It might be so demanding, but Fighters never quit, neither do

they settle for less. So remember the following:

 Make sure every single word in your essays deserves to
enter the Chevening portal. Rephrasing your
statements for shorter word usage is inevitable.
 Ensure that the assessor (the person reading your
essays) of your essay doesn't have any questions
unanswered. Your essay examples/stories must be
clear and detailed using the STAR or SMART approach.
Never allow the assessor to assume anything in your
stories; ensure he/she has all details. Remember they
requested for clear examples. While telling your
stories/plans ensure that the why, how, where, when,
which etc are clearly stated.
Leaders are Doers, Influencers are Doers and Networkers are  If possible, connect your essays from Leadership to
Doers. Career Plan. Let the assessor always find an intercept
Demonstrate in your Essays that you are a Doer!!! and connection with your previous/present activities
Learn to use some of the action words below in your essays (Leadership & Networking Essays) and your planned
and CV (for scholarships that may require CV). activities (UK Courses & Career Plan Essays). This
Organize shows focus, consistency and clarity of purpose.
Initiate  Read, Read, Read the essays again and put yourself in
Promote the shoe of the assessor. How does it make you feel?
Implement Polish them further, if there is need.
Strengthen
Collaborate The UK has vested interest in your country. They look for the
Partner brightest minds, equip them and expose them to a robust
Formulate mind blowing network and of course reap from that
Engage investment in various tangible and intangible ways! The
Provide greater winner here however is the scholar as this experience
Empower will alter his/her life in phenomenal ways! This investment is
Contribute huge - over £30,000+ Lifelong relationship with the UK +robust
To mention but few

1
network. And usually, only a few will get picked out of
thousands of brilliant minds that apply (2018/19 intake had
over 63,000 world wide applications). This is quite competitive
and must not be left to chance. Last year recorded over 500
applications for Zambia my country! This should not bother
you, let it energize you and strengthen your resolve to be part
of that statistics. The only ticket to the interview is your
essays. How are you able to convince the UK Government that
out of 500+ applicants, they should invite you to further
demonstrate to them how, what you have put down can earn
you £30,000+? Once you scale this, you have done 60%. Go
the extra mile on all your essays, you may need to write these
essays over months! It's important you get a second opinion
from someone you trust with sound capacity in this area. For
me, my mother and other scholars from Nigeria were the only
ones that proof read my essays. All your essays must
demonstrate capacity and strength; they must be you, very
original. Don’t go online and copy nice sounding
essays.....engage yourself, have a chat with yourself. Look
through your home, work, school, social groups, church etc.
You have done something worth telling a story of. You must
find something you have done and tell a beautiful story of
how you made a difference. show them your passion in
continuing to make a difference and show them the big
difference you will be able to make in clear terms should they
invest in you! In Summary, Chevening looks for someone who
not only desires to make a huge difference, but someone who
is already making a difference (could be small). This must be in
a field that is of interest to the UK (done through DFID). This
difference must be verifiably demonstrated! For instance,
your essays may include a link to your published article on the
field you are making an impact in (if possible). There are two
basic stages, the application stage and the interview stage.
When the application opens, concern yourself with the essays
and cook very good ones to get yourself into the interview
room! Cook the best convincing essays worth 30k pounds!
Ensure you get superior reference letters! Prepare for the
interview like nothing else and trust in God who orders the
affairs of men.
Scholarship hunt does not come with a bit of sacrifice. I
believe no scholarship is 100% free, you will have to pay for
something for you to get a scholarship. I encourage you to
start saving little by little for any expenses that might require
your own money. This link has some of the cost you might be
required to pay for.
Read this article to get ideas on what to do while waiting for
the next stage of the application process. Let Google be you
friend, search for information and winning tips on
scholarships. If you are serious commit at least 5mins of each
day to just read about any topic concerning scholarship.
Finally, as they say, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”.
At the end of the interview only a few will become Chevening
scholars, I was lucky to have won two scholarships but it all
came because of not giving up. One door may close but keep
you spirit high. Apply for multiple scholarships. Look for
scholarships offered by the university, and other external
sources. Look for options in other countries (if you are open to
this). To apply for each scholarship will require similar
documentation; therefore, you should keep all of your
2
applications, and supporting documentation in a safe and
central place.

Some places I used to look for scholarships include the

following; I encourage you to subscribe to some of these sites
so that you receive monthly updates on various opportunities:

 http://www.chevening.org/
 http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/
 http://www.cies.org/
 https://studyinsweden.se/scholarships/swedish-
institute-scholarships/
 https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/financia
l-aid/international-students/stanford-africa-mba-
fellowship
 http://www.scholars4dev.com/category/country/euro
pe-scholarships/uk-scholarships/
 http://scholarship-positions.com/category/uk-
scholarships/
 http://www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk/
 http://www.scholarshipportal.com/
 http://www.scholarship-search.org.uk/
 http://www.opportunitiesforafricans.com/
 https://www.facebook.com/offeredscholarships/

3
The following are list of common scholarships which are available yearly. This was for the 2017/18 application though some are
missing such as commonwealth scholarships:

4
 Official Links for above Scholarships: scholarship-award-for.html
7. Australia Award Scholarship
1. Fulbright Scholarship USA
http://dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/australia-
https://foreign.fulbrightonline.org/about/foreign-fulbright
awards/Pages/australia-awards-scholarships.aspx
Complete guide to Fulbright USA:
8. Swedish Scholarship Sweden
http://www.offeredscholarships.com/2017/10/usa-fulbright-
https://eng.si.se/scholarship/the-swedish-institute-study-
mastersphd-degree.html
scholarships/
2. Austrian Scholarships Austria
9. VLIR-UOS Scholarship Belgium
https://grants.at/en
http://www.vliruos.be/scholarships
3. Aga-Khan Foundation International Scholarship
10. NZAID Scholarship New-Zealand
http://www.akdn.org/our-agencies/aga-khan-
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/aid-and-
foundation/international-scholarship-programme
development/scholarships/types-of-scholarships
4. Chevening Scholarship UK
11. DAAD Scholarship Germany
http://www.chevening.org/
https://www.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en
Complete guide to Chevening Scholarship:
/21148-scholarship-
http://www.offeredscholarships.com/2017/10/chevening-
database/?status=3&origin=190&subjectGrps=&daad=1&q=&
masters-degree-scholarship-uk.html
page=1&detail=10000008
5. Endeavour Scholarships Australia
Complete Guide to DAAD Scholarship:
https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Endeavour%20program
http://www.offeredscholarships.com/2017/09/daad-
/Scholarships-and-Fellowships/Pages/default.aspx
scholarship-germany-fully-funded.html
Complete guide to Endeavour
12. Singapore-Industry Scholarship, Singapore (For Singapore
Scholarship: http://www.offeredscholarships.com/2017/11/e
Citizens Only)
ndeavour-scholarships-and-fellowships.html
https://www.singaporeindustryscholarship.sg/our-
6. OFID International Scholarship
scholarships/full-term
http://www.ofid.org/FOCUS-AREAS/Beyond-the-
scope/Scholarship-Award
Complete guide to OFID Scholarship Award:
http://www.offeredscholarships.com/2017/10/ofid-

5
All the best, you can do this…

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of

the author and editors’ experiences and do not reflect that of
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and its partner
organizations.

References:
 The scholar journey website.
 Google
 Notes by previous scholars.

Issue Date: 29/07/2018

Compiled by # certified