How an Indonesian Scholar Secured the Global Korea Scholarship to Pursue a Bachelor’s at Kongju National University

Hi! My name is Destinalutfi Citra Rahmadani, and I am from Jakarta, Indonesia. Now I am pursuing my bachelor's degree in Kongju National University, majoring in Landscape Architecture with the Global Korea Scholarship from NIIED (National Institute for International Education). Before I got this scholarship, I studied at one of the universities in Indonesia, but in a different major, English Literature. Since I felt that this major did not fit me well, I decided to apply for this scholarship and choose a major which is there is no relation or related with my previous major.

Global Korea Scholarship Details

Scholarship name: Global Korea Scholarship

This scholarship will give you the opportunity to study at one of the universities in Korea. From this scholarship, you will get a free 1-year Korean language course, free tuition fee, monthly allowances, round-trip airfare, etc. I chose Kongju National University as my desired University to study my major.

Educational Background

I studied social science in my senior high school, but I felt that social science was not my type, so I changed my major to natural science, and I chose Landscape Architecture for my degree. My CGPA was 86.0 because I studied in Jakarta (the difficulty for every city is different, and Jakarta is one of the cities with the hardest grading scales)

How Did You Prepare to Apply to Kongju National University?

To strengthen my application, I joined some voluntary events that are related to Korea, and also took some online courses from Coursera that are related to my preferred major. For the language proficiency, I took IELTS for English and TOPIK I for Korean

Before I graduated from my senior high school, I got a free 3-month IELTS course and took the test after studying for almost 6 months. I also studied the Korean language for 1 year and took the TOPIK I test.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Global Korea Scholarship?

I failed this scholarship twice and finally got my scholarship after three applications. After I got the announcement that I failed, I just fixed my essays (personal statement and study plan) with some proofreading from my friends, and also took some courses and took the TOPIK I test.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I think my essay and my award certificates. After being rejected twice, I fixed my essay with more detail, and I showed them why I deserve to get this scholarship by submitting the certificates for more than 20 years as a record that I gained my knowledge by joining some online classes that were related to my major.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

I will rework my essays, I would ask my friends and teacher to review my application before submission, and if I had gaps, I’d spend time between applications building my experiences again to make myself a strong candidate.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

If you still have a chance or are still qualified for the scholarship, do not hesitate to try a lot of scholarships.