UK Chevening Scholarship. Everything you need to know

Would you like to get an education in the UK, but you don’t have enough money? Then this article will be useful to you. Today, Tempting.Pro talks about the international Chevening scholarship, which is issued by the UK government.

Chevening is an international program of the UK government aimed at developing world leaders since 1983. It is funded by the British Foreign Office and partner organizations.

The scholarship fully covers the costs of studying at one of the British universities in a master's program and accommodation for 1 year. All comers who meet the requirements of the program are allowed to participate.

What are the requirements for candidates?

• Be a citizen of your country from which you apply for studying and return to your home country no later than 2 years after graduation from the Chevening program
• You must have a bachelor's degree, that is, you need to graduate from the university before applying
• But higher education alone will not be enough. You must have at least 2 years of work experience (internships, volunteering, etc. can count)
• Naturally, you will need to provide a document that confirms your knowledge of English. To do this, you will need to pass the international IELTS exam. Almost every country has at least 1 center where you can take this exam. It includes 4 modules: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The assessment range in IELTS is from 0 to 9 points. Most universities in the UK require an average score of 6-6.5 points. And in each module, the score should be at least 6.0 points.
• You will also need to apply for studying at 3 different universities. If all 3 answers you positively, a scholarship will be given to the first university of your choice. That is, you must personally prioritize universities. Because if the first university on the list refuses you, and the 2nd and 3rd approve the application, a scholarship will be issued for studying at the 2nd university on your list
• And the last point: do not have British citizenship and do not study on any state scholarship in this country earlier

Where to begin?

The first thing you need to decide on the specialty for which you want to enter the magistracy. And it does not have to be the same as at your university. This may be a completely different field, in no way correlated with your diploma. But here work experience, internships, and your other activities should be close to this specialty. Because in your application for a scholarship you will need to describe why you chose this particular specialty and how it relates to your work experience.

After that, of course, you will need to register on the official Chevening website and create your own personal account there. And then follow the instructions, enter information about yourself, about education and work experience.

You need to choose 3 universities and each has its own program (specialty) for which you would like to enroll. These specialties should not be identical in each university, but in your essay, you will write about each university and specialty, why you chose them.

The main weight of your application is 4 essays that you will write. The topics of the essay are: “Leadership and influence, Networking, Studying in the UK and Career Plan”. In each topic, you must write from 100 to 500 words.

In each of the essays, you need to write about your personal experience from life. You should not devote too much time to general concepts of what Leadership or Networking is; a few suggestions are enough.

The reception of applications usually begins in late August and lasts until the beginning of November. The deadline usually falls on someday in the first week of November. In 2019, applications are accepted until November 5. After all, applications have been accepted, the commission will begin to evaluate them. And from mid-January to February letters are sent to applicants if the application for the next second round of selection has passed. After that, in your account, you need to confirm 2 candidates who can give specific feedback about you. One person must be from the university, and one from work. They are required to send a short story about you. Who you are, in general, present you in a better light and tell you why you are worthy to receive a scholarship.

The second round of selection is a personal interview with the commission. It usually takes place from March to May. There is no need to prepare for it in a special way; there will not be any special issues there. There will be a small conversation with the selection committee on general topics about you, about studying, about work and about your goals for the future, but in order to pass the second stage, you need to stand out among the other candidates with some creativity and show good command of the English language.

The results of the interview are announced in early June. And if you have successfully managed it, then by July you should receive at least one unconditional offer from 3 universities and pass the IELTS. And all that remains to be done is to prepare visa documents, buy warm clothes for the coming year and go to the UK in September-October by the beginning of the semester. By the way, you will be allowed to return home for a not very long period, almost all the time you will need to spend in the country of study, which of course is not something terrible :)

In addition to studying itself, you can attend special events from Chevening. You will meet new people, other students from the field you have chosen. For some, there is even the opportunity to chat with someone from celebrities. For example, last year the students of the program had the opportunity to meet with ex the Duchess of Sussex - Meghan Markle.

Within 2 years after graduation, you will be required to return to your home country.

Updated: Starting this year, new rules come in, now foreign students are allowed to stay in the UK for 2 years, after graduation, so that they can find work and begin to build their own careers. This also applies to Chevening scholars.

If you still have any questions, write to us at info@tempting.pro, indicating the letter "Chevening Scholarship" in the subject line and we will try to help you.

Prepared by: Alexander Boltrukevich alexbolt@tempting.pro