How to secure a Chevening Scholarship UK in 2023

Education in the United Kingdom is considered to be a good and affordable value.

Many people are attracted to this country, as indicated by the large number of international students that reside in the United Kingdom.

These students affirm that the benefits of studying in the UK not only include high-quality education, but also reasonable academic fees.

Studying in the United Kingdom is a rewarding experience. The universities in Britain are world-class and it is a country with a rich cultural heritage.

As an International student, studying abroad will open up a whole world of experiences to you and the life-long friendships you will make will last through the years.

If you are aiming for a scholarship abroad and are willing to pursue higher studies in the UK, you may find this article helpful.

In this article, you will get a deep understanding of how to fill out the Chevening scholarship UK application form step by step.

As a candidate, you will begin your application with the work experience, heading to the selection of the university along with the field of interest, and will write 4 essays that are a crucial part of the Chevening scholarship online application form but before that, you need to know what Chevening scholarship is about?

What is the Chevening Scholarship Uk?

Among all the top master’s scholarships in the UK, the Chevening scholarship is one of them. But becoming an ideal candidate for this opportunity needs you to understand the application and selection process thoroughly. We are here to guide you step by step regarding the Chevening scholarship UK 2023.

Chevening scholarship is a fully-funded one-year master’s degree scholarship program in the UK in which outstanding emerging leaders across the world are calling out to practice their innovative research ideas, work on global problems, and empower their leadership qualities in order to build a better future.

All master’s scholars would get maximum professional experience as they will be supported by Chevening’s fully-funded scholarship. Along with that, scholars would be able to build the network extensively, make International relationships, and experience UK culture. It is a highly competitive scholarship and in order to be selected, it is crucial to be familiar with every phase of the process. After getting a Chevening scholarship, a candidate explores beyond his expectations with plenty of the best experiences.

The following are the phases to process the application

• Submission of the online application form.
• Applying for the universities and securing admission
• Interview
• English Proficiency Test

Host Universities:

• Eligible UK-based universities for Chevening scholarships

Duration of the scholarship:

• 1 year

Degree Level:

• Master’s Program

When do applications open and close?

Chevening scholarship applications open in September and close in November each year

Value of the scholarship:

• Tuition fee wavier
• Economy class return tickets
• Arrival allowance
• Travel allowance
• Reimbursement for the visa application fee.
• Departure allowance
• TB testing reimbursement up to £75
• A monthly stipend for living and accommodation expenses.

What are the General Eligibility Criteria for the Applying?

• A candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree before applying.
• Must be a citizen of one of the Chevening eligible countries or territories
• Must-Have at least two years of work experience
• Must fulfill the criteria of English Language requirement
• You can find more information about the eligibility criteria here.

Work Experience:

As an applicant, you will have to mention your work experience and your academic background along with the leadership activities in which you have participated so far in the four required essays. After being shortlisted, candidates will be called for an interview in which he/she will be asked about their four essays.

How many working hours are required to be eligible for the Chevening scholarship?

• A candidate’s working hours will be evaluated as 35 to 60 hours a week and 40 to 50 weeks a year. If a candidate reaches above the upper limit for full-time employment he will be ineligible. The number of minimum hours as work experience for the Chevening scholarship is 2800 hours in a time frame of two years.
• If a candidate worked part-time, his experience will have a longer time period.

What work experience is required?

• A candidate’s work experience should not be necessarily related to his field.

Does a candidate require evidence of work experience?

• A candidate is not supposed to provide any evidence of work experience.

A candidate must have work experience that should be equivalent to the 2800 hours in the following ways;

• Non-paid Internship
• Freelancing
• Volunteering
• Part-time internship
• Full-time internship
• No age limit.
• A candidate should hold work experience in the field of study.
• Having a volunteering experience can add more chances for selection.

How to Choose a Course and University?

How you can select your field of interest and University?

You have the choice to choose any of the 3 different eligible universities with different courses;  You can choose either:

• Applying to the same course at 3 different universities.
• Applying to the 3 different courses at 3 different universities
• Applying for the 3 different courses at the same university.

What Degree Grading System you should mention in the application form?

• A candidate should know his grade according to the UK system which is 2:1 or 2:2 equivalent to 12-14 French system or equivalent to 10-11. You can learn further about it on the official website.

How can you know to which university you can apply?

• On the official website, a candidate would get a brief description of the courses and eligible universities to apply to.

Does the candidate apply for a partner university or a non-partner university?

• A candidate can apply for both partners as well as a non-partner university but for a partner from the university is easy to access and understand therefore you secure your admission thereby requesting them to wait until the scholarship results announce.

How a candidate can choose a university?

• If you had a 2:2 grade then see whether the university you are applying to accepts it or not.
• A candidate should look for whether he belongs to the eligible country or not for Chevening University from the official website.
• A candidate must check whether the eligible university offers the relevant course for his Bachelor’s degree.
• Before applying to the university, a must check the national and international ranking of the university.
• After applying to the university, a must look for the department’s reputation in terms of research and faculty.
• According to the preference of the city, a candidate selects the university.
• A candidate should apply earlier in at least one university in order to assure one choice of admission.
• While applying to the university, a candidate should look into what programs the university offers, life on campus, inter-campus activities, and so on.

How a candidate should make a choice about the course of study?

• A candidate should always apply for the relevant course of study.
• A candidate should not take any irrelevant field according to the Bachelor’s degree as it will decrease the chances to get a scholarship in the UK.
• While applying for the course, a candidate should consider how the chosen course is going to fit with the UK’s action in his host country and a candidate would contribute to that action after achieving the scholarship.
• A candidate should always look for the course duration as Chevening scholarships’ time duration is 9 to 12 months.

What if a candidate can’t find his field of study in the UK?

• The aim of this scholarship is to create goodwill between the UK and my home country. If a candidate.
• If a candidate doesn’t find his field of study, he should research articles regarding what the UK is contributing to his country and make a choice for the course according to that while filling out the application.

Tips for Chevening Essay Questions:

Learn how to answer Chevening scholarship answer questions.

There are a total of 4 essays, each essay should be comprised of 500 words;

1^st essay is about the candidate’s networking skills

• A candidate should mention his networking and personal relations at the national as well as international levels.
• He should talk about how he deals with people in a variety of professions including government and international representatives, public authorities, and academia.
• He should mention how he has been familiar with different cultures, age groups, and socioeconomic classes.
• He should provide a brief description of how long he has been involved in long-term relationships.
• He should elaborate on his communication skills in different areas.

2^nd essay would ask you about your leadership qualities

• A candidate should elaborate on the scenarios in which he played leadership roles.
• How he managed good team management skills in different projects.
• How he led community projects on a fixed budget.
• How he considered the opinion of every member and negotiate among them.

• How he worked with different personalities and led successful projects.
• How his leadership project contributed in the long term and brought a positive change in his community.

3^rd Essay would ask you about future career plans

• A candidate should mention his career plans that show how he is going to support his community or country.
• All Goals should be smart enough and realistic.
• A candidate’s plans should include a social, academic, and professional approach.
• A candidate must relate his skills, volunteer activities, and work experience.

4^th essay would be about why you want to pursue your studies in the UK

• The desire to study in the UK varies from person to person but the reasons should be valid and appropriate.
• For one year master’s, the UK has good merit.
• The UK holds the world’s best leading universities.
• In academics, The UK is one of the top countries.

• A candidate should mention his interest in cross-cultural understanding.
• A candidate should show his interest in International research that would contribute to the community

Reference letters:

• A candidate must submit 2 letters of reference.
• A referee must know the applicant either professionally or in academics.
• Reference letters would be verified by the British council once a candidate gets shortlisted.

Chevening Interviews 2023:

• Once a candidate gets shortlisted, he is going to be invited for an interview in the British embassy of his city or town.
• While interviewing, be confident and don’t be nervous as it is the stage that leads to the achievement of the scholarship.
• From March 1^st to April 30^th, the Chevening scholarships interview 2023 will be conducted.
• When a candidate gets selected, he receives an email, he must book his interview slot by responding to the email.
•  The interview will be taken place in person, face to face, only in exceptional situations interviews will be taken virtually.

A candidate would be required to submit some mandatory documents. The required documents would be;

• Transcripts
• Certificates of achievement
• Two recommendation letters
• A short essay on biography

A candidate is supposed to bring the following documents;

• A passport or Identity card

The interview will be taken place in English.

How to prepare for the Chevening interview in 2023?

• A candidate must be certain about his career plans and must be specific to relate his plans to his country’s realities and field of study.
• A candidate must be confident about his values, and achievements, even about small leadership projects, and show that you made a great difference in your community.
• A candidate should read his personal statement or essay earlier in the interview and prepare himself for the questions to be asked by the interviewer. If a candidate knows his application well, he would not be nervous and more confident.
• A candidate must know about his course briefly and must be able to prove his passion for it.
• Practicing for the interview would increase your chances of selection and release your stress beforehand.
• Don’t be monotonous while interviewing, vary your tone, and be authentic.
• A candidate should be dressed up appropriately and must be able to make eye contact with the interviewer.
• A student must be prepared for the questions irrelevant to the course and goals, it might be the places students want to visit in the UK.
• A candidate must be able to show interest in creating goodwill between the UK and his country.

How to Apply for Chevening Scholarship 2023 in the UK?

Find University and Course:

• An applicant is supposed to find a course and an eligible university for a Chevening scholarship in the UK. You can find courses with a course browser available on the official website.

Sign up for Chevening Scholarship:

An applicant is directed to create an account for applying for the Chevening scholarship. You can access online applications through this link, click  here.

Let’s Begin the Application Process:

After opening the application, a student will be able to see the following;

A University Application:

An applicant is directed to apply for the field of interest or course in any of the 3 eligible universities for the Chevening international scholarship. An applicant doesn’t need an admission letter at this stage. An applicant is not even bound to be consistent with the selected universities when an applicant gets shortlisted for an interview, he/she may change his/her preference for the university.

Experience Letter:

At the time of the application process, an applicant is not supposed to submit the experience letter. An applicant can upload the certificates later.

IELTS:

You do not need to have IELTS at this point, once you are selected you will have a timeline to submit IELTS by July, 14.

We strongly recommend submitting your IELTS test result by the End of November or at the start of December. It will create a positive impact on your application. It will also strengthen your Chevening application and therefore your chances of selection will be more. Secondly, you will have much time to improve your score, if you could not achieve the desired band. One more thing you must also check the university’s requirements before applying.

See, what Chevening Scholarship UK Alumni suggest:

Candidates should apply to 5 to 6 universities to secure as many admissions as they can because if a candidate wouldn’t secure admission in the top 3 selected universities, his application might get secured in the other 4 or 5 nominated universities.

A candidate must apply for a similar course in each university in the application form. It will propose your study plan and your interest in professional development. Moreover, it will save you time as your personal statement would not need mush changes for applying.

Kindly don’t fill out the application in a hurry, make a draft and review your application again and again. Every component of the application must be relevant to each other.

Don’t wait for a deadline to submit an application, the system gets crashed in the last hours. So be careful and submit the application before the deadline.

As StudyFlex , We are hoping that these guidelines will help you to be a successful candidate.