Accepted
Scholarships are seen as gateways to elite education and studying in your faraway dream destination, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries. It is truly a blessing to get a scholarship like the Indonesian LPDP, especially since tuition fees abroad for international students are very costly. Besides tuition fees, LPDP covers health insurance, research funds, and living and travel expenses. Nevertheless, applicants need to understand that it can come with strings attached. So, read the terms and conditions wisely. Scholarships like LPDP or the UK’s Chevening require recipients to return to their home country after graduation. If this is your intention, you have nothing to worry about.
However, suppose you wish to pursue a career abroad after graduation. In that case, think of options other than applying for those types of scholarships. LPDP and Chevening awardees are expected to return home because the government expects a return from the knowledge and experiences they have gained from studying abroad through contributions to the home country’s development. This means awardees may be prevented from working (in the UK) for 2 years after their Master’s and PhD programmes. International exposure and work experience play a significant role in career advancements abroad. Many global and multi-national companies prefer applicants with core skills that include language fluency, understanding distinctive business etiquette, and the ability to assimilate into diverse cultures. These are the opportunities that those scholarships might restrict you from.
I am not one to say that you will not acquire those skills if you move back to your home country immediately. But, you might miss the experience of the full exposure of leveraging global networks and other skills you get from working abroad. Another disadvantage is the uncertainty of competing for those scholarships. With many applicants fighting for only a few spots and a lengthy process, you may not get selected. Furthermore, relying on scholarships alone to study abroad might be a huge drawback because you could have used the lost time to pursue other educational avenues. On another note, you cannot apply to random universities; only the top universities are listed on LPDP and Chevening. As I have mentioned before, university tuition abroad can be costly, so I understand that scholarships are the only way for some applicants to study there. Fortunately, many universities offer scholarships for international students that won’t restrict your professional growth abroad; you just have to search them carefully. For example, most universities give out merit scholarships to applicants, an automatic deduction or discount for students with high GPAs from their previous schools. There might be other scholarship categories, but it depends on the universities. Some universities might offer more scholarships than others. Hence, looking at their official websites and checking their scholarships would be efficient before applying.