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MY FIRST LOVE LETTER
On this day in 2019, I received my first and one of the three love (rejection) letters I have ever received in scholarship applications.
It came from the Experimental Geoscience MSc program at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. I had been successful with
On this day in 2019, I received my first and one of the three love (rejection) letters I have ever received in scholarship applications.
It came from the Experimental Geoscience MSc program at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. I had been successful with
Securing masters admission (which were tuition-free) in Germany but as a young business person, raising and locking money into a German block account was an impediment. I was happy to learn that the Bavarian Geoscience Institute at UB was going to offer stipends to exceptional
Candidates which will qualify them for an exemption from opening a block account and a seamless visa processing. Fiam! I jumped in and applied in Oct. 2018. It was my first major scholarship application. “I have a very great profile”, I thought. Alas, I was sent a love letter on
January 17, 2019. The only good thing about the rejection letter was that it stated how my application was assessed and how points were allotted to each document in my application. German universities use a 1-5 (or 6) grading system, with 1.0 being 100% and 5/6 = fail.
MY ASSESSMENT: Degree = 1.2 and SOP = 3.2 so I got an average of 2.2 whereas the committee needed me to get a 2.1 to be awarded the scholarship. Therefore, REJECTED!
Nothing seemed to make sense to me in this life anymore, I was sad and depressed. One of my mentors,
Nothing seemed to make sense to me in this life anymore, I was sad and depressed. One of my mentors,
@abiodunmadewa and another mentor requested that I share the SOP I submitted for the application with them. His feedback was a bigger blow than the rejection letter itself. However, that was the TURNING POINT for me! Later in 2019, I won 2 fully funded scholarships to Canada and
about 4 partial scholarships to Europe.
I used to think that Personal Statements were supposed to be an opportunity to just list my academic achievements and technical competences. From that feedback, I learnt more about writing to WIN.
1. There’s no need to repeat what is
I used to think that Personal Statements were supposed to be an opportunity to just list my academic achievements and technical competences. From that feedback, I learnt more about writing to WIN.
1. There’s no need to repeat what is
already on your CV blandly. Instead of repeating “I hold a masters degree in Land and Water Systems with distinction from the University of British Columbia...” it sounds better to say “I completed a water balance modelling project for a small island community in Vancouver which
earned me an overall 94% grade in my masters program at UBC. Through the project and a couple of course works (you may list them), I developed competences in A, B, C and D which are perfect requirements/criteria for the advertised position/project”. With these 2 sentences,
you have reminded the reviewer of your experience and achievements; academic and technical! Also, you have presented yourself to be a sought after candidate for the project/job.
2. You must do your research about what you would learn/gain from the program/research/position;
2. You must do your research about what you would learn/gain from the program/research/position;
in your cover/motivation letter or SOP, you MUST state how the opportunity will help you achieve your short and long-term goals.
If you studied Geology in undergrad and you are passionate about geochemistry, this program at the Uni of Bayreuth will be a good fit for you.
If you studied Geology in undergrad and you are passionate about geochemistry, this program at the Uni of Bayreuth will be a good fit for you.
Truly, no single thread will exhaustively address ‘How to write an award- winning Statement of Purpose’. Each new thread should teach you new lessons
If you need writing resources to guide you in writing a great personal statement, please comment with your email address.
If you need writing resources to guide you in writing a great personal statement, please comment with your email address.
Again, nobody is born a scholar. Every scholar today had at a point failed. Failure is a part of the ‘making’ of a scholar. All you need is the right people to teach and correct you. More importantly, you need to GROW in the process and develop the right attitude to criticism.
I celebrate this day every year, as the day that everything changed for me. I had submitted my application for the UBC-MCF scholarship before that day BUT it was through that event that I could mentor a good of number applicants to land scholarships.
Scholars, was there a unique lesson you learned from a particular rejection?
Cc: @ritapurity @olumuyiwaayo @Okpala_IU @Iam_MrPackagin @AaronAkpuPhilip @drhammed @yanjus4christ @BolaTomiyosi @bestmanojo @Oludeewon @oulawal
Cc: @ritapurity @olumuyiwaayo @Okpala_IU @Iam_MrPackagin @AaronAkpuPhilip @drhammed @yanjus4christ @BolaTomiyosi @bestmanojo @Oludeewon @oulawal
