Top five tips for a successful Commonwealth Shared Scholarship application

The Commonwealth Shared Scholarship has now opened for applications at Cranfield for 2021. But while this scholarship is a life-changing opportunity it is important to remember that it is one of the most competitive out there. Cranfield University receives thousands of applications from those hopeful of studying a Master’s degree with us in the UK. With only a much smaller number of scholarships on offer how do you stand out from the crowd and give yourself the best chance? Read our top five tips:

1. Can you apply?

Closely read through the eligibility rules to ensure you can apply for the scholarship. You must firstly be a citizen (or granted refugee status) and resident of an eligible Commonwealth country. Secondly, you must have an intention to study one of the eligible Master’s courses at Cranfield University on a full-time basis. You must have not already studied or worked for more than one year in a developed country.

2. Don’t miss anything

At Cranfield the first thing you must do is submit an online scholarship application, you do not need an offer of admission. Make sure you answer all questions – when asked for your undergraduate result please put in a GPA or classification. If you have not yet finished your undergraduate course please enter your predicted score. Make sure you apply separately to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission through their online application system. You must make both online applications by 9 April 2021.If you do progress to the next stage you will be asked to make an application for admission to Cranfield University.

3. What does the question say?

It is important to be clear on the information that each question is asking from you. The submission should be focussed on the future and how you plan for this scholarship to make an impact on your career and the development of your country. Therefore, you should not spend a lot of time telling us about your previous study or experience, or spend time describing your chosen course at Cranfield and the modules you will study – we already know the content of our courses! We want to know about you.

4. Not too much, not too little

Ensure you have a balance between putting enough information to address the question but not too much that the key points of your answer are lost. Your submission on the online Cranfield application form should be approximately one page. If your submission is longer than this you risk being marked lower than others that have more concisely answered the question.

5. Make sure you stand out

We know you are excited about the opportunity to study at Cranfield. For a successful application you will need to inspire us about your plans to make an impact with a Cranfield degree behind you. Tell us what you can do to improve conditions in your home country and change people’s lives for the better. You may have a desire to study further on a PhD course or become a teacher but these plans on their own may not be enough to win that elusive scholarship nomination. We know from previous years that many people have these same goals. Tell us what else you will do in order to catch our eye.

I hope you have found these tips useful. I wish you the best of luck with your application. Please check our website and the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission website for more information and contact studentfunding@cranfield.ac.uk if you have any further questions.