How to Win a Scholarship to University, part 3

How to Win a Scholarship to University, part 3

Recap of previous posts on how to win a scholarship 

In the previous two posts here on JC Economics Essays on how to successfully attain an undergraduate scholarship to university, I blogged about being prepared and ready for opportunities by starting early, studying hard, being polite and professional to teachers, tutors, and school administrators, and taking on leadership and volunteer or community positions, and how to plan for a scholarship to university. There were many questions that students would have to consider before applying for any scholarship (for a full recap, read this post on planning for a scholarship). 

Now, the next step is to craft a perfect personal statement, often in response to an essay prompt or some guidelines or guiding questions.  

Crafting the Perfect Personal Statement

How do we craft the perfect personal statement that would help a student gain entry into a prestigious university? 

This post here on my JC Economics Essays website will share some tips and techniques for drafting an excellent personal statement. 

In this post, we will refer to a personal essay, a statement of intent, and other forms of writing as a personal statement (to me, that is the most common way of referring to this specific type of writing). 

While no one can guarantee that a student's personal statement would be the best (naturally), and it often depends on what the student had done earlier in his academic life (remember what I said about getting strong grades, leadership positions, and volunteer or community work experience), one can always make the best personal statement one can - and hopefully that would be able to impress the assessors. 

In other words, write as best as you can - and hope for the best. The work that you have done will be able to help you. Your essay will hopefully be lit up by the brilliance of your achievements and contributions. 

First and foremost, before you start writing your personal statement - have a plan. 

This is similar to my previous post. 

Have a plan. 

And as I said before, if students fail to plan, then they plan to fail. 

Determine what the question is asking, and then outline your answer. What do you need to include in the response? What do you plan to argue, explain, and give examples for? 

If the question is asking about defining moments in your life, reflect on a few defining moments and lay them out on paper. 

If the prompt is asking about your experiences and knowledge of PPE - Politics, Philosophy, and Economics - then focus your thoughts and ideas on Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. 

If the guiding questions are more general, and asking you to focus on some ideas that have intrigued you, think about what books or articles you have read that really impressed you, impacted you, motivated you, or affected you. If the topic is on economics books - be sure that you start reflecting on economics books or journals that you have read. 

Second, be sure to bring in your strengths and knowledge into your response. 

This is a point worth repeating. 

The whole point of the personal statement is for you to show or demonstrate your strengths and knowledge into your response. The administrators and assessors cannot read your mind, so you will have to show them your strengths and knowledge. 

One way is to do it through citing your experiences, such as internships you have attended, relevant courses that you have taken, or volunteer work in a related field that you have done. 

If you are applying for law school, writing about the strengths you found in yourself while working at an intern in a fast-paced law firm would be useful; if you are applying for an economics undergraduate degree, then write about the online learning you have done on Keynesian economics, and what you have learnt about the difference between Monetarism, Classical Economics, and Keynesian Economics; and if you are applying for a social policy or sociology degree, be sure to write about your extensive volunteer work and how that taught you about income inequality or inequity in society. 

Through these examples, bring out your strengths, your good points, and the areas of knowledge or expertise that you may have. 

Notice that this really depends on the preparation work that you should have done before planning for universities and scholarships - please refer to parts 1 and 2 which I wrote earlier. The useful materials there will help you. 

Third, edit relentlessly. 

I have had former students write their personal statement once, and then they wanted me to have a look. Much of their writing was woefully inadequate for entry to university. Edit, edit, and edit again. 

If you have written a first draft, just be sure that you know that it can be better. 

Remember: that which is written without much care is seldom read with pleasure. 

The greater the pleasure you get from reading something, the greater the effort that went into it. 

When editing, there are many things to take note of:

Did you write in the right tone and register? Are you being too informal, or overly formal? 

How accurate are the terms and phrases you are using in the personal statement? Were you the Chairman, or the Assistant Chairman? Did you win the Gold Award or the Silver Award? 

Did you clear all the typos and spelling mistakes? 

Have you ensured that there is consistency in the terms used? 

And a common point often missed out is - have you used the right language? 

If you are applying for a college degree in the USA, please write in American English. 

If you are writing a personal statement meant for a UK university, please write in British English. 

If you are writing a personal statement for the University Scholars Programme in Singapore - whether the NUS or the NTU one - then be sure to use British English as well, as that is what we use in Singapore. 

Remember the Biblical phrase: Those who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great things. Essentially, if you have not used terms consistently, and cannot even write properly, how can the reader or assessor trust you? 

Fourth, emphasise meaning and significance, but be sure not to overstate your case.

This is important. 

Many students do not know how to emphasise the meaning and significance of what they have done. 

Consider the following examples of weak sentences (from actual students):

I was Chairperson of ABC committee, I was Vice President of XYZ sport, and I participated in the JJJ seminar in YYYY year. 

I was selected class Chairperson and I was tasked to do many activities. 

I am deeply interested in accountancy and want to change the world. 

The first sentence is a pure listing - where is the meaning and significance? A stronger way of writing would be: 

I was Chairperson of ABC committee, which I established in YYYY year. Even though I spent a lot of time starting up that new committee, I also played football and eventually rose through the ranks to become VP of the XYZ sporting team, which won three gold medals under my leadership. I headed the team in the JJJ seminar in YYYY, and we won third place for the first time in school history. 

The second sentence is weak because it comes across as passive and insignificant. Consider this instead: 

I was chosen to be class Chairperson in recognition of my contributions to the class, and I led many activities and initiatives, such as ... 

The third is just interesting... but could be stronger and better. In the end, I rewrote my student's entire personal statement:

I am deeply interested in studying accountancy at university because my father is an accountant and I want to follow in his footsteps. He once told me that accountancy could change the world. I was intrigued by his unusual comment. How could accountancy be as important or relevant as economics or finance? And my father said to me... 

Fourth, ask people who know to help you - but take their advice with caution. 

Always remember that there is great value in asking people to help you. 

They can share their advice and knowledge. They can point out areas for improvement. They can share ideas and pointers. And if they have applied to the same scholarship before, or the same university course, they can help you. Do your research and interview people; ask them for tips and tricks; and learn from others. 

But do take all advice with caution. 

Some students told me that they were told to use big words and fancy phrases. While that may work with some US universities, it does not work with UK universities as the British are often more understated and subtle. 

Yet others have told me that the personal statement should be full of sob stories and problems that one had to overcome. Yes, there is some value in showing good values of resilience and strength. 

However, do not overdo this. Also, if many people write like this, how do you differentiate yourself from the rest of them? 

What is your unique selling point if you are another one of the sob stories? 

Fifth, respect convention, but be unique and differentiated

Also, while it is convention to write in the conclusion "I would appreciate the opportunity to study at your fine institution", and some coaches and trainers even use similar phrases to coach and train their students, consider other ways of writing. 

There is nothing wrong with convention. However, be unique even while you are conventional. 

"Studying in London is a dream come true, and I hope to be given a chance to do so" could be reframed as "London is an exciting city - studying at the London School of Economics would be a double-win for me", which is more unique and edgy. 

Or perhaps "at your fine institution" could be phrased as "As the famous economist Keynes studied in this college and benefited from a first-rate education, it would be my privilege to have this same honour". 

You get what I mean - yes, by all means stick to convention, but what is your unique selling point? 

What is your unique way of writing and communicating? What is "you" about this? 

It is also convention to say that you are reading Economics because you are interested in it. I think everyone would say that (some are actually telling the truth). 

Do not write "I am interested in economics". A better and stronger way of saying it is "Reading Milton Friedman's book on XYZ opened my eyes to some economics topics, and sparked my interest in the subject". 

More information will be coming in future posts. 

For more tips and techniques on how to raise your chances of getting a top scholarship to university, stay tuned for more. Thank you for reading, and cheers! 

JC Economics Essays -- I am currently writing on how to win a scholarship to university, for young and budding scholars to read undergraduate degrees. Thank you for reading and I hope these materials help you. 

How to Win a Scholarship to University, part 2

How to Win a Scholarship to University, part 2

In the previous post on how to win an undergraduate scholarship to enter university, I emphasised the importance of starting early, studying hard and ensuring good grades as a bare minimum, being polite and considerate to your teachers and school administrators, and taking on leadership roles and doing community service or voluntary work in the larger community. 

This advice or guidance is useful as a starting point.  

It can also be simply summed up simply as being ready, and as I heard Les Brown say before:

It is better to be prepared and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. 

After doing the hard work of studying hard, being prepared and attentive in class, attending seminars, lectures, tutorials, and lessons - it is time to make all the preparation count. 

What is the next step on the way to winning a scholarship? 

The next step is called planning. 

As the famous saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. 

It's so important that I have to state it again. 

After you have done all the basics and have started early, you now need to plan and think through what you will need to win a scholarship to university. 

There are basically a few important things that you have to plan for to ensure that you are well-equipped and ready to apply for a scholarship to university. 

The best way of think of this stage is to think of the following questions, which will help you make your plans. 

Think of these questions as a checklist for your planning purposes. 

First, what university would you like to go to? 

This is not an easy question to answer at all. 

There are famous and branded universities in the USA, for example Ivy League universities. 

Ivy League colleges are considered the most prestigious in the USA. There are eight total colleges that are considered Ivy League, namely Brown University, Harvard University, Cornell University, Princeton University, Dartmouth University, Yale University, and Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Of all the institutions of higher learning, these elite universities are considered the most outstanding and sought-after.

There are also famous universities in the UK, like Oxbridge (i.e., Oxford or Cambridge) and other Russell Group universities, such as the London School of Economics and Political Science, King's College London, Imperial College, the University of Manchester, and so on. According to the Russell Group’s website, the 24 member universities (sometimes colleges) are world-class, research-intensive universities with their own unique and distinguishing characteristics, history, and ethos. The commonality is that these universities are committed to maintaining the best research, an outstanding teaching and learning experience for students, and unrivalled links with local and national business and the public sector. 

Singapore also has many strong local universities with global reach and impact - for example, the National University of Singapore (NUS) (and also its Duke-NUS Medical School and Yale-NUS College); Nanyang Technological University (NTU) (as well as the National Institute of Education, which sits within NTU); Singapore Management University (SMU); Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD); Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT); and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). 

Some universities are stronger than others in certain degree courses; for example, LSE is very strong in Economics and is reputed to be one of the best in it. 

This brings us to our next question: 

Second, what university course would you like to apply for? 

There are many courses and degree programmes - double degree programmes; multi-disciplinary programmes; University Scholars Programmes; majors; minors; honours; and even non-honours. Bachelors of Arts; of Science; of Social Sciences. 

What university course would you like to apply for? 

What meets your talents, skills, and interests? 

What will be useful and helpful to you in the long run? 

There are many subjects. 

Since this website is basically about economics, the university degrees most related to economics are:

Mathematics, Mathematical Economics, Econometrics, Political Science, Business Administration, Management, and pure Economics programmes. 

What interests you? 

What would you find fitting, relevant, useful, and helpful to you? 

Third, which scholarship programmes are you intending to apply for? 

Similarly, this is not an easy question to answer at all. 

There are many types of scholarships, for example, private sector scholarships and government or public service scholarships. 

There are bond-free scholarships, and other scholarships which are bonded (i.e., there is an obligation to work for an employer for a certain period of time, should you take up the scholarship). 

There are partial scholarships, which do not pay for everything, and there are full scholarships, which pay for everything. Even the organisations, institutions, and services that offer scholarships are different. 

Fourth, what do you need for your application?

You will need references or testimonials; 

to deal with the application process, whether it is through the Common App or UCAS; 

to write a personal statement (often more than just one personal statement, each designed or targeted for a different target audience and with a different purpose); 

to take the SAT or ACT aptitude tests or entrance examinations, if any are needed; to prepare for an interview or even a series of interviews; and 

visa applications, and the list goes on. 

Think through and plan accordingly - what do you need for your university and scholarship application?

On that note, when planning, do remember: the timelines matter. 

They really do. 

Some applications are made before, and some are after, yet others are concurrent and simultaneous. 

You cannot report SAT scores that you have not attained, and you certainly want to find out if the university you are applying for accepts provisional scores or preliminary results from your preliminary examinations. 

If you want your teacher to write you a reference or testimonial, you will need to plan that out in advance:

Who will you ask? 

How long do they need? 

And how will they submit it, and will that take time? 

Buffer in more time. More time, more time. 

Don't do things last minute. 

In other words, think of what I said earlier - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. 

Plan and think through what you need, and you are yet another step closer to success. 

While there is no guarantee that you will be successful in a scholarship application, each step you take helps you get closer and closer to your dream degree and aspiration to be a scholar. 

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more. Thanks! 

JC Economics Essays

How to Win a Scholarship to University, part 1

How to Win a Scholarship to University, part 1 

Prologue and Preamble

Several years ago, I won a scholarship to read Economics as a major at university, at the undergraduate degree level.

Also, more recently, in the past few years I have been dealing with economics students - and other students - wanting to read degrees in the US, the UK, and Singapore.

I hope that these experiences will come in useful in helping students - and their parents - understand what is needed to win a scholarship to college/university or have a fighting chance to enter a top, competitive degree. 

In preparing for the college scholarship, there was a lot of preparation that I did, and I'm going to document these in a series of articles starting with this one. 

And as I mentioned, when I was still in the education service, I dealt with many students' scholarship applications, references, and recommendations, and even helped more than a fair share get into universities all around the world. 

In today's post - we start with the very simple basics

In today's post, we prepare for undergraduate degree scholarships by starting - not with the scholarship preparation itself, but by going all the way back to your time before you even thought of entering university. 

Yes, it all starts before you even think about a degree. 

Way back, when you are in secondary school, or high school, and then in Junior College or in whatever school you are in just before you apply for university - that is the time that you prepare for your scholarship. 

Starting early is the secret

It is that simple, but this secret is often misunderstood or neglected, which can be fatal to scholarship chances. 

In other words, the scholarship preparation takes place way before you even think about what UK university or college, or which US university, or whichever university in Asia or in Singapore. 

Think about this important insight, and reflect on it for a moment. 

There have been many instances when former economics students of mine have not worked hard at their studies, not done the proper preparation or achieved the right extra-curricula activities, and then at the last moment - when it is time to apply to universities through the Common App [this is one traditional way students apply to study in the United States] or UCAS [the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services, which is the the traditional way that students apply to study in the United Kingdom] - they want my help. 

Nay, they demand my help. 

Write me a recommendation letter, they say. 

Help me with my personal statement, they say. Edit it, proofread it, enhance it, they say. 

Help me with my CCA record - the co-curricula activities record - they say. 

Often, I cannot help them. 

Not because I don't want to, but because they have not helped themselves. 

As the saying goes, God helps those who help themselves - well, not that I am God, but this is a useful and relevant saying.  

Working backwards, this can be quite instructive.

It tells you that the preparatory work to be done in winning scholarships or fighting to enter a top degree course is not merely in the interview preparation, the application preparation, or even the wonderfully-worded, Shakespearean-standard personal statement that conveys your unique and special personality, talents, and achievements. 

It tells you that it boils down to the simple basics, right at the start, way before the degree. 

Did you do three important things? 

When you were in school/high school/Junior college, did you do the following?

First, did you study hard and achieve good grades? 

Good grades are the price of admission to any university course or degree, not just economics degrees which can be quite competitive. 

Some of my former students wanted to study law, but they failed their General Paper or History examinations in junior college. 

Now, how is that going to work? 

If one is unable to score in much more manageable examinations, it will be a bit challenging to get into really world-class universities, and certainly challenging to receive a scholarship.

How can one do a law degree when one cannot even write a couple of essays? Law degrees are phenomenally challenging. 

Secondly, were you nice, collaborative, approachable, and polite to your teachers, Heads of Department, or Principals? 

Or were you a trouble-maker, a rascal, or naughty girl? 

This sounds funny, but is not a joke. It carries a much more significant point. 

When I was a much younger economics tutor, there were many times some of my students skipped classes, played truant, were rude to me, or did not do their projects or homework. 

One even plagiarised his Project Work assignment, while another did not undergo counselling or psychological evaluation because "he could not work with his friends and wanted to live in the past". 

Many, to be fair, were polite, approachable, and good students, but a few really tested my patience and kindness. Some of the good students even reminded me of the good in mankind, as they were involved, participatory, and understanding people with a heart for the vulnerable, poor, and the meek. 

After all my students had received their school leaving examinations, they invariably asked me for a reference. The students who were less than perfect asked for a reference too. 

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. 

References can be very important when it comes to applying for universities, especially for competitive courses or degrees. 

How important would a reference be for a scholarship or degree application? 

One former student stands out in my memory, from the mists of time, from ages long gone. 

S often fell asleep in class, and on several occasions lied to me, her teacher.

She managed to achieve a grade B in spite of all this, probably through no talent of her own. 

But more important was this fact - one day, she asked me to write her a letter, so that she could use it for degree admission. 

I was kind and cautioned her against this unwise move. "You may want to find another person to do that for you."

"No one is willing to, and I know you write references. Could you please help me?"

"I must tell you that I am honest. It is not going to work out well for you."

"But I really need a reference. It says here, two referees needed. I need you to help me..."

Well, she asked for it. 

I wrote it. 

It was something along these lines and a lot more detailed (and I cannot believe the fact that I can remember this after so many years): 

"I have known S in the capacity of economics tutor for ABC number of years. 

While S has achieved a commendable result in Economics, attaining a B for her H2 A level examinations, she has not paid attention in class the whole year long. There are no reasonable explanations for her lack of attendance. 

On several occasions, she has shown less than perfect integrity and has been known to bend the truth. 

She has not been promoted to the next level in the year YYYY. 

On balance, while she has shown some improvement in her studies and attitude, I would not recommend her for your course, your institution, or a scholarship."

The lesson here is that you must learn how to treat your teachers, Heads of Departments, and Principals - including Vice Principals - with respect. 

They - write - your - testimonials - and - references. 

But please don't do it purely for the reference. Please be better.

Remember the Golden Rule. Treat people as you would want to be treated.

Would you say nice things for a person who was rude, arrogant, problematic, entitled, or troublesome? 

Or would you help someone achieve a scholarship if that person was kind, polite, friendly, approachable, and reasonable? If they were interesting, intelligent, and human people? 

Your teachers are only human, and they have integrity. Don't make them tell lies on your behalf. 

Be so good and commendable that people want to help you and make you the success that you can be. 

Simply, help your teacher help you. 

Did you take on leadership roles or do volunteer service?

This is very important.

Clearly, to apply for a scholarship or even for a competitive degree course, you need to demonstrate leadership qualities or show community spirit. These are important aspects that colleges and universities look for all around the world. 

Leadership roles are useful and relevant experiences, because they can provide you with talking points for your scholarship interview, if you are successful in application.

Also, through leadership positions, you gain invaluable experiences - teamwork, collaboration, motivational skills, and resilience. 

And resilience - the never say die attitude - is critically important in the 21st century. Also, it has to be pointed out that degree courses can be quite challenging, and the ability to fight on, press on, and never give up with help, not just with scholarships, but with attaining a first class or distinction degree. 

Community work, volunteer service, Overseas Community Involvement Programmes (OCIP), and Values in Action - all these, and more, are important too. 

Do you contribute to the community? 

Do you contribute to something larger than yourself? 

And what have you learnt and experienced from doing so? 

These will all contribute to an important portfolio of work and experiences that will help you in your degree application and scholarship chances. 

Summary and Recap

The most important takeaway for my first post on how to win a scholarship to university is the advice - start early. 

And start early by studying hard and making sure you excel in your studies. 

Treat your teachers with kindness and respect, for they write your recommendations. But please don't treat them nicely only because of the testimonials, recommendations, and references. 

And have leadership roles and positions in your co-curricula activities and if you can stomach it, also do community work or volunteer work, whether local or overseas. 

Stay tuned for more. 

Thank you for reading and cheers. 

JC Economics Essays

(P.S. On a side note, several years ago, I also won a postgraduate degree scholarship to undertake my Master's degree at the London School of Economics, but since applying for a Master's programme is somewhat different from an undergraduate degree, I could explore talking about my experiences, tips, and pointers in future posts if my change in direction for JC Economics Essays is successful. 

Thank you in advance for your kind support! 

And, well, if this undergraduate or degree series does not take off, then perhaps my true calling resides elsewhere and not in blogging.)