Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

My dream to study abroad would never come to fruition without the financial assistance from Gilman scholarship. If you are just like me who've never studied abroad before and are looking for some study abroad fundings, I would highly recommend you to look further into this scholarship opportunity.

My Gilman award letter on April 22nd! Felt incredibly lucky and excited :)

The Gilman scholarship requires students to submit two essays: a statement of purpose essay and a follow-on service project essay. I believe the essay component is the most crucial part of the entire application so make sure you put your best effort in these two essays to successfully convince the judges of why you deserve Gilman. As I were fortunate enough to become one of the recipients of Gilman for summer 2015, here are some of my tips that I'd like to share to those of you who are planning to apply for this prestigious award:

• Make an appointment with the office of scholarship in your school. Your scholarship advisor needs to verify the information provided on your Gilman application after you submit it so make sure you keep in touch with your advisor throughout the process.
• Get started with your essays as early as you can. Bring your essays to different writing consultants at your school and your friends so they can give you helpful suggestions on how to improve them.
• Be "very" specific with your statement of purpose [What are your goals? (take classes, learn culture and language, etc.), how will Gilman help you achieve your long-term goals? etc.]
• Be specific with your follow-on service project essay. List out your plan to promote study abroad and Gilman in great details upon your return from the country. Make sure your projects are doable and able to reach out to a wide population (your campus, local high schools, etc.)

Here is Gilman website: http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program. The website contains all information that you need, including scholarship criteria, application deadline, essay samples, application process and so much more. 

If you have any questions specifically regarding Gilman scholarship, don't hesitate to leave your comments down below. I'll try my hardest to address your questions.

Apply now and good luck!