If you’ve already read UG Escapades I wouldn’t need to convince you about why I would even want to study elsewhere. I mean, the experiences were interesting but not the kind you’d expect during your first year in university. So while that experience was ongoing, I was preparing myself for something better. Amid housing crises and exploitative taxi drivers, the Zawadi Ghana foundation was my solace. Some young ladies and I who had gotten the opportunity to work with Zawadi had applied to several schools all over the world and we were hoping everything would work out well.
What they don’t tell you about scholarships is that regardless of your grades and how well you write your essays, rejections will still stare you in the face from several angles. A few weeks after application results started coming in, most of us had already lost hope. The emails always started with, “Dear applicant, we thought your application was brilliant, but we received so many brilliant applications this year…” and they went on and on about them not being able to admit you. Then some worsen it by saying “but you can transfer to our institution”. I always stare at the email like what are you talking about? If I could afford to be a transfer student, would I even apply for an early decision?
The good thing is, amid all the rejection some schools actually start their emails with congratulations. You’d see me smiling while reading these till I reach the part where they say oh, we can’t offer you a full ride scholarship. We can only give you a partial scholarship. Trust me, the amount you are supposed to pay aside the scholarship fee is always life threatening. If I could afford to pay partial fees for schools that charged in dollars, I’d be a millionaire in Ghana; I’m just saying. Who knew trying to get a full ride scholarship would be so disappointing? I had started losing hope as the year was fast coming to an end and it looked like there was absolutely no hope of getting a full ride scholarship.
In February, a friend from Zawadi texted me about the Türkiye burslari scholarships and suggested we apply. Mind you, we had been working on applications since August of last year and had been going through rejections and ‘unfortunatelies’ till February of the next year; a duration of 7 months. Both of us had very little hope of being accepted not only from experience of all those rejections but also because of how competitive the scholarship scheme is. What made it a worse off option to consider for me was, I was rejected the year before. I had applied when I was still in high school and as you guessed it, without a WASSCE certificate, I was rejected.
The deadline for the application was on the 20th of February at 11:59PM GMT. As at 12PM GMT on the 20th, none of us had even completed the application. I was leading a troupe of indecisive ladies who didn’t know whether submitting another application would be worth it or if it would just add to the pile of rejection emails.
We finally decided the regret from not trying would be worse than the pain of being rejected. On the same day, we had gathered the courage to complete and submit the entire application just a few hours before the deadline.
to be continued...
GLOSSARY:
Zawadi Ghana Foundation: an NGO focused on helping young Ghanaian ladies (especially ones with financial difficulties) with their application to tertiary institutions on full scholarships.
Türkiye burslari scholarships: the Turkish national scholarship scheme for international
students under the auspices of YTB (Yurtdışı Türkler ve Akraba Topluluklar Başkanlığı)
WASSCE Certificate: the West African equivalent of a diploma given after successful completion of high school in West Africa. Its full name is the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination.
PLAYLIST:
I'm getting ready - Tasha Cobbs and Nicki Minaj
Category: Türkiye Geçilmez
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