Sestip — Scholarship Application Guide | sestip.com
Where to search, how to filter by eligibility, and how to build a tracking sheet of deadlines.
Begin with large government-funded international programmes: Fulbright, Chevening and DAAD are examples of large government-funded international scholarship programmes, and each publishes its eligibility criteria in full. These are the highest-volume starting points because they accept applicants from a wide range of fields and countries.
Next, work through university-specific awards. Each institution's financial aid pages list awards restricted to admitted or enrolled students, often by department. Field-specific foundations and professional associations are the third layer — narrower, but frequently less competitive because the eligible pool is smaller.
Filter each award against four questions before you draft anything: Is my field of study in scope? Do I meet the degree-level requirement? Do I meet the residency or nationality condition? Is the basis of award — merit, need, or both — one I can evidence? Most scholarships are awarded on academic merit, financial need, or a combination of both, so the fourth question determines which documents you will need to foreground.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Build a single tracking sheet once your shortlist exists. One row per award, with columns for the deadline date, months remaining, eligibility confirmed, and the date you will request each recommendation letter. Sort by deadline and review the sheet weekly — this is the artefact that prevents you from discovering an award three days before it closes.
Because many scholarship deadlines fall 6 to 12 months before the start of the academic year they fund, a shortlist built in January may not have any deadlines until autumn. That gap is normal; use it to secure referees early rather than leaving the 3-to-4-week letter window until the deadline month.
Finally, mark which awards are renewable. Some scholarships are renewable each year if the recipient maintains a minimum grade point average — worth knowing at the search stage, because it changes what a multi-year plan looks like.
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