chevening essay on studying in the uk

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2 Chevening Essays: Studying in the UK

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future.

See complete examples of Chevening Scholarship: click here .

“Studying in the UK” Chevening Essay Example 1

For my master’s degree course, I have a keen interest in specializing in Financial Economics and seek to pursue it in the UK at the University of Manchester, the University of Kent, or the University of Glasgow. My decision to zero in on Financial Economics as opposed to any other course has been underpinned by my long-term career goal: to rise through the professional ranks to eventually become the Chief Financial Economist in the National Treasury (Kenya).

See also:  Ultimate Chevening Scholarship Resources

I am acutely aware that such a senior and critical position will require expert-level knowledge and advanced understanding of financial analysis, planning and strategy, international and bilateral trade, investment policy, micro and macro-economic trends, global, regional, and sectoral developments, international business development, negotiating international agreements, trade litigation, and the production and distribution of goods and services. It also requires the ability to collect and process economic and statistical data, carry out trade and economic research, and perform high-level analysis using different sampling and econometric methods, hence my desire to become an expert in Financial Economics.

A rigorous course that equips me with the above knowledge, practical skills, and more will be critical. From my extensive research, all three universities I have chosen offer very high-quality training in Financial Economics, and I am confident that any of the three universities are well equipped to help me advance my knowledge in this area. The University of Manchester, in particular, stands out to me because it has been ranked sixth in the UK in the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities. It also offers a wide array of facilities and resources, plus numerous societies at the university, which will provide me with excellent opportunities for networking and exchanging great ideas.

Moreover, the Financial Economics course perfectly aligns with my current educational background and professional experience. I possess a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi and CISI Level 1 and Level 2 professional qualifications. Given my existing grasp of finance and economics, I will be able to cope with the challenges of the course with relative ease. As far as my work experience is concerned, I presently work as an Equities and Fixed Income Trader at NIC Securities Ltd. Before this position, I had worked as the Operations Assistant/ Supervisor at NIC Bank Kenya, the Relationship Officer (Operations) at Equity Bank Limited, the Acting Supervisor (Operations) at Equity Bank Limited, and the Relationship Officer (Operations) at Equity Bank Limited, respectively. These professional experiences perfectly lend themselves to the field of Financial Economics, and I do not doubt that I will be able to draw on my considerable hands-on experience in both Finance and Economics to handle the course’s requirements. My work and education will be a natural progression into a Financial Economics career path.

Despite being among the top ten destinations for foreign direct investment in Africa and initiating reforms that have led to economic growth since 2003, Kenya faces a high poverty rate and a widening inequality gap. This is due to the lack of evidence-based policies, corruption, and political instability during elections. The number of millionaires is expected to increase while the number of poor people is increasing in the next decade should be a concern for any policymaker in the country. This has motivated me to pursue a Master’s degree in International Development to gain knowledge and skills in poverty reduction, development, and addressing inequality. Though much of my career has been in banking, my experience with poor rural communities as a parliamentary candidate in the 2017 General Election makes my case to switch careers.

My first choice is the MSc Applied International Development offered at the University of Reading. The university is among the top twenty institutions in the United Kingdom by research intensity and top thirty by research power which will develop my research competencies to develop effective evidence-based poverty reduction policies. I plan to specialize in their Agriculture and Social Development pathway as this will align with my goal of addressing poverty using agriculture. In addition, the course is offered at the Graduate Institute of International Development, Agriculture and Economics (GIIDAE), where I can take electives in agriculture, such as Agriculture Project Planning and Management in Developing Countries, taught by Dr. Chittur Srinivasan.

My second preferred course is MSc International Development: Poverty, Inequality and Development, offered at the University of Manchester. Apart from learning strategies and policies to advance equality, development, and reduce poverty, I will also have a chance for a field trip to experience the global challenge of inequality in another country as part of the course. Based on the 2018 World QS universities rankings by subject, the University is rated 14th in the world and 3rd in the United Kingdom on Development Studies.

My third choice is MSc International Development at the University of Edinburgh. The course is appealing because apart from learning about the historical approaches of international development and politics associated with the subject, there is a whole unit on contemporary issues and organizations of importance to development policy and practice. The University also offers an eight-week research-based project where one is attached to an institution either in the United Kingdom or overseas with an option of completing a research dissertation based on the fieldwork or print and library sources. This will also provide practical experience to complement coursework. The University also has beautiful classic buildings and surrounding scenery that would provide a perfect getaway after lectures to refresh the mind.

Overall, studying in the UK will provide an opportunity to build collaborations to achieve Kenyan Vision 2030, which aims to industrialize and transform the country into middle-income status while ensuring high-quality life for its citizens.

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AGRICULTURE FIRST

My Chevening Journey, Part 3: Studying in the UK essay.

When applying for your Chevening Scholarship the third essay you write is on Studying in the UK. The question you will be answering in this essay is, Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future.…

When applying for your Chevening Scholarship the third essay you write is on Studying in the UK. The question you will be answering in this essay is, Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please do not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form.

You can watch the Studying in the UK essay tips on  YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PndU6Tcnjz8

When selecting your courses, these are some of the most important factors to consider:

 Ability~ Select courses that you can manage the academic workload. For instance some courses require specific qualifications in the bachelors degree. This is usually stated in the admission requirements for the course.

 Qualifications~ Although the scholarship accepts a 2:2 (second class lower division), most UK master’s courses accept a 2:1 and above. Some universities/courses also have higher English proficiency requirements.

 Career plan ~ Your course should also be in line with your career plan which you will write in the fourth and final essay. Your career will be determined by that problem in your country that you want to solve and in line with UK priorities in your country. These can be found in your DFID country website.

The structure of the essay should be in paragraphs not numbered with the first paragraph introducing a problem in your country that motivated you to pursue that course. The first paragraph should also state the course. You can also statistics sparingly to convince the reader of the essay the magnitude of the problem and when you do so, use the latest available data. This helps in building your case on the relevance of your program to your future career plan. In addition, this will form the answer to the interview question ‘Why have you selected this course and the basis of your three university choices’ if shortlisted. You can choose three courses from different universities or three closely related courses from the same university.

The information on courses will be found in specific universities websites, program objectives and modules. It is important to compare modules of programs with the same title in different universities to see whether they suit you. For instance MSc Food Security at University of Warwick is a science course and requires background knowledge in science compared to similar courses in other universities such as Reading. Such differences can only be identified by checking the modules/ course units.

My introduction and first paragraph of my essay was as follows;

Despite being among the top ten destinations for foreign direct investment in Africa and initiating reforms that have led to economic growth since 2003, Kenya faces a high poverty rate and a widening inequality gap. This is due to the lack of evidence-based policies, corruption and political instability during elections. The fact that the number of millionaires is expected to increase while the number of poor people is increasing in the next decade should be a concern for any policymaker in the country. This has motivated me to pursue a Master’s degree in International Development to gain knowledge and skills on poverty reduction, development and addressing inequality. Though much of my career has been in banking, my experience with poor rural communities as a parliamentary candidate in the 2017 General Election makes my case to switch careers.

The second paragraph covered my first choice. You need to convince the reader that you have researched about your universities and courses. You can use university rankings ( specify), location, delivery of content or mode of examination and co-curricula activities. For every reason you give, it is paramount to state how it applies to you. For instance when you say that the University of Reading is rated 1st and 6th in the UK and the world respectively on agriculture and forestry courses, so what? You can give two or three reasons for every course but in my case I was a bit detailed in my first choice. Stating a module that is relevant to a problem in your country and it’s lecturer will make you stand out.

My second paragraph that explained my first choice was as follows;

The MSc Applied International Development offered at the University of Reading is my first choice. The university is among the top twenty institutions in the United Kingdom by research intensity and top thirty by research power which will develop my research competencies to come up with effective evidence-based poverty reduction policies. I plan to specialize in their Agriculture and Social Development pathway as this will be in line with my goal of addressing poverty using agriculture In addition, the course is offered at the Graduate Institute of International Development, Agriculture and Economics (GIIDAE) where I can take electives in agriculture such as Agriculture Project Planning and Management in Developing Countries taught by Dr. Chittur Srinivasan.

Here are my other two paragraphs covering the second and third choices.

My second preferred course is MSc International Development: Poverty, Inequality and Development offered at the University of Manchester. Apart from learning strategies and policies being implemented to advance equality, development and reduce poverty, I will also have a chance for a field trip to experience the global challenge of inequality in another country as part of the course. Based on the 2018 World QS universities rankings by subject, the university is rated 14th in the world and 3rd in the United Kingdom on Development Studies.

My third choice is MSc International Development at the University of Edinburgh. The course is appealing because apart from learning about the historical approaches of international development and politics associated with the subject, there is a whole unit on contemporary issues and organizations of importance to development policy and practice. The university also offers an eight-week research-based project where one is attached to an institution either in the United Kingdom or overseas with an option of completing a research dissertation based on the fieldwork or print and library sources. This will also provide practical experience to complement coursework. The University also has beautiful classic buildings and surrounding scenery that would provide a perfect getaway after lectures to refresh the mind.

My last paragraph was a conclusion of my essay and to wrap up my choice of a masters in international development and was as follows;

Overall studying in the UK will provide an opportunity to build collaborations to achieve Kenyan Vision 2030 which aims to industrialize and transform the country into middle-income status while ensuring high-quality life for her citizens.

Kindly note the reasons for studying in the UK are covered in the paragraphs explaining the course choices.

PS: As I explained in the leadership essay, I will be pursuing MSc. Agriculture and Development at the University of Reading as between submitting my essays and the interview date, I had decided to change my choices and obtained the necessary offers. Kindly note you will only be allowed to change your choices once and that is during your interview. My shift was easy because my career plan was in agriculture and therefore it was easy to convince the panel. If you decide to change your courses at the interview stage, make sure the changes are in line with your career plan as this cannot be changed afterward. My final list of choices was as follows;

1) MSc Agriculture and Development- University of Reading.

2) MSc Applied International Development- University of Reading.

3) MSc International Development: Poverty, Inequality, and Development- University of Manchester.

When selecting your universities, you could start by searching UK universities offering your preferred course. You could narrow down by checking whether you meet admission requirements. Then check modules to see whether they align with your career plan and finally location. In my case, I searched universities offering MSc International Development, since I met requirements for all, I eliminated universities in London since accommodation is expensive despite a higher Chevening stipend compared to other cities. I also wanted to be close to London so Reading became a big candidate (Reading is 25 minutes from London by train). Finally MSc. international development at the University of Reading offered electives in agriculture which was in line with my career. That’s how MSc. Applied International Development ended up being my first choice. However, during my interview I changed my courses and introduced MSc. Agriculture and Development at the University of Reading as my first choice.

Finally, be authentic, give your story, and do not copy essays of previously selected scholars. The readers can detect plagiarism (an academic offense) and it makes your interviews in later stages easier when you own your story. In addition, use simple grammatically correct English sentences. Your essays are the opportune moment to create a first impression and writing skills are paramount in this. Have people proofread your essays for guidance and where you use abbreviations, make sure you give their meaning initially.

Watch this video on common errors applicants make and how to avoid them:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo7WIowfwO0&t=34s

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are purely mine and do not reflect the position of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and or its partner organizations.

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35 responses to “my chevening journey, part 3: studying in the uk essay.”.

Thank you very much for sharing these valuable insights. You have opened my mind ,I am now able to think clearly even as I write my essays. May the Almighty God continue blessing you In all you do.

Welcome and best wishes in your application.

Agricultural development it is .

Wow, thank you so much for your help… i was feeling a bit down but i do see the light. Enjoy your studies and may God Continue to show his light on your life.

helo my dear, i visit your website 3 times each week. i applied for 3 similar courses at different universities.

MPA Master of Public Administration University of York MPA Master of Public Administration University of EXETER

MPA Master of Public Administration at the University of Birmingham.

is that ok brother.

also, I got an offer from the University of Yor 2 years ago can i use it.

Thank you so much Sir for this essay. It has really helped me in constructing mine. God bless you richly. And I pray for a successful application

Please I need a helping hand to complete my application. it’s the referencing, and also when to upload transcript. Is it after submitting the application that I will later upload them? Thanks

Mohamed, I don’t think you can use an admission obtained two years ago, some schools state that ones an offer is more than one year and has been deferred once can not be used again. So just enquire from the intended university and go by their response. However, to be on the safe side, reapply. You don’t need to rush obtaining an offer. But you should plan to get in before June 2020.

Like Liked by 1 person

yes but Chevening accepts it

Hello Sarah, please kindly visit the chevening website and go through the frequently asked questions on transcript and reference. Few Information and requirements vary every year.

Good one…so insightful indeed

nice content

Hi there, simply became aware of your weblog thru Google, and located that it’s really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will be grateful in the event you proceed this in future. Lots of folks will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

Thank You. Its by the spirit of God that i found myself in your website. Very helpful guidance. Be Blessed

Thank you for any other informative web site. The place else may just I get that type of information written in such an ideal approach? I’ve a project that I’m just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.

Great insight. Kindly may i share my essays you proofread.

thanks for the good piece of information to the applicants

Hi Agriculture, May i send you an essay for proofreading? Nancy Nailantei

Your contribution has been highly valuable to me. I have been analysing my texts and I decided to evaluate every single word to make them read-count as necessary to coexist in my whole application. Something I notice is the relevancy of chosen professions. Yours, for example, is beautifully necessary for most developing countries. In my case, I must work a bit harder to demonstrate why I and my country need my chosen course.

Wow! I came across the advert on Chevening scholarship randomly from my scholarships subscription page and decided for warm-ups for better preparations on the application process. And aaaw! God is so great. I landed on a well-versed site. Am convinced that it gonna impact my application process effectively Thanks abunch brother. I’m Hilder from Kenya

Thank you very much for your tip, very helpful

Thanks Mr, Samuel, I really appreciate your sincerely help. and I wish you all the luck you deserve.

His write ups are very much helpful than others that I write, without no achievement. When one write without no samples, how will people grab what the person is driving at. May God bless you for this your article.

good day. what paragraphing style did you use. is the headings for each essay included or you just go straight to the introduction

I am surprised you ask such a question as if you’ve not read the articles.

thanks for your reply. i initially overlooked the style you wrote in, my bad. but how about the headings. please reply.

I am grateful to you for your blog. It really helped me in structuring my essays. I won the scholarship for the 2021/2022 cohort. God richly bless you.

Congratulations.

great work!

Hello, Kindly address the issue on English proficiency. Does it affect one to get un unconditional offer from the university that accepts a B from KCSE? What do I do in that case?

Every university has has its own requirements. They also accept various qualifications such as KCSE, IELTs, PTE.. So write to the university.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for sharing

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The Wave of Study in Abroad

विद्या विनियोगात् विकासः (vidyā viniyogāt vikāsaḥ)

Breakdown of Chevening Essay Questions: A Comprehensive Guide

Navigating the Chevening scholarship application can be a rewarding yet challenging process. Among the crucial components are the essay questions, which provide an opportunity for you to showcase your aspirations, experiences, and potential. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down each of the Chevening essay questions and offer insights to help you craft compelling responses.

1. Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.

Focus: Demonstrating Leadership and Influence

This question aims to gauge your leadership abilities and potential to effect positive change. To answer effectively:

• Provide Examples: Share specific instances where you demonstrated leadership, whether in your academic, professional, or community endeavors.
• Highlight Influence: Discuss how your actions influenced outcomes, motivated others, or brought about change.
• Connect to Future: Explain how your leadership experiences align with your future goals and how the Chevening scholarship will further develop your leadership potential.

2. Chevening Scholarships are awarded to individuals with demonstrable leadership potential who also have strong academic backgrounds. How do you intend to use your Chevening experience to develop your leadership skills and create a positive social change?

Focus: Linking Academic Excellence and Leadership

Here, the focus is on your academic prowess and its relationship to leadership and social impact:

• Link Academic and Leadership Goals: Explain how your academic pursuits are intertwined with your leadership aspirations.
• Social Impact: Discuss how your Chevening experience will enable you to contribute to positive societal changes.
• Specific Plans: Outline tangible actions you’ll take to enhance your leadership skills during and after your studies.

3. Network with people of different nationalities and backgrounds. What can you learn from others? How will this enrich your experience as a Chevening Scholar?

Focus: Embracing Diversity and Networking

This question emphasizes cross-cultural collaboration and the value of a diverse network:

• Learning from Diversity: Highlight the benefits of interacting with people from various backgrounds, including new perspectives and insights.
• Enriching Chevening Experience: Explain how these interactions will contribute to your personal and academic growth as a Chevening Scholar.

4. What influence do you hope to have on your home country or region as a result of studying in the UK?

Focus: Positive Impact on Home Country

This question assesses your vision for the future and your commitment to your home country’s development:

• Specific Goals: Outline the specific areas you aim to impact upon your return.
• Alignment with UK Study: Explain how your UK education will equip you to address challenges in your home country.

5. Please explain why you want to study in the UK and why you have chosen your selected course(s).

Focus: UK Study and Course Choice

This question explores your motivations for studying in the UK and the relevance of your chosen course:

• UK’s Strengths: Discuss the UK’s academic excellence, resources, and opportunities that attract you.
• Course Relevance: Explain why your chosen course aligns with your academic and career goals.

6. Summarize all relevant leadership and service-related achievements in which you have participated.

Focus: Leadership and Service Achievements

This is an opportunity to succinctly list your notable leadership and service accomplishments:

• Concise Presentation: List achievements in a clear and organized manner.
• Highlight Impact: Briefly explain the significance and outcomes of each achievement.

Navigating the Chevening essay questions requires a thoughtful approach that showcases your unique qualities, aspirations, and commitment to positive change. By addressing each question’s specific focus and providing well-structured responses, you can present a compelling case for why you are an ideal candidate for the Chevening scholarship. Remember to tailor your answers to highlight your strengths and alignment with Chevening’s values and objectives.

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Thoughts Left Unspoken

Writing Chevening Essay: Breakdown Those 4 Questions

Writing an essay for Chevening scholarship was not an easy task. But surely, we need to invest our time to write, revise and polish it. The whole writing process took me 1.5 months, but let’s not use this as a standard as anyone can have different situations.

In this post, I’m going to breakdown each question and share how I answered my Chevening essay. It is surely not the perfect one, but I’d like to share what I think essential when answering those four questions. I also did a mentoring program for Chevening applicants 19/20 and some of my mentees were accepted! Having said that, I’m sure there are some of my tips that you can use.

Disclaimer. This post does not reflect on the Chevening Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and its partner organisations. This story is just my experience and personal thoughts working on Chevening’s essay.

Without further ado, let’s go through each question.

Leadership and Influence 

One of the common thoughts that most applicants have about leadership is the position; the title. I would say, no. The title is a legitimation that you have the power to lead, but beyond that, I think the most important thing that Chevening really look is the impact of your leadership. They are also looking for a potential leader. So, it does not matter if you don’t have a Manager, Head, Leader, etc in your resume as long as you can showcase your influencing and leadership skills by giving examples.

Before start writing, think about what leadership accomplishments that you had. List all down and select two to three examples that gave great impact and made you learn the most. Each question only allows 500 words hence we really need to be careful to choose which experience to be put in the essay. If you can, try to put examples in different cases and environment to show that you have a range of leadership experiences.

As I already mentioned in the previous post about general tips for writing Chevening  essay, it is important to give an introduction. Although this is just a suggestion, if you’re unsure where to start, you can try with what you believe about leadership or a brief about what kind of leader you think you are. After that, you can link to your leadership experiences, supporting your statement about the leadership that you write in the introduction. Build an engaging introduction is also crucial to make the panel stay reading your story. Remember, they read thousands of essays, at least you want to keep them engaged with your essay.

In my case, my first sentence in the intro was: I believe that the leaders are not born, but made through a process of hard work.  I then supported this statement by briefly telling several experiences during high schools and how it has been forming me primary wisdom about leadership. However, this is not my highlight of the leadership experience that I want to tell the panel. Hence, I used a linking sentence such as  I apply this wisdom to excel my role in current employment, but my training is never complete. The linking sentence could also serve as a bridge to the next thing I have on my plate and build the story’s flow.

Then, I wrote two examples of my leadership experiences which are happened in my office using Situation, Task, Actions, Result (STAR) structure. Read about this here . I would say give more portion for “action” because the more specific and detail you give, the more panellist know you hence more room to asses you.

I wrote one success story about my experiences in leading an early-stage start-up company. When you write a success story, make sure that you’re really specific about what you did, what steps that you did differently to achieve the goal? Did you face challenges? How did you overcome the challenge? Did people doubt you? How did you convince them to finally follow your leadership? I wrote about making an unpopular decision which I deemed a huge challenge; I should do it otherwise it won’t do any good for the company. From this story, I took an angle on the lesson learned and how it contributed to mature my emotions.

When you write about result, if you can, give a quantifiable result to justify the impact. However, the bottom line is to justify your impact. Tell them that there are people who benefited from the projects that you led — it could be personal or organisational.

Another thing is to mention your lesson learned. What you learned from each experience that contributes to your personal development. I personally think this is critical to show that you’re a human and a growing person. We all know that leadership is not a one-day skill, it takes years to sharpen it hence mistakes are okay to be mentioned as long as you can turn the “angle” into supporting your story.

Finish the essay with a closing paragraph which amplifies Chevening’s role in developing your leadership skill. What is your aspiration, in regards to leadership skill, if you were accepted as Chevening scholar? State this briefly and do the same for the next 4 questions.

I would say that the networking question was a bit difficult for me to elaborate. Why? Because again, Chevening is looking for someone whose networking skills could create an impact. So, in my opinion, it’s not about showing off how big your network is or how often you attend networking events, instead of how you use your network to create a greater impact.

Using the same approach as in question 1, answer the question by STAR structure. Started by an introduction, get into the main body and finish with closing.

In my case, I was using my exchange program to South Korea during undergraduate study as a chance to meet new friends — where one of that friend was playing a great role of me working at an early-stage startup company, a place where I highlighted my  leadership skills in the first question. The company is obviously has been a place for me to create an impact on the team and communities. For instance, a collaboration opportunity with external media to provide cross-content and it would give us huge traffic for the website.

Emphasise the impact you’ve created because of the networking you did. Give two to three networking skills and experiences that you have and again, be detail. Highlight that the impact is not only beneficial for you, but also for another side that you network with.

In the closing, you should elaborate Chevening’s role in your networking skills, you can try to relate how Chevening would expand your networking and how will you use Chevening networking if you were accepted as Chevening scholar.

Studying in the UK

While questions about leadership and networking are more to dig your skills and capability in becoming a potential future leader, in my opinion, questions about studying in the UK and career plan are crucial to showing your cause, passion and how do you stay true with that. This can be a very critical part that would differentiate you from other applicants I guess, as I would say that Chevening is looking for people who would serve and build their community. So, it is important to answer the last 2 questions coherently.

To make your essay coherent, try to answer these questions as a base for you to answer questions number 3 and 4.

• What is my passion/concern?
• What problems do I want to solve?
• How will I solve the problems?

My ultimate advise for this part is don’t write more than 50% for the courses and campus rank. Write more about you: your passion, area of expertise, problems found in your field and what is your vision — which supposed to be related with your expertise area. Think about why taking a master study in those three sp ecific courses and universities is going to help you to achieve your vision. This information is really helpful to link and congruent your story in the question no.4 (career plan). 

In my case, I used a fact that the growth of digital start-up in Indonesia has been astonishing recently but it is not followed by the success rate of a startup. If you want to use a fact, don’t forget to put the source. I outlined that the major problem was startup founders mostly great in building products yet tend to ignore other managerial skills such as people development, sales and finance (again, I put source). I then linked this statement to my personal experience working in an early stage start-up company where I had limited experiences or skills which happens to be a similar situation like startup founders. Hence, a degree in innovation and entrepreneurship would give me a balanced set of technical skills and knowledge in building early ventures.

From previous paragraph, I answered three basic questions to outline my background. Who am I? — A start-up early employee, what is my passion? — early venture development, what problems do I want to solve? — the high rate of startup failure rate and how will you solve it? — a degree in innovation and entrepreneurship by Chevening scholarship as one of stepping stones and followed by action plans that I will write in the question no.4

After outlining the “background” story about you, you can write the three courses. Highlight the reason why you choose them, it can be the campus ranking, curriculum, or professors/projects. I chose Warwick University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship because of the curriculum, the final project worth 50% of the final grade in which devoted to developing the business innovation carefully.  The school also placed the second rank of best Entrepreneurship master degree in the UK, after Oxford. My second choice was Imperial College and the third was the City University of London.

By the way, another advise choosing the school, besides research the course and its curriculum, do find out about the whole campus. Think about the facilities, clubs/societies, opportunities, the lifestyle (or living cost), nearby attractions, the city it’s located, etc. Ask current students about living in your designated campus, how do they like the campus and its surroundings? How about life after campus? I’m saying this not because I dislike Warwick University, instead, the campus has its own art centre and biggest sports centre in Coventry — which is realllly cool, but I would say Coventry itself doesn’t have many attractions to offer. But for the bright side, that really helps me to focus on my study and save money (it’s true!); it forces me to travel to other places more often hehe.  I would share my travel stories in other posts. Coventry also not too far from London and Birmingham, the two biggest cities in the UK. It’s easier for me to jump on opportunities in UK startups scene.

Career Plans

One thing I always shared to Chevening applicants who asked me to proofread their essay is: make a clear plan and breakdown into short term, mid-term and long term goal. Ensure each breakdown is contributing to your long-term goals if that makes sense? This way, it shows that you know how to get there. In my case, I wrote for immediate plans (2 years after study), the next 5 years and beyond 5 years. Make sure that your career goals are answering your concern and supporting your passion (stated in question no.3) which forms a more congruent essay.

As you need to relate your career goals to what the UK Government do in your country, you need to research. This might be different in every country and it might change year by years. You can start the search from the official UK’s government website ( http://gov.uk/world/name of country/news). Research thoroughly and try to link what you can contribute through your career goal.

Another thing to highlight is state how Chevening is one of the paths you would greatly benefit to take you to your future goals. How would you apply things you got from Chevening (the scholarship, the network, the education, the international friends) in your future career path? In my case, I outlined that I would use network from Chevening alumni to open access for mentors who can guide and share expertise to founders in establishing a new business.

As this is the last question, end the whole essay with a strong “punchline”. Keep elaborate Chevening, you can try to summarise outlined your aspiration by being a Chevening scholar. In my case, I mentioned that I still have to acquire deeper knowledge in innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as expanding my network to collaborate together in solving the problem. I acknowledged that from previous experiences, I gained valuable lessons in networking and leadership, however, I believe it’s still not enough. I then closed with thus, by being a Chevening scholar, I believe I would be (fill in the blank). 

I hope this article helps you! I also want to highlight that this is just my personal experience and thoughts, it might be not relevant for different courses; many of my Chevening friends pursue a course that I don’t know it exists 😀 (but that’s what I like about Chevening: they acknowledge that future leaders can contribute in any field). Lastly, write the essay with all your heart, write what you feel right and true. Good luck, keep fighting and believe in yourself!

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Published by laurensiairma

ESTJ; my stories are on my own perspective. View all posts by laurensiairma

61 thoughts on “Writing Chevening Essay: Breakdown Those 4 Questions”

[…] breakdown of each question is posted here. However, there are some important points I want to point out when you work for Chevening […]

Thank you! That’s really inspiring!

what a magnificent breakdown kak, terima kasih 🙂 *udah pinter cantik pula idamaannnnn huaa

Haha thank you! Goodluck!!

Thank you so much! My leadership essay exceeds the word count of 500, will the reading committee consider my application? this is my biggest concern, please leave me a reply if you know about the issue.

HI Mohammad, I think it will be best to stay at 500. Panellists read thousands of essays, they probably do skimming reading and you don’t want to leave them uninterested if your story is too long. It’s our challenge to make our essay is engaging and effective within 500 words. It’s hard indeed, but just be direct and straight to the answers asked in the questions. Hope it helps.

Thanks a lot for your all your tips! I’m glad I bumped into your blog. I have a tiny question related to essays 3 and 4: when I write about the efforts of the UK being made in my country, do I need to cite/quote the, let’s say, the FCDO and put their reference somewhere? I’m wondering since I think the link itself would take away many words out of my 500 word count. Or is there a specific format I should stick to? Thanks once again!!

Hi Mitch. When I cited the source, I just write “according to xxx research in 2015 (for example)..” and then put the whole link in the footnote. Actually there’s no specific format about citing (As this is not academic essay) and I guess this format worked well. Hope it helps!

Amazing guidance, many thanks for sharing this with us confused youths. I am working for an educational Facebook page in Vietnam (which works to aid scholarship applicants in their process and is currently having over 41 000 followers). May I translate this entry into Vietnamese and share it on my page? I will credit you with this link and send you the draft before publishing Thank you in advance,

Hi Anne, thanks for reaching me out. Yes, sure you can 🙂 Please head to my Instagram @laurensiaimce and dm me. Thank youu!

Thank you so much for such an amazing and detailed information.

Dear Linos, Thanks for the kind word!

Thank you. Your insights shed bright lights on what panel really look for and what they expect. It is my first year applying for Chevening. The process itself offers so much excitement. I am a language teacher and want to develop myself as leader and influencer in education. Could I contact you directly to get help for my essays? thank you.

Hi Bekzod, yes you can head to my Instagram and leave me a dm. Thank you!

Thank you for this! Its a wonderful detailed and helpful article!

Thank youuuu!

Thank you so much Lauren, your posts has been really helpful. Please do you know if Chevening also supports for non partner universities

Hi Isaiah, they support non-partners too. If Im not mistaken, what makes different between partner and non-partner is the scholarship ratio between chevening and the sponsors (partner). For awardee, there wont be any impact.

priceless informaion!!!

Thank you 🙂

Thank you for this article Lauren, please can I send you a mail

Hello ! I am a student applying for Chevening . This is my first time. I have no IG or FB. May i have your mail ID? I request you to proofread my essays and offer feedback. Many thanks, M

Hi, please contact me via linkedin: Laurensia Irma Saraswati. Thank youu!

A very thoughtful article! I am also applying for Chevening scholarship this year. This article gives me a lot of insights into my essay

May I ask you to proofread my essays kak? Thanks a lot!

Regards, FM

Hi Faisal, thank you so much for reading my blog! I’m currently unavailable for proof read, so sorry! Good luck for your application!

Hi Abdibasid, thank you for reading my blog too! Good luck for your application!

Hi Laurensia, thanks for sharing this insightful article. Just curious in your opinion, is it better to write all three courses or can I just focus to one course only?

Hi Dee, so sorry for late reply. I wrote all three courses but I explained the first choice slightly more than other two. It’s because I really like my first choice and highlight what I need to study there. Hope this helps.

Hello Laurensia, I am beyond grateful to you for this detailed article!. I tried to reach out to you on LinkedIn but it seems that it’s not possible to contact you via instant messaging. I hope you get to see my request.

Hi Assia, yeah we connected through Linkedin right? 🙂

This is a beautiful guide, if followed carefully with a mother luck, one can get the scholarship I believe. Thanks a bunch

Hi James, thank you so much for reading my blog. Good luck!!

Wow ! Just perfect post. One of the best posts I have ever read about Chevening. Heartfelt thanks ♡♡

Hi Marwa, thank youuuu!!

Thank you so much for this, your guidance was invaluable!

Dear Akeyo, thank youuu so much for the kind words. Good luck on your application!

Dear Laurensia, This is the most flexible article i have ever read for Chevening application. I have a question regarding experience as i have more than 6 years of experience which is totaling 11,000 hours (35 hours / week). The minimum requirement is 2,800 hours but i want to know is there any upper limit. if i show the full 11,000 into my application. Would it impact or not? Waiting for your reply. Thanks

Hi Sagheer,

Thanks for reading my blog! As far as I know there is an upper limit, but I forgot what the number is. Btw, if the system already recorded that you have min. 2000 hrs of working experience, you’ll be okay!

Thank you Laurensia for your reply. Yes i checked Chevening website they said a range of minimum 35 to maximum 60 hours per week. So what i understand is that i can add maximum employers as far as the time spend per week at each employer does not exceed 60 hours per week.

Halo, Kak Lauren! What an inspiring article :)) Kak Lauren, would you please be my mentee for Chevening 🙂 I do really need someone to review my essay. Hopefully you can be my mentee. Thankyou in advance :))

Hi Ratri, Apologies for late reply. I’m soo sorry I’m currently unavailable for becoming a mentor neither proofread assistance 😦 Good luck in your application!

HeyLaurensia, Loved the the detailed article. I used the contents in your blog to edit my essays. Thank you so much.

Hi Maryam, thanks for your kind word! Good luck for your application!

Dear Laurensia, I am so excited to read your blog which has a completed information for potential applicants. I have question that i have worked more than 11,000 hours and if i want to show them in full does it have a negative impact on my application? Is there any Upper limit for working hours?

Thanks the insights

hello Laurensia, Thank you for this help! I want to ask if it’s okay to write UK in essay or we have to in full (united kingdom)? another qn is that, is there a problem when one chooses one course at all three universities or we have to choose three courses as well?

That was very usefull I think if this essey included some bullet piont can be more ataractive. Tank you .

Halo kak,… Ketika kita copas essay ke sistem chevening,sebaiknya antar paragraf diberi spasi (di-enter) atau tidak ya? Apakah hal ini mempengaruhi? Terima kasih

Apologise for very late reply. Aku dikasih paragraf dulu, supaya bacanya enak. Jujur gak tau mempengaruhi atau nggaknya, cuma at least buat akunya sendiri, aku jadi bisa baca lebih jelas. Hope this helps!

Hi Laurensia, thank you for such great tips on writing the chevening essay. I have been applying for chevening scholarship for the past 3 years and I am not shortlisted for interviews. I was wondering if you would be able to give me points on my essays? It would be great help for me. Thank you!

great explanation, really help me to start my essay! i’ll just bookmarked this, then

Thank you! Goodluck!

Hello, I am really glad i came across your blog. My questions are, I was given admission in only one University and that is the course i really wanted, can i just focus on that one course? I also want to know, what to know the most challenging stage for you. How long can the process of writing the essay take? Do i need someone to guide and coach me physically?

Hi Simon, thanks for reading my blog. I think, based on Chevening requirement, we still need to provide 3 courses. Perhaps you want to include similar courses in 3 different campus? Because as far as I know, if applicants can’t obtain the unconditional acceptance letter from the first choice, then they can submit LOA from the second choice.

The most challenging stage while writing essay was connecting the dots. I had several leadership & networking experiences, but struggled to showcase which one to put in the essay(since I only have 500 words). I know what to study, but difficult how to link it with future career and past experiences. I got helped by a friend and together we dig down what should be included in the essay, what is not. The process itself was more like a journey to know more of what I’m good at and my aspiration is.

For guide and coach, it depends on you. If you think you really know what your passion is and have clear aspiration, then maybe no need. Sometimes coach/mentor helps to connect your dots, it is you who should discover the dot itself.

Hope it helps, good luck!

thanks a lot forthis great article Laurencia, I wanted to know how we can get the university admission ? in the website part where you can search the available courses , they don’t show them you have to write the name or the university or course ? thnks for your help

Hi Hamza, you can find the course & campus list here: https://www.chevening.org/scholarships/find-a-course/ the list has a direct link to the campus website.

thank you so much be blessed

Thank youu!

Hello Dear Laurencia,

I hope that you are doing well and that Eid passed in a good way for you and your family , how can I contact you please it’s urgent , thanks a lot I made comments in the past but you don’t respond

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Studying in a UK classroom

Studying at a UK university is a unique and enriching experience. Here’s a glimpse into what you can expect.

In this section

Independent learning  .

UK classrooms emphasise independent learning. You’ll often be assigned reading, research, and projects to complete on your own time. This approach encourages self-discipline and time management, as you’ll be responsible for a significant portion of your learning outside of scheduled classes.  

Critical thinking and discussion  

Critical thinking is at the heart of UK academic culture. In the classroom, you’ll be encouraged to question, debate, and critique ideas. Discussions are often lively, and offer a range of perspectives, requiring you to be open-minded and support your arguments with evidence and logical reasoning.  

Interactive lectures  

Lectures in UK universities are not just about passive listening. Professors often encourage questions and interaction during their lectures. Engaging with the material and participating in discussions can enhance your understanding and make the learning process more dynamic.  

Seminars and tutorials  

In addition to lectures, you may also participate in smaller seminars and tutorials. These sessions provide an opportunity for more in-depth discussion and personalised feedback. You might work on case studies, group projects, or detailed analyses of specific topics. This format helps you to engage more deeply with the subject matter and develop your ideas.  

Assessments and feedback  

Assessments in UK universities often include a mix of essays, presentations, and exams. Some exams will be ‘closed’ (meaning you cannot refer to notes and books), others will be ‘open’ (meaning you can refer to notes and books). Some courses have ‘continuous assessment’, meaning that instead of examinations at the end of the year, your progress is assessed and marked throughout the year.

The type of assessments will vary between courses and universities. But for all courses you’ll be expected to present well-researched and original work. Feedback from professors is usually detailed and constructive, aimed at helping you improve your skills and understanding.  

University course websites often provide a significant amount of detail on the structure, content and assessment of the programmes, so it is worth carefully checking your course website to find out how you will be assessed.  

Adjusting to UK classroom culture  

Adapting to the classroom culture in the UK might take some time, but there are plenty of resources available to help you adjust. Click on the expanding arrows to reveal the support available to you.

Many universities offer classes to help you develop the skills needed for independent study and critical analysis.

Your academic mentors can provide valuable advice on how to approach your coursework and succeed in the UK educational system. Many lecturers and tutors offer ‘office hours’; a designated time during the week when they are available to see students. They will usually let you know when their ‘office hours’ are at the start of term. 

Get in touch with your student union or student support team to find out what help is available.  

As a Chevening Scholar, studying in a UK university classroom offers you a chance to develop critical thinking, engage in meaningful discussions, and take a significant step towards becoming a future leader in your home country. We can’t wait to see how you leverage the skills and knowledge you gain to contribute to the Chevening community and beyond.  

More study support

A chevening glossary of uk university terms, what will my schedule look like as a chevening scholar in the uk, thinking critically as a chevening scholar in the uk, approaching the reading list as a chevening scholar in the uk, a chevening guide to uk university seminars, a chevening guide to uk lectures.