Being a college student is hard work. Whether you're cramming for classes or earning money to help pay for those classes, thinking of dedicating the little free time you have left to seeking out and applying for competitive scholarships may sound like an unproductive use of your time.
As an Honors College graduate from West Michigan's Grand Valley State University, I've been there before. In between four years of sitting in on courses that went towards either my bachelor's degree in international relations, my minor in German language and literature, or my minor in Middle Eastern studies, I could be found on campus working a number of part-time jobs to make and save what little money I could.
This was not easy. Considering, too, that having "study abroad" on your transcript is practically a requirement for international relations majors, I had the added stress of deciding a.) where to go and b.) how to afford to get there. For formal study abroad programs, this included yet another series of dilemmas: a.) which program to choose and b.) what it takes to actually get into the program. But my resourcefulness backed by the outstanding assistance of my alma mater's Office of Fellowships allowed me to balance the appeal of graduating on time with the desire of gaining real-world international affairs experience and developing an impressive transcript.
I can proudly say that over the course of my undergraduate education, I did not one but two international internships, was the recipient of four study abroad scholarship programs, and was one of just a few dozen finalists for a prestigious graduate school scholarship. This list of accomplishments does not come without a heap of unsuccessful applications to many other programs--and programs for which I had re-applied after not being selected the first time around. But despite devoting hours to these B+ applications instead of towards school studying--only to deal with these let-downs--every single one of these application processes helped me get that much closer to actualizing what exactly it is that I wanted out of my education, which career paths existed for me out there after graduation, and how to market (or not market) myself for getting the opportunities I need to head down one of those paths.
Ultimately, no one but you can decide which programs are the right fit for you. But I hope that the insight of my experiences and the tips I share on my site will help you navigate this journey. I assure you, the trip is well worth it.
As an Honors College graduate from West Michigan's Grand Valley State University, I've been there before. In between four years of sitting in on courses that went towards either my bachelor's degree in international relations, my minor in German language and literature, or my minor in Middle Eastern studies, I could be found on campus working a number of part-time jobs to make and save what little money I could.
This was not easy. Considering, too, that having "study abroad" on your transcript is practically a requirement for international relations majors, I had the added stress of deciding a.) where to go and b.) how to afford to get there. For formal study abroad programs, this included yet another series of dilemmas: a.) which program to choose and b.) what it takes to actually get into the program. But my resourcefulness backed by the outstanding assistance of my alma mater's Office of Fellowships allowed me to balance the appeal of graduating on time with the desire of gaining real-world international affairs experience and developing an impressive transcript.
I can proudly say that over the course of my undergraduate education, I did not one but two international internships, was the recipient of four study abroad scholarship programs, and was one of just a few dozen finalists for a prestigious graduate school scholarship. This list of accomplishments does not come without a heap of unsuccessful applications to many other programs--and programs for which I had re-applied after not being selected the first time around. But despite devoting hours to these B+ applications instead of towards school studying--only to deal with these let-downs--every single one of these application processes helped me get that much closer to actualizing what exactly it is that I wanted out of my education, which career paths existed for me out there after graduation, and how to market (or not market) myself for getting the opportunities I need to head down one of those paths.
Ultimately, no one but you can decide which programs are the right fit for you. But I hope that the insight of my experiences and the tips I share on my site will help you navigate this journey. I assure you, the trip is well worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment