International Scholarship Mastery

Masterclass

Babajide Milton Macaulay, Ph.D.

University Lecturer; Educational Consultant

26th June 2022

 Content
• Self-evaluation
• Choosing the right course
• Considering a career switch?
• Getting your documents ready
• Searching for the right scholarship
• Following instructions to the letter
• Writing an award-winning scholarship essay
• Emailing prospective supervisors
• Common mistakes to avoid
• Get professional support if needed
• Facebook pages to follow for scholarship info
 Self-Evaluation (1)
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? Be realistic and
honest to yourself.
• Do you really need a postgraduate degree to achieve this
goal(s)?
• What specialisation will enable you reach this goal(s)?
• What assistance/network do you need?
• If your financial resources cannot get you there, can you take
advantage of the benefits of scholarships?
• How strong is your profile in attracting the attention of
scholarship sponsors?
 Self-Evaluation (2)
1. CGPA (2’1 or 70%)
2. Leadership/Service/Influence
3. Community/Development Impact
4. Internship/Work Experience
5. Professional Memberships (e.g. NIM, CIPM, NSE, etc.).
6. Relevant Training (via Coursera or NYSC e.g. HSE 1-3,
ArcGIS, R, Python, Microsoft Power BI, SQL, etc.)
7. Relevant Conferences Attended (where you presented)
8. Academic Publications (Dissertation/Journal articles)
9. Academic/Non-academic Awards
10.Others e.g., Fellowships, Summer Schools, etc.
 Choosing the right course
• Should not depend ONLY on your desire but on your work
experience, previous degree or demonstrated capacity.
• Must be related to a passion/interest you claim you have.
• Must be consistent with your profile.
• Must solve a problem/challenge in society.
• An added advantage if it can help attain one of the 17 SDGs.
• Should be relevant in today’s world and potentially attract the
attention of most academics globally.
• Must be consistent with a future you are trying to build.
 Considering a career switch?
• You may need to take 1-2 years off post-graduation, to build
your profile in this new area you so cherish.
• Intern, gain work experience or volunteer in this new area of
interest.
• Acquire professional qualifications/certifications in this new
area.
• Ensure that just by looking at your CV, no one will be
confused on what your interest is. That means you have been
consistent in your new area.
• Start pursuing global opportunities!
 Getting your documents ready (1)
• Original Bachelor’s certificate: Statements of Result MAY
NOT be accepted by some foreign universities. To be sure,
send a message to the International or Admissions Office of
the foreign university asking if a Statement of Result will
suffice.
• Official Transcript: It has to be an OFFICIAL copy with no
watermark saying, “Not to be used for official transactions” or
“student copy only”.
• International Passport: It currently costs about N45,000 –
N65,000 and can be done at any Immigration Office in any
State.
 Getting your documents ready (2)
• Proof of English Language proficiency e.g. Letter of
English proficiency, IELTS (English-based), ToEFL (America-
based) or WAEC (with at least C6 in English; not more than
10 years old).
• Reference letters: Do not forget, choose credible and visible
referees ONLY. As a rule of thumb, if 3 are requested, select
two academic and 1 non-academic (except instructed
otherwise).
 Choosing the right scholarship
• Must accommodate the course you propose to study.
• The scope must cover your country of birth/residence.
• The focus of the scholarship MUST be consistent with your
profile, research interest and career plans.
• You MUST fulfill KEY eligibility criteria.
• You must be willing to stick to the conditions attached to the
scholarship award.
• Your profile must be strong enough to meet their selection
criteria.
• Post-Covid, the US has become the foremost study
destination (GRE waived by most schools).
 Following instructions to the letter
• If the scholarship instruction states clearly that you should not
exceed a particular number of words, pages or characters,
then YOU MUST NOT.
• If it says you should download a reference form on the
scholarship website for your referees to complete, YOU
MUST DO SO.
• If it says YOU MUST take an English Test, then you NEED
TO.
• Please make sure you read the content of the scholarship
website properly before you start your application.
 Award-winning scholarship essay
A well-written Scholarship Essay should contain the following
paragraphs:
• Paragraph 1: A problem statement (the concern or challenge
in society which your acquired knowledge will contribute to
solving).
• Paragraph 2: About yourself (details in your profile that
makes you an excellent fit for the programme).
• Paragraph 3: What attracted you to the course and school
(convincing information about the choices you made)?
• Paragraph 4: How you intend to utilise the skills/knowledge
gained on completing the programme (career plan).
Emailing prospective supervisors (1)
• First of all, it is advisable to use institutional emails for
communication (e.g.
babajide.macaulay@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk) or a
“proper” personal email (babajidemacaulay@gmail.com).
• Do NOT let the message be too long; a max of 400 words is
more than enough to convey your message.
• The message title MUST be short and catchy. A title that will
compel him or her to click on your message to read it.
• You need to understand that these supervisors receive up to
100 emails a day! Always remember that whenever you are
drafting your message.
Emailing prospective supervisors (2)
• Paragraph 1: Start by revealing your full name (MACAULAY
Babajide Milton or Macaulay, Babajide Milton or Babajide
Milton Macaulay); what you currently do and the purpose of
the mail.
• Paragraph 2: Your academic/professional background ;
current research interest.
• Paragraph 3: What excited you about his/her profile; cite an
example of his/her most recent publication which caught your
attention and how it is related to your area of interest;
• Paragraph 4: Conclude that you would want him/her to
supervise you and that you look forward to receiving a
positive response (then attach an academic CV).
 Common mistakes to avoid
• Too lazy to put in some work.
• Looking for the exact course you studied at Bachelor’s e.g.
Mass Communication, Political Science , History, Linguistics,
Accounting, Biology, Geography, etc.
• Putting your country/lecturers down e.g. writing that your
country is a scam or that your lecturers were incompetent.
• Trying to use poverty as an emotional bait to lure scholarship
sponsors.
• Being disqualified because you did not follow simple
instructions.
• Loads of grammatical errors in your application.
 Get professional support if needed
• Follow Scholarship Mentors online.
• Watch Scholarship-related videos online e.g., YouTube
Channels such as Scholarship Café (with Olumuyiwa
Igbalajobi) and Victor Agboga’s Channel.
• Get a mentor e.g., Dr. Kelechukwu Onwukamike
(DEKEMP) on LinkedIn.
• Join Scholarship groups on WhatsApp e.g., The Achievers’
Forum, First-class Leaders Network, ScholarReach (on
Telegram), etc.
• Utilize a scholarship essay review service e.g., iLLUMANIA
(www.illumania.org).
• Join virtual training sessions on scholarship essay writing.
 Facebook pages to follow for scholarship
info (1)
1. Scholarship Union
2. Scholarships and Opportunities
3. Opportunity Desk
4. Opportunity Venue
5. OpportunityforAfricans
6. Erasmus-Mundus Nigeria
7. The Shoulders of Giants – TSG
8. Scholarships Corner
9. Scholarship Portal
10.Scholarship Ad
 Facebook pages to follow for scholarship
info (2)
1. Scholarships and More
2. Africa Scholarships
3. Scholarships Online
4. Scholarship e-Portal
5. Embassy Scholarships
6. DevScholarships
7. Scholarships for International Students
8. Insivibes Scholarship Forum
9. Scholarships and Job Opportunity
10. Momentswithbren
 THANK
YOU FOR
LISTENING
CONTACT DETAILS

• LinkedIn Username: Babajide Milton Macaulay,

Ph.D.
• Twitter Username: @macaulaybm
• Instagram Username: @macaulaybm
• Facebook: Milton Babajide Macaulay
• Telegram Link for Mentorship: t.me/scholarReach