least three times. It is better to do the checks with breaks of several days. It would be good to add energy and expression to the text, giving priority to verbs rather than adjectives. If you have foreign acquaintances, let them read it.
Step 5. Recommendations
A letter of recommendation (Letter of Recommendation) usually consists of three parts: first, the author tells how and since when he has known the person he is reviewing, then he names the projects they worked on together, and at the end he lists the qualities that the recommended person has demonstrated. As a rule, scholarship applicants are required to provide one to three recommendations from people who know them well from joint work or study. The ideal is a review from a teacher, academic advisor, or supervisor—that is, a person who has seen you in action. You should not chase after prestigious names and titles: you will agree that your academic advisor, a simple associate professor, is much better informed about your studies and abilities than the rector of the university, an academician.
The letter of recommendation must include the position, academic title, address, and phone number of the person recommending you, so that committee members can contact him or her if necessary. “Ideally, a recommendation should be written on letterhead, signed and sealed,” says Irina Rukhlina, assistant of the international scholarship program of the Ford Foundation (USA). “We require three references, implying that one will be from an academic institution, another from a public organization, and the third from a place of work.”
Unfortunately, it happens that your teacher does not have a sufficient command of a foreign language, and some simply do not want to spend their time. Therefore, our students sometimes have to write recommendations for themselves, and then bring them to a "big person" to sign. Another option is to ask to write a recommendation in Russian and have it officially translated. A bit more expensive, but much more honest.
Step 6. Exams
Any exam requires quite lengthy preparation. Some tests in Russia can be taken only a few times a year, which creates particular problems. Each exam has its own logic of structure, and in order to score a sufficient number of points, one needs to become familiar with the test format. Specialists advise starting to prepare at least six months before the deadline.
The most common option is the test of English as a foreign language (Test Of English as Foreign Language; TOEFL). For admission to Western colleges and universities, it is usually enough to score 213 points. More prestigious universities and certain specialties (such as medicine, law, or journalism), as well as most doctoral programs, require candidates to have a better command of the language, so a minimum of 250 points is needed.
Step 7. Interview
An interview is required to dot all the "i"s. Usually it is a half-hour conversation with one or more members of the selection committee. "At interviews, we always ask about the candidate's plans for the next 5-10 years," says Lyubov Kovalenko, a representative of the British Council scholarship programs. "You need to prepare seriously for the interview. Clearly know how one course of study differs from another, have at least a general idea of the education system in the UK, the organization providing the scholarship, and the sponsors."
The main advice is this: maintain your dignity, do not be afraid to show that your life will not stop even after a possible failure. Although it is appropriate to make it clear that financial support at this stage would allow you to achieve your goals faster.
Step 8. Second Attempt
If you did not manage to receive a scholarship the first time, do not despair, but confidently submit your documents again. The organizers of any program will give you several examples of how future scholarship recipients participated in the selection process more than once, even more than twice, learned from their mistakes, and ultimately achieved their goal.
Step 9. Having received the scholarship...
...do not lose your head from happiness, study with dignity. Keep up the reputation, because now your successes will be used to judge others when allocating quotas for the future. Give a chance to those who come after you!