You don’t need to receive a scholarship for it to change your life.

I’ve never been a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions. While the end of a year is a good time to reflect on our personal development, we perhaps give it too much importance. Resolutions can be taken at any time, and meaningful change can only happen incrementally. However, if I had to recommend a 2019 resolution to other students and young professionals based on what I learned in 2018, I would go for this one: apply for as many things as you can. 

Scholarships, fellowships, grants, jobs, you name it!

Last semester, as I began my final year of undergraduate studies at Concordia University, I applied for one of the world‘s most competitive scholarships, the Rhodes. Students who receive it not only have a stellar academic record and show high intellectual capabilities, but they also are dynamic and ambitious young leaders who strive to make the world a better place.

Applying for a scholarship as selective as the Rhodes is paradoxical: it takes a great deal of confidence in your abilities and your record to believe that you stand a chance to make the cut, but it also takes a lot of humility to trust you may be a fit for the purpose of the scholarship. I long stared at my resume sighing before committing to submit my application, pondering why the committee wouldn’t choose me. But I kept thinking about it and grew convinced I had nothing to lose. 

The worst-case scenario was that I didn’t get selected for an interview.

And it turned out I not only had nothing to lose, but I also had everything to win—even though it was the worst-case scenario that occurred. Of course, no one should feel sad not to have made the cut: the Rhodes Scholarship is extraordinarily competitive. And as with other such scholarships, it’s not so much about who you as other applicants. So while it is normal to feel disappointed in the face of rejection, disappointment needs to lit a fire, not extinguish the flame in you.

Indeed, I wasn’t selected for an interview. But it didn’t matter after all. I had gone through the whole application process, from which I learned invaluable lessons and discovered much about myself. Writing my personal statement, filling my application, and attending preparation activities taught me about academic and professional success. And it gave me the opportunity to meet six incredibly talented and devoted student leaders who attend my university, from whom I learned about other disciplines and how to be a good citizen of the world.

Before writing my personal statement, I discussed with people around the university about my application. It began with the Student Success Centre director, with whom I spoke on the phone when I first entertained applying for the Rhodes. Talking with her about my profile and my interest in the scholarship was pivotal. Not only did she ask me the right questions about my journey, leading me to fruitful reflections as to how to position myself, but she also pointed out my stronger and weaker areas. She provided useful feedback on my personal statement, contributing to the document I would proudly reread once done.

The personal statement for the Rhodes was without a doubt the hardest piece I have ever written—and I say this as a writer. This document, which can be as long as 1000 words, forced me to clarify my vision, to write it in a short, crisp manner. Through this exercise, I was able to develop the way I present my mission, my values, and what I believe I can contribute to the world. It helped me clarify where my strengths lay, what my priorities are, and how to convince people that what I believe in matters.

In the end, though it was unsuccessful, I learned a great deal about myself from my Rhodes Scholarship application.

* * *

Another thing I learned throughout the Rhodes application process is how my university I attend devotes itself to its students.

I feel incredibly fortunate about the level of support my university provided all applicants for the Rhodes Scholarship. While I do not know about other institutions, I can say that Concordia University was, in my sense, caring and generous. A few weeks before the applications were due, all applicants met with the university president for a preparation session. During that meeting, the president told us about how to prepare for a potential Rhodes interview, asked us questions about our profile, and gave insightful advice about how to succeed in the future.

Later during the semester, after we submitted our applications, the Student Success Centre offered all seven applicants a session with a professional public speaking coach. During the four-hour meeting, which took place on a Sunday afternoon, we learned about what makes for compelling interview answers and simulated a Rhodes interview panel. If I’m going to be honest, the latter part of the session was terrifying. An extrovert though I am, I found answering personal questions about my journey in front of several people I barely knew nerve-racking. But I grew exponentially out of it.

The interview simulation was akin to my overall application. Though I did not get the desired outcome, it’s one of the things from which I learned the most. When I answered the question, I failed to think long enough before and jumped into a long, convoluted answer—which I then found to be ineffective. But if I was unhappy with the way I performed during the interview simulation, I was glad that I discovered what my weaknesses in answering questions are. I now had something to improve.

More important than what I learned about myself, perhaps, was what I learned about the other applicants. There were six of them, all from different backgrounds—and all more impressive than one another. These people have all turned obstacles into opportunities and strive to make the world a better place. To go back to the paradox I mentioned earlier, it is common for applicants to suffer from imposter syndrome. Such is what we concluded during our meeting with the university president. We all felt intimidated by each other’s journey, thinking of ourselves inadequate.

But feelings of inadequacy are beyond the point when you apply for something as competitive as the Rhodes Scholarship. There is only the possibility of you being, or not being, the best fit for the scholarship’s purposes in an immense pool of applicants. Therefore, it’s not so much a competition as a presentation.

* * *

The news came via email at last. And as with all scholarship responses I’ve ever received in my inbox, I felt my throat tightening at the sight of the sender and the subject line. But the message didn’t stay unopened for long. In a matter of a second, I was reading the content, which kindly explained that they were not retaining my candidacy. While this email meant the end of a period when I hoped to be a Rhodes scholar, or at least to be interviewed, a brand new era of my life also began. Only a few days later, I was feeling more confident about the future than I ever had.

The reason I was more confident about the future is twofold. I was empowered by an experience which taught me the value of believing in yourself and trying your best, regardless of your odds of success. Plus, while the journey had ended for me, it was only the beginning for other. I am unsure how many applicants from my university were invited for an interview; however, I know that at least one, with whom I stayed in touch, got to sit down with the Rhodes Trust. I knew so many of my university’s applicants had what’s needed to become a Rhodes scholar, and I knew only two in the entire province could be chosen.

Then came from local media who received the Rhodes Scholarship. When I read the recipients’ profiles, it was evident that to me that they perfectly embody what a Rhodes Scholar should be. I felt encouraged that these are the people, inspiring as they are, who will get to attend Oxford University from fall 2019. And the reason I did not make the cut became even clearer to me. I don’t say this to diminish myself; I humbly recognize that the recipients fit the Rhodes scholarship’s purpose better than I do.

I look forward to seeing where they are in several years after they have attended Oxford.

* * *

In conclusion, I could not recommend enough someone to apply for a competitive scholarship, whether it be the Rhodes or another one. Of course, one should be realistic: these scholarships have requirements which you have to meet to stand a chance. However, I know many competitive candidates don’t apply because they think they are inadequate. This is not only wrong because you can’t say that for sure unless you apply, but it is wrong because the process of applying for a scholarship is a learning opportunity.

In my case, it was the preparation and the people I met that made the application process worthwhile. I think it is this kind of experience that leads one to realize how what some like to call “failure” is really just another word for “growth”. Because, in the end, I did not become a Rhodes scholar. Nor was I even interviewed by the committee. But because I decided to apply, I found rewards; the application changed my life for the better even in the worst-case scenario.

So, what do you have to lose?

In 2019, give yourself a chance to succeed by daring.