Confession of A Failure

First Try, First Fail

A life is such a guessing game, unpredictable. When a systematical plan is being drafted, the fact refuses it. When the plan is not systematically being drafted, the fact serves other unexpected things. Those which are said as a life. We, who act as the survivors of life, should professionally consider what happen it will. As I am, a girl who are urging something happens as my wish and pray. Just a simple matter, makes hard space of my life becoming a melancholic plot. I dont know, it is over responding or not. But, I am percepting it as I did, got disappointed.

None would be blamed, none would be corrected. A failure comes to me as I imagined, despite not hoped. I have made my own story, yet I have to end it prudently. When my story started on hunting a scholarship, in that time I experienced the real life.

Trying to compete the destiny on GOOGLE, I gradually browsed some information of overseas scholarship. One and first, I fell in love on one of the offered scholarship. Eventhough, my first destination was in USA, my heart severed on other path. Three month before the due date of scholarship, April 2014, I stepped my first adventure.        

The scholarship which has a previous name Australian Development Scholarship (ADS), changed to Australian Awards Scholarship (AAS) around 2013. The AusAID’s scholarship offers some amazing of covered fees. They are :

• In-Indonesia Pre-Course English;

• In-Indonesia stipend;

• Medical examination and x-ray costs;

• A one-off establishment allowance on arrival;

• Full tuition fees;

• Contribution to living expenses;

• Introductory Academic Program;

• Overseas Student Health Cover for the duration of the Scholarship;

• Supplementary academic support;

• Reunion airfare; and

• Fieldwork allowance–for research and masters by coursework which has a research component where fieldwork is a compulsory component.

As amazing as the fee, I was amazedly extracted to participating it for the first time. Unfortunately, I never yielded the socialization from other ones, even my lecturer whose another persistent direction of applying scholarship. He pushed us on Fulbright Scholarship (the scholarship of USAID). It is reasonable, since he graduated from SIT Graduate Institute of World Learning, in Vermont, USA in 2006. Nevertheless, the neighbor’s field is greener. Australia has less demand of requirement, otherwise it offers huge expenses. That case is appropriate with the eagerness of scholarship hunters generally. And I am included one on that. Some detail of eligibility requirements are following :

1. Eligibility criteria

Australia Awards applicants must meet all eligibility requirements detailed in the Scholarships Policy Handbook. In addition to these basic eligibility requirements, candidates from Indonesia must also meet the following country specific conditions:

• be applying for courses that fall within the areas of development priority (see “Priority fields of Study” above);

• at the time of application, be not older than 42 years of age;

• have a Grade Point Average of at least 2.9 or 2.75 for applicants from the Australian Government Geographic Focus Areas and for applicants from the Targeted Category;

• for Masters applicants - have an English language proficiency of at least 5.0 in IELTS (or 500 in paper-based TOEFL or 61 in internet based TOEFL), and For PhD applicants - have an English language proficiency of at least 6.0 in IELTS (or 530 in paper-based TOEFL or 71 in internet based TOEFL).

• already hold an undergraduate degree, if applying for a Masters;

• already have a Masters, if applying for a Doctorate;

• if applying for a Doctorate, applicants will only be considered who are staff of universities, higher education institutions, research institutes, or else key policy makers and targeted candidates in other agencies associated with Australian Government activities;

• it is highly desirable for Doctorate applicants to have a letter of support from an Australian university for their proposed field of study.

2. Supporting documents

Applicants must submit with their application all of the relevant supporting documents listed in the Scholarships Policy Handbook. Photocopies of certified documents will not be accepted.

Applicants must also provide the following documents to meet the specific requirements for Indonesia:

• copies of birth certificate or equivalent;

• proof citizenship i.e. KTP or your passport personal information pages;

• current Curriculum Vitae;

• official (certified*) post-secondary and tertiary certificates/degrees;

• official (certified*) post-secondary and tertiary transcripts of results;

• current (original) IELTS or TOEFL English language test results (a test result obtained in 2013 or 2014 will be considered current). The TOEFL prediction test is NOT accepted;

• Masters applicants must also attach certified DIII degree certificate/transcript if using DIV or S1 extension certificate/transcript;

• Doctorate applicants must also attach certified S1 degree certificate/transcript;

• academic reference from S2 supervisor for Doctorate candidates; and

• Doctorate and those Masters applicants whose study will include at least fifty percent research must fill the research proposal details on the application form.

Those listed eligibilities are supposed as easier than other ones. Though it is just a notion, come along with the real fact here!

I convinced to my self, all the eligibilities were perceived being eligible for me. Thus, I  incredibly enthused completing the application form. Day by day was passed by, and form by form was filled. Checking is a good deliberation before sending. I did it carefully and continously. Hence, it’s time for being sure to go to Post Office. Shortly, November came, inwhich I had to rechieve the comedown of life. The words “Not Successful” was haunting me all the time. It was accepted with some query thought. What was missed thing in my application form? I recalled the point one by one. Though my TOEFL and GPA were eligible, I considered some failed points :

• I am a fresh graduate

• I am still green in job experiences

• My essay need to be furnished

• I still have little achievement

From the confession, I tried to create and complete those points by :

• Developing my human resource in academic

• Specifying the specific point on my further essay

• Increasing the achievements on authoring book, following essay contest, and participating the conference.

Next application is wished to attain through those efforts. If my inbox rechieve the words  “Not Successful” for twice, I will do the same thing more. Wish me luck then. 

(Written on Friday at 21:49, December 26, 2014)