Chevening Scholarship (The Application Stage)

If you want to study for a postgraduate degree overseas, there are lots of scholarships provided by universities, by organisations or by the government. Among all, I would say the Chevening scholarship is the most generous and the most reputable scholarship globally.

During my application, I have been searching for lots of info and there are not many articles introducing it.

Therefore, I would like to share with you my application experience as a Chevening Scholar in the year 2018/19 and I encourage you to take this challenge and apply.

Me and other Chevening Scholars from Hong Kong

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Chevening Scholarship.*

What is the Chevening Scholarship?

• It is named after Chevening House in the UK.
• It is the UK government’s international awards programme aimed at developing global leaders.
• It is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations since 1983.
• It offers a unique opportunity for future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers from all over the world to develop professionally and academically, network extensively, experience UK culture, and build lasting positive relationships with the UK.
• To know about the news related to Chevenors in your home country/ region, please go to https://www.chevening.org/news/

What is the application requirement and timeline?

• Please find the latest updates here https://www.chevening.org/apply
• For local specific information, you can go to https://www.chevening.org/scholarship/(your home country/region) such as https://www.chevening.org/scholarship/hong-kong/

What is the success rate?

In 2018/19, the application success rate is 2.8% globally.

There was over 63,000 application, where 5000+ of them had made into the interview stage and 1,765 scholars were selected.

Why do you want to apply for the Chevening Scholarship?

These are the top 3 questions you can ask yourself:

• Why do I want to study overseas?
• Why the UK?
• Besides monetary rewards, what’s special about this scholarship?

How to apply?

Create an account at http://www.chevening.org

It is difficult (or nearly impossible) to change any details after submission. Please confirm carefully! Chevening does not accept multiple applications from the same person.

Things you need to prepare:

• Documentation (Contact info, graduation certificate, passport details etc…)
• Summary of working experience
• 4 essays
• Name, job titles and email addresses of the two referees (You should submit two recommendation letters from referees after receiving the interview notice.)
• Three preferred subjects (You should upload your IELTS results and offer letter after receiving a reserved / conditional offer from universities.)

Definition of 2-year working experience: http://www.chevening.org/apply/work-experience

What are the essays like?

There are four questions (minimum 100 words, maximum 500 words each). I would say they are interconnected so please provide consistent and logical answers.

Questions related to Chevenor’s quality

(1) Leadership and Influence
(2) Networking

These questions ask about your understanding of leadership, influence, and interpersonal relationship. In addition, how these experiences allow you to contribute to the Chevening network (in your home country/ region, UK, global) & in your professional fields.

Questions related to future plans

(3) Study in the UK

• Your choice of studies can be different from your past experience. However, I would highly recommend you to explain why clearly.
• Please have a thorough understanding of your preferred course via the school’s official website, Linkedin or any other channels before you start writing.
• Ask yourself:
  What is the difference between studying in the UK, studying in your home country/region or studying in other countries?
  What’s special about the UK, about that university or about that course?

(4) Career Plan

Upon graduation, what will you do and how do you want to contribute?

Useful tools when drafting essay questions

• Mindmap
• STAR techniques (Situation, Tasks, Action, Result)

Warm reminders

• As seen from the application timeline, the application process has only two parts: application submission and individual interview.
• In the application platform, you cannot upload a CV, Cover Letter or multimedia. Therefore, your job summary and 4 essay questions are the ONLY materials to judge if you can make it into the interview stage.
• Don’t exaggerate or make up any stories.
• Read the questions carefully! It is fatal to misunderstand questions.
• It is highly recommended to draft your application in a Word document and keep reviewing it until submission.
• You can only apply for the one-year master’s program (including MBA).
• You may see “Chevening Partner” on the websites. They are universities that provide more networking opportunities and resources to support Chevenors’ studies. Whether or not you apply for these universities does not affect your application.
• It is difficult to prepare an application while working. But the journey is the reward.
• Seek advice and feedback from others. This is not a one-man’s battle.
• Don’t use any paid service.
• Submit your application at least 2–3 days before the deadline to avoid network congestion, which happens nearly every year.

Trust me. You don't want this happen!

Other useful resources:

• http://www.chevening.org/subscribehttp://www.chevening.org/news
• https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/chevening-foundation
• https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office/about#priorities
• Official/ Unofficial Facebook Groups/ Youtube channels

Good luck!