Applying for a prestigious scholarship is an arduous, personal and highly reflective process. To be successful requires that you have immersed yourself in the scholarship, its history, community, and values. Additionally, you need to deeply reflect on who you are and what experiences have helped to shape the person you are.

Note: all scholarships are centred around three key criteria which attest to your intellectual capabilities, drive, commitment to serve and have a positive impact on the world: a) outstanding academic achievement and depth of intellectual vision; b) Leadership and commitment to serve, and c) exceptional aspirations and goals to Australia and the world through your professional pursuits.

Steps:

Who am I and what are my goals?

  1. Draft a goal/vision statement relating to your professional/personal drivers, the course you would like to undertake and the institution.
    Which scholarship is right for me and why? Research and immerse yourself in the scholarship.
  2. Once you know what course and institution, research which scholarship is right for you. Understand your scholarship options and whether you are eligible or not. Note: many scholarships require that you have been accepted into the course; hence, understand the scholarship and university timelines.
  3. Familiarise yourself with the scholarship foundation, history of the scholarship and the person e.g. Churchill or General Sir John Monash. A few questions to consider: Who was the person? Why was the scholarship established? What are the goals of the scholarship? Who has been awarded the scholarship and what has their impact been?  Griffith’s Prestigious Scholarships website, and in particular, the Prestigious Scholarships Eligibility Matrix will be of assistance.

Preparing your application

  1. Register for the scholarship and download the guidelines. Familiarise yourself with the selection criteria.
  2. Register your interest for prestigious scholarship application support at Griffith
  3. Identify your referees and align their knowledge of you and your capabilities to the selection criteria e.g. which person can attest to your community service and leadership or commitment to a cause, and academic capabilities.
  4. Who are you as a leader and how can you evidence your leadership competencies and drivers. Familiarise yourself with models of leadership e.g. servant, community, collaborative. There are many. Are there leaders that you aspire to emulate? Scholarships are routinely named after a person e.g. Rhodes, Ramsay. Who was that person as a leader? What impact did they have and how might your leadership style or goals align with theirs?
  5. Draft an initial response to the criteria.  In preparing an application, think through the selection criteria careful e.g. for Ramsay consider how your work may contribute to “Western civilization”, and how you might make a compelling argument. Be ambitious and bold. Your responses are not a CV so tell it in an engaging and exciting way.
  6. Update you’re CV and LinkedIn ensure both are tailored to the scholarship you are applying for. For example, if your vision is to work for the United Nations or to mitigate climate change, this needs to be evident.
  7. Who are you as a future leader in your field. You need a leadership objective! Understand and be able to articulate how the Masters/PhD will shape your career.
    1. Ask yourself and be able to answer, what will the next 5 years will look like for you after you complete the study.  How will completing the study and living abroad impact your career goals? Why can’t you complete the study/research in Australia?
    2. Think through what your longer-term career might look like over the next 30 years. This can be challenging so look up people who are having an impact in the chosen field. Do you imagine yourself working e.g. for the Government writing policy? Or running an NGO? Or working internationally?  Finally, if your career is successful, what impact will it have for Australia and/or the world?

Application plan

  1. Draft an application timeline plan with all the steps you need to complete each week for the scholarship. This is highly personal and will be different for every person; however, you might do something like this:
    • Week 1:
      • Download scholarship guidelines, application and register for updates.
      • Download university and course application requirements.
      • Register EOI with Griffith Prestigious Scholarships
    • Week 2:
      • Draft goal statement.
      • Identify and connect with referees. Share details of the course and scholarship you are planning on applying for along with your goals.
      • Research people who have received the scholarship or work in the area you are interested in and potentially connect. Are there any Griffith Alumni who were recipients?
    • Week 3:
      • Update CV and social media. Revise goal statement. Discuss with a minimum of 5 people.
    • Week 4:
      • Share documents and application timeline plan with Griffith Prestigious Scholarships to organise a planning meeting.

Suggestion: write your answers and put them away for a week.  Use every opportunity to talk about your proposal, what you want to do and why. Talk to people from diverse professions and backgrounds, notice when they are interested in what you have to say or when they disengage.

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