Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Advanced Studies in Economics

Applications are now being accepted for the Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Advanced Studies in Economics.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) is pleased to announce that it is accepting applications for the Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Advanced Studies in Economics. This is a scholarship awarded by the International Monetary Fund to Japanese nationals currently pursuing or intending to pursue a PhD in Macroeconomics or a related subject at a leading university outside of Japan.

Award:
The scholarship covers all reasonable expenses for two years of graduate study in macroeconomics or a related subject, including one round trip airfare, full university tuition and fees, medical insurance, books and living expenses. The scholarship has an internship component at the IMF during the summer after the third year of studies.

Procedure for Applying:
Students generally apply for the Japan-IMF Scholarship either the year before beginning their graduate studies in economics or in their first year of graduate school.

Please see the Program brochure for further information and application form: JISP brochure English pdf.

For more information and to download an application, please go to this page.

The application deadline is December 31, 2008.

Please contact japanimfscholarship[ at ]iie.org with any questions.

How to prepare for scholarship interview

The interview is the last phase in the scholarship process and means you have been selected as one of the finalists. For the first time, you have an excellent chance at actually receiving the scholarship you spent so much time and energy applying for. The interview gives you the opportunity to let the selection board meet you and to evaluate your skills, poise and maturity in person. Presenting yourself well during this final phase will mean the difference between being awarded the scholarship and having it awarded to another applicant.

Begin Preparations
You can begin your interview preparation by writing down general questions you think may be asked. These are questions you have probably heard before but never really took the time to formally answer; What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your goals in life? What type of education do you want to pursue? What achievements have you been recognized for or been awarded in the past? Who has influenced you the most? All of these questions may seem easy to answer, but when faced with a judging panel in an interview, you need to provide coherent, mature and full answers to the questions. Writing down your responses to questions such as these is a good start.

Practice Makes Perfect
Next, prepare yourself by having someone practice with you. While you may be a good writer and have formulated excellent responses to these questions, that will not help you when faced with an interviewer and a question you are unsure of how to respond to. Don’t forget while preparing that the judging panel will most likely ask you questions relating to the organization sponsoring the scholarship. They want to know that you recognize who is providing the funds and the goals and mission of the organization. When practicing with a friend, have him or her ask you questions not only relating to the more personal questions concerning you, but also about the sponsoring organization.

Are You Ready?
Be both mentally and physically prepared for your interview. Get a good night’s sleep the night before. Eat a healthy breakfast. Make sure you have your interview clothes ready. If they need to be ironed or dry cleaned, do it the day before so you are not rushing the next day. Leave plenty of time to reach the interview site and find the building or room the interview will take place in. Relax and focus on the preparations you have made, remembering the questions and responses you have practiced and delivering your answers in a calm, articulate manner.

What if I Draw a Blank?
Even with all your preparations and practice, you may be asked a question you are completely unprepared for or draw an immediate blank as a response. Do not panic. The interviewer is looking for a well thought out response within a reasonable amount of time. Analyze the question quickly, and deliver a simple, straight forward answer. You have prepared yourself with knowledge about the organization sponsoring the scholarship and you are well aware of your own personal strengths and weaknesses. Use all this information to your advantage. Confidence is key. Remember that the selection committee has already determined you are a worthy candidate and have shown good reason why the scholarship should be awarded to you. A relaxed and confident, though simple, response to a question you are unprepared for is always better than a hurried, jumbled, and confusing answer that leaves you uncomfortable and the judging panel puzzled.

Remember to take your time and relax. You are only one step away from being awarded with the scholarship! Your patience and perseverance can and will pay off.

Start your scholarship search now !

Your high school career is almost over. You’re ready for the next big step. College. While making preparations for college you begin to think about the high costs of education. With many schools costing over $30,000 per year, like in the states, it’s good to start planning early for these costs. Scholarships provide students who have excelled in certain areas of their high school career with money to help cover the expenses of attending higher education institutions. The scholarship search itself can be a stressful, time consuming process, but with a few hints and some helpful advice, it can be a little easier and more enjoyable.

Start Early
One of the hardest parts of scholarship searching is not leaving yourself enough time to explore your options. Some scholarship deadlines are very early, at the beginning of senior year in some cases. If possible, have all your scholarship research done early so you can focus on other important tasks during senior year, such as coursework and college applications.

Make a Profile
There are literally thousands of scholarships out there. You don’t want to waste time applying for scholarships if you don’t meet the minimum criteria. Make a profile for yourself so you can quickly look through scholarships and match the qualifications with your profile to see if you meet the requirements. Write down your grade point average, standardized test scores, activities, sports, ethnicity, gender, religious background, financial need and any other attributes or qualities you may have which a scholarship committee will be looking for.

Narrow Down the Choices
With so many scholarships available, and so many students applying, the applicant pool can number in the hundreds and even thousands for some scholarships. Start with scholarships you have a better chance of winning, such as scholarships open only to students at the high school you attend or college you plan on attending, scholarships sponsored by local businesses or clubs open only to residents of your community and scholarships open only to a specific gender or ethnicity. Your chances increase significantly if you fall into one of these categories because the applicant pool is automatically narrowed down by the refined criteria.

Use Your Resources
There is a vast quantity of resources available to you. Make use of them. Check with your high school guidance counselor for scholarship applications available only to your school’s students. If you know the college you want to attend, visit the financial aid office and see what is available. Take a trip to your local library, as many keep scholarship applications from nearby companies and businesses. Ask your parents to check with their employers to see if the company offers scholarships to employee’s children.

Internet Searching
The internet is a great tool for scholarship searching, but the variety and sheer amount of scholarships available can be tough to get through and more than a little stressful. Try out a scholarship search website that allows you to fill out a profile and then matches you with available scholarships. Because of the easy access most students have to the internet, be careful of the scholarships you apply for, as these will tend to have a very high applicant pool. Don’t waste your time applying to scholarships you think you have little or no chance of winning. Don’t apply for scholarships whose criteria you do not meet. Try and narrow down the ones available for you and shoot for the scholarships you seem most qualified for.

Be Thorough
Yes, it’s a lot of work. You’ll go through a lot of paper and it will involve a lot of writing and typing. Bu for the thousands of dollars you stand to save by winning a scholarship, the rewards really outweigh the stress and workload. Have patience, take your time, and good luck!

Using Internet to find scholarships

The internet, if used appropriately, can be your best friend in your search for scholarships. There is no easier way to find the plethora of scholarships available to incoming and current students. The trick, however, to avoid wasting valuable time sifting through zillions of scholarship sites is to search effectively. Below, we will look at how best to do that.

The first thing you need to do is to take a good look at yourself. While many scholarships are academic or athletic-based, you do not have to be a genius or the next Michael Jordan to get a scholarship. I suggest taking a piece of paper and making two columns. In one column write down personal data about yourself, such as your gender, age, ethnicity, parents’ marital status, number of dependents you have (if any), and number of siblings. In the other column write down things you excel at, such as music, math, writing, volunteering, activism, etc. Do not censor yourself in this inventory. Simply write down what you feel you are good at.

Next, go to the internet. Make sure to use a reliable search engine, such as Google™, Yahoo™, or DogPile™. Using the search field, type in an attribute from the list you have compiled and the words “college scholarship”. For instance, if you are a woman, type in “college scholarships for women” and see what is returned by the search engine. Often, using only one attribute in your search will bring back too many hits and some won’t apply to you. To get around this problem, I suggest typing in one or more items from each column of your above list. Doing this will help you find scholarships specific to you.

After you have found a scholarship that looks like a match for you, READ THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS CAREFULLY. Remember, the number one reason applicants don’t get the scholarships they apply for is because they don’t meet all of the eligibility requirements. Don’t waste your time by applying for a scholarship you won’t get. Using your list as outlined above will help you narrow down your search to a reasonable amount of hits, but you still have to READ the requirements.

After you have made sure you are eligible, start applying. You can apply for many scholarships online, although some require you to print out the application and mail it in. Make sure you take your time and spell-check your responses. Nothing turns off a scholarship committee faster than bad grammar and type-os. My suggestion: type all your responses in Word and then cut and paste them into the application.

After you have submitted your scholarship application, send a follow-up email two weeks later to check that your application has been reviewed. Do not be demanding, but do be proactive.

Happy Searching!!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Wishing all of you happiness on Thanksgiving and always.....

To be good candidate....

Being competitive for a scholarship competition generally requires the same type of preparation asked of strong graduate school and job applicants. As a result, if you are laying a strong foundation for the career you intend to pursue, you will likely be a good candidate for scholarships in your field.

Start early! Many scholarships have application periods several months in advance of the actual award, and require extra preparation. Check out those lines below for further information on how to be a good scholarship candidate and maximize your chances of winning.

How to be a good candidate for scholarships?

Strive for excellence in challenging classes. Go beyond getting good grades.

Get to know people, especially professors, advisors, administrators, employers. These relationships provide opportunities for career and scholarship networking, mentoring relationships, and potential references for the future.

Get work, internship and volunteer experience in your field or in other fields of interest to you.

Expand your knowledge of the world, people, places and events in any way you can- by reading, traveling, or participating in intercultural events, etc.

Get involved in interesting extra-curricular activities that are meaningful to you.

Seek out leadership positions within groups/activities that are important to you.

Keep up on the news, and read a variety of opinions. Learn to defend your views and and admit the strengths in others’ arguments.

Good luck!

Winning the Scholarship Award

Searching for and finding scholarships is only the first half of the process. You still need to apply for each scholarship you are trying to win. Applying for scholarships can be time consuming and takes dedication and motivation. But the thousands of dollars you could receive makes the effort worthwhile. Below are some hints to help you apply for and win scholarships.

Be proactive. No one is going to track you down to give you a scholarship; you need to do the legwork yourself. So when you find awards with eligibility criteria that you can meet, contact the provider and request a scholarship application packet. Whether you have to request the application via email, phone or by sending in a self-addressed stamped envelope, do it. There’s just no other way to get the ball rolling than to be proactive and assertive in requesting information for yourself.

Be timely. Almost all scholarship providers set deadlines, and you MUST adhere to them. Make sure you have all materials submitted before the deadline. If the scholarship deadline is approaching and you have not yet even received the application packet that you requested four weeks earlier, follow-up with the provider and request the application packet again. You do not want to miss a deadline, as most scholarship providers do not consider late applicants.

Be organized. Good organizational skills can really pay off - literally! Keep your applications ordered by deadline date and give yourself plenty of time to complete them and send them in well before the due date. Keep letters of recommendation and transcripts on hand so you don’t have to obtain new ones every time they are required for an application. Make copies of your completed applications before sending them in, and file them in folders labeled with the deadline date and the mailing address and phone number of the scholarship provider. Call before the deadline to see if your scholarship application was received. If it got lost in the mail, (the postal service is not perfect!) you still have an extra copy you can send in.

Be persistent. The scholarship search process doesn’t just happen overnight. You must be diligent about looking for new scholarships to apply for. Plan to spend several hours each month reviewing the scholarship programs with deadlines approaching, preparing application packets, and getting the applications in the mail on time. And then the cycle should begin again - finding scholarships, sending away for application information, and applying in an organized, timely manner.

Be positive. Finally, believe in yourself and in your chances of winning a scholarship. Hard work and time spent on the scholarship process will pay off eventually. Keep your chin up and think about how great the reward will be if you can land even one of the scholarships you’re trying for! After all, your education depends on it!

A Strategy for Taking Tests

The DETER Strategy for Taking Tests

To do well on a test, you must have good knowledge of the information that is being tested. But you must also have a strategy for taking the test that allows you to show whatyou know. The DETER strategy can help you do your best on any test. Each letter in DETER reminds you what to do.

D = Directions
Read the test directions very carefully.
Ask your teacher to explain anything about the test directions you do not understand.
Only by following the directions can you achieve a good score on the test.
If you do not follow the directions, you will not be able to demonstrate what you know.
E = Examine
Examine the entire test to see how much you have to do.
Only by knowing the entire task can you break it down into parts that become manageable for you.
T = Time
Once you have examined the entire test, decide how much time you will spend on each item.
If there are different points for items, plan to spend the most time on the items that count for the most points.
Planning your time is especially important for essay tests where you must avoid spending so much time on one item that you have little time left for other test items.
E = Easiest
The second E in DETER reminds you to answer the items you find easiest first.
If you get stuck on a difficult item that comes up early in the test, you may not get to answer items that test things you know.
R = Review
If you have planned your time correctly, you will have time to review your answers and make them as complete andaccurate as possible.
Also make sure to review the test directions to be certain you have answered all items required.
Using the DETER strategy will help you do better on tests and get better grades.
Source of article: www.how-to-study.com

Ten Tips for Winning Scholarship Applications

Before you submit your scholarship application, check out these tips, provided by scholarship sponsors nationwide.

Tip #1: Apply only if you are eligible. Read all the scholarship requirements and directions carefully to makesure you're eligible before you send in your application.

Tip #2: Complete the application in full. If a question doesn't apply, note that on the application. Don't justleave a blank. Supply all additional supporting material, such astranscripts, letters of recommendation and essays.

Tip #3: Follow directions. Provide everything that's required, but don't supply things that aren't requested—you could be disqualified.

Tip #4: Neatness counts. Always type your application, or ifyou must print, do so neatly and legibly. Make a couple of photocopiesof all the forms before you fill them out. Use the copies as workingdrafts as you develop your application packet.

Tip #5: Write an essay that makes a strong impression. The key to writing a strong essay is to be personal and specific.Include concrete details to make your experience come alive: the who,what, where, and when of your topic. The simplest experience can bemonumental if you present honestly how you were affected.

Tip #6: Watch all deadlines. To help keep yourself on track,impose your own deadline that is at least two weeks prior to theofficial deadline. Use the buffer time to make sure everything is readyon time. Don't rely on extensions—very few scholarship providers allowthem at all.

Tip #7: Make sure your application gets where it needs to go. Put your name (and Social Security number, if applicable) on all pagesof the application. Pieces of your application may get lost unless theyare clearly identified.

Tip #8: Keep a back-up file in case anything goes wrong. Beforesending the application, make a copy of the entire packet. If yourapplication goes astray, you'll be able to reproduce it quickly.

Tip #9: Give it a final "once-over."Proofread the entireapplication carefully. Be on the lookout for misspelled words orgrammatical errors. Ask a friend, teacher or parent to proofread it aswell.

Tip #10: Ask for help if you need it. If you have problems with the application, don't hesitate to call the funding organization.