Scholarship overseas offers an opportunity to broaden your perspective.
What are the tips and pitfalls? Read the results of a Facebook discussion among alumni.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013. The Alumni Administrator and members of the group had an open discussion on the Facebook group [link]. The topic was studying overseas: The pro’s and con’s, the tips and tricks, the scholarships. In the discussion two experienced alumni participated: Karlia Meitha Maulana and Defri Sulistyanto.
The Experienced Scholar in Brief
(K) Karlia Meitha Maulana [email: karlia_meitha@yahoo.com], an alumna of Intitut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), is a PhD student of Western Australia University. She lives in Perth, Australia. She received an AUSAID Scholarship to study in Australia. Now, she is staying in Leeds, UK to do her research.
(D) Defri Sulistyanto [email: defri.sulist@gmail.com], an alumnus of Universitas Katholik Soegijapranata (UNIKA), is a student of Chung Yuan Christian University. He lives in Taoyun City, Taiwan. He receives a DIGS scholarship.
According to Defri, the attractive point of studying abroad is the different environment for studying and living, but the barrier is the language. To demolish that barrier we should learn the language as soon as possible and invest time in it. Sometimes we can use body language to communicate.
Q: Is there a difference between Chinese in Taiwan and in China?
D: Yes there is, the written language. Taiwanese is more complicated (no pinyin) than Chinese. I got a free mandarin class in Taiwan.
Tips and Trick
D: if you want to succeed abroad, you should be able to adapt and enjoy everything. Determine your goal and apply for a scholarship. For my scholarship I had no interview, only a selection based on my documents (application form and study plan).
K: Prepare your application paper well. If your application meets the requirements, no doubt you will be invited for an interview. Some institutes even have special classes for filling in the application form. The interview will be based on your application form; your statement will be verified.
The tip is to give your application added value. Make it a bit special. Be sure that your IPK, IELTS score, etc are more than the minimum requirement. The better you are, the more you can get. Next is the aim of your study. If you want to do research, you should have a research plan. That research plan should be in line with the scholarship objectives.
Q: What kind of essay should we make to meet the scholarship requirements? For example, ADS focus on Indonesian Development. Do we have to synchronize it with the vision of the scholarship?
K: Yes, you do, but not artificial. Share your dreams. For example, I wrote: after my study, I am going to join the university in Bandung as a lecturer and share the knowledge with my students. That is my dream. If I don’t end up as a lecturer, as long as it is not a lie, it’s ok.
Scholarship info
D: DIGS scholarship CYCU Taiwan (http://eng.cycu.edu.tw/data.asp?id=186&c=3)
DOs
- Be yourself and be honest
- Determine your goal
- Add value to your application
- Synchronize your essay and research with the scholarship objectives
This discussion gets good response from the members, 11 likes. Do you want to share your experience with us? Take a part in our next discussion in our social media.
Let’s learn, share, and encourage.