Applications are now open for Chevening, a British Government program that offers full scholarships for master's degrees in the United Kingdom. Until November 5, students from more than 160 countries, including Brazil, can submit their applications. applications for the benefit, which covers round-trip tickets to the land of the Queen, the cost of issuing the visa, tuition fees for the chosen course, university administrative fees and an “allowance” for personal expenses.
Candidates can come from any field of activity, as long as they demonstrate excellent academic performance and leadership skills. Chevening also requires that students:
– Have at least two years of professional experience (including volunteering and internship – paid or unpaid);
– Express the desire to return to your country of origin after completing the master's degree;
– Have a professional history of excellence and the potential to become a leader in your field;
– Express interest in connecting with other Chevening Scholars during and after studying in the UK;
– Demonstrate that you have the personal qualities necessary to benefit from the scholarship and apply it to your career.
These issues are manifested in the so-called essay, sent at the time of application. The document functions as a cover letter, where the student must indirectly answer questions such as:
– Where are you going with this?
– How can you demonstrate that you have leadership and influence potential?
– How do you use your networking skills and use them in a positive way?
– Are you a dedicated student and can you express how the master’s degree will make a difference in your career?
Chevening has been around since 1983 and has a long history of great personalities, including presidents, ambassadors, ministers, artists, writers, designers and journalists. In Brazil, the scholarship has already benefited more than 1,500 students and one of them is Marina Brini, a master's student in Development Policy and Politics at the University of Birmingham.
“Chevening ended up being much more than a scholarship, but a fascinating experience that I wanted to achieve more than anything else,” says Brini, who, when deciding to apply for the benefit, began researching courses and universities in the United Kingdom before deciding which ones to apply to. “It took me about three weeks to reach a decision. This was an essential part of the process, as the course choices needed to be fully aligned with my career goals, which would naturally have a huge impact on my strategy with Chevening.”
Once the options were chosen, the Brazilian woman then began to draft her answers. essay, taking into account the four axes addressed in application Chevening: leadership, networking, studying in the UK and career planning. “From the initial scribbles to the final answers to the essays, it took me about a month. I managed to finish my application approximately two weeks before the closing of applications", remember.
For the Chevening application process, it is important to take deadlines into account. The sooner you can start researching, preparing and organizing, the better, as the candidate will not have to rush through the steps. Brini warns that, in addition to writing and rewriting your best version for the essay, there is the bureaucratic part of the process, which includes gathering all the required documents, filling out the other sections of the application and study and work experience. “Starting to prepare in advance, so that you don’t have to do anything in a rush, is essential for success.”
The scholarship selection process has two phases. In the first, the candidate submits all the required documentation and letters of recommendation and presentation. The second stage takes place in interview format, all in English, at the British Embassy or in cities that have a British consulate. We asked Marina for some tips on how to do well in the first phase of the selection process. Take note:
Creation of essays
“If I have to choose one aspect that helped me build essays with quality, I would say it was objectivity. There is a 500-word limit per answer, which leaves you little room to convince them that you deserve to win the scholarship. I had to let go of less important information and focus only on what was essential for them to know. I thought: 'what do I need to put here so that they think it is worth getting to know me?'. This allowed me to fill my essays of points that were vital for my approval.”
“In addition, it is important to use a timeline in your texts. Jumping back and forth between the past and future when describing your achievements and goals can leave evaluators confused and bored. Lastly, it is very important to ask someone to review your texts before submitting them. Since the writing process is long, reading inevitably becomes 'addictive' after a while and silly mistakes can end up going unnoticed, even if you have a great level of English.”
The application process
"Firstly, have conviction. You need to be sure that you really want to get the scholarship to embark on this endeavor. The process is intense and tiring and, without conviction, you will end up giving up along the way or not giving your best, which can undermine your chances of approval.”
“Secondly, planning. Set deadlines to complete each of the steps, do everything in advance, and this will certainly allow you to prepare a application of much higher quality. Don't let the English test and the application “Reserve tasks for universities at the last minute, as they are part of the process. If you are selected for the interview, it is much better to be ‘free’ from these other obligations to focus only on your preparation. Accumulating tasks can make you overwhelmed, anxious, and harm your performance.”
As Brini recalled, it is not enough to apply for the scholarship, the student must also apply to the universities of their choice. In this case, the scholarship recipient had free advice from loveUK to help you with your choices – University of Birmingham, University of Glasgow and University of York – all partners loveUK. “The consultants sent me a model of statement letter who helped me a lot to prepare my own letter. Afterwards they were very helpful in taking a look and checking if everything was ok. I submitted my applications with great ease and I ended up getting an unconditional offer on all three of my options.”
In the end, the Brazilian chose Birmingham because of its strong curriculum in development policies, something that fit her short, medium and long-term career goals. “In addition, it is a highly internationalized university, which will allow me to experience in practice the benefits of internationalization in higher education – a topic directly related to my area of professional activity”, she explains.
When asked about her plans after her master's degree, Marina has her goals clearly defined, as expected of a Chevening scholarship winner. “Immediately after finishing my master's degree, I intend to return to my current position in the government of Minas Gerais and contribute to the scientific, technological and innovation development of the state through the internationalization of its higher education institutions. In the medium and long term, I want to continue working for national development through international cooperation, at the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), respectively.”
Don't waste time and take advantage of the opening of Chevening applications to start your research now!
