1. A little bit about me:
I’m Nia Katarina Binti Abd Razak currently doing A-Levels in Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Mantin under Bank Negara Malaysia Kijang Scholarship with the ambition of pursuing Economics in the United States/United Kingdom. Previously, I was in Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka for 5 whole years (a proud KYSER). July 2021 was the most groundbreaking stressful exciting month of my life where I literally shed blood sweat and tears (actually) sitting in front of my laptop as I was going through scholarship applications
In total, I applied to almost 12 scholarship bodies in Malaysia praying for a full sponsorship for my pre-uni, undergrad and fingers crossed, for a job in the future. Alhamdulillah, I secured 5 (BNM Kijang Scholarship, JPA JKPJ, Petronas (PESP), MARA YTP and Yayasan Peneraju) (to which I owe 100% to Allah) but I am here writing this with the sole intention to help you guys out there so you can grab the opportunity you deserve!
2. How to choose a scholarship?
1. Ask yourself what course would you like to pursue? What do you enjoy doing? What intrigues you? What are you good at? Or if you’re stuck and indecisive, take a course interest test (just google there are plenty!)
2. What sort of sponsorship are you looking for? (Full? Partial? Bond? No bond?) 3. Where do you intend to pursue your studies for undergrad? (local?/overseas?) 4. Keep a list of your answers from above^ and search for scholarship bodies’ (take note of the deadlines and requirements
(reliable sources: studymalaysia.com, counsellors, the company’s website eg: Petronas PESP)
* When applying, don’t hesitate, JUST APPLY TO ALL, consider later. I held onto this policy when choosing which scholarship to apply to because A. You may never know where you will end up in B. Don’t ever doubt yourself (feeling you’re not good enough to apply for xyz scholarship)- JUST DO IT.�
Of course, you have to look at some scholarship bodies that might have minimum grade requirements (eg: merit based scholarships that require 9A+ or more)
3. The process I went through when applying to the scholarship: (disclaimer: I will only include my process of applying to Bank Negara Malaysia Kijang Scholarship below, however, the tips and tricks mentioned can also be applicable to other scholarship bodies as well)
BNM KIJANG SCHOLARSHIP:
Overview: Full bonded scholarship for pre u, undergrad and a secured job placement in
Bank Negara Malaysia + 10-year bond (1 year study:2 years working) (flexibility in
choosing listed pre-u and undergrad university/country)
Courses available: Economics, Accounting, Finance, Actuarial Science, Mathematics,
Statistics, Data Science, Law and Computer Science
Countries offered for undergrad programmes: Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States and Australia!
Further information: https://www.bnm.gov.my/scholarships
The Application Process:
1. First Stage:
- Online form (Additional documents needed: parents income statement, student’s results, coco certificate, school testimonials, etc)
- Essay Writing; - Why should you be awarded the Bank Negara Malaysia scholarship? - What is your career aspiration and how would you contribute to the
Bank and nation by pursuing your chosen course of study? (500 words)
2. Second Stage:
Recorded video submission base, psychometric test, group assessment (given case study), individual assessment/interview
3. Third Stage: if you made it this far, CONGRATS YOU’RE A SCHOLAR! see, not too bad huh?ok let’s break it down
a. Online application form:
- Get all your documents prepped: (Parents’ income statements, SPM/IGCSE Results, Extra Co-Cu Certificate, resume/CV, scanned ICs, etc)
- Know how to filter out your achievements/leadership positions (include the highest and most recent ones)
- Be professional when filling up the form (no typos, if instruction says lowercase make sure to stay consistent with lowercase for all parts of the form *remember you are assessed firstly from this, make a good first impression)
- You are required to submit your essays here as well
- DOUBLE CHECK BEFORE SUBMITTING :)
b. Essay writing:
Topics given for 2021 candidates:
1. Why should you be awarded the Bank Negara Malaysia scholarship? 2. What is your career aspiration and how would you contribute to the Bank and nation by pursuing your chosen course of study? (500 words)
- It can be daunting and stressful to start just sit down and write whatever that is on top of your head as a draft in a separate document
- Go back at it every day to improve or add
- Find inspirations from your past experiences/your background/movies you watched/books you read
- Be as honest, don’t stress to much in using bombastic words be ORIGINAL - DO NOT PLAGIARISE!!
- Mind the word count
c. Recorded Video (after passing the first stage):
- 150 second video was expected to submit within a given deadline - 1 topic chosen given 3 options
- Choose carefully and be as creative as possible
- Tip: imagine being the assessor having to watch hundreds of applicants’ videos, what would make yours stand out?
- Be yourself, take the opportunity to show what you have!
- Remember to show not tell, sell yourself! (in a good way obviously �) - Editing of the video is according to your creativity and expertise (useful free apps I used: Vllo, iMovie)
- There are various ways for you to express yourself take this chance to WOW them
d. Psychometric Assessment:
- A normal psychometric test that you should not worry about� as it does not require any problem solving or critical skills
- It’s merely a test to see your soft skills and your work ethics
- This test is necessary as the Bank will be taking you as an employee after you have graduated
- They would want to employ people of various background, skills and characters! Don’t be afraid to be truthful when answering the test
e. Group Assessment/Group Interview:
- You will be given a Case Study emailed to you beforehand
- This will give you the idea of what the interview will be revolved around and an opportunity to do further research on given topic
- The case study I received was regarding Vaccination (most case studies/ interview questions I received revolved around current events)
- The first part of the interview was ice breaking (Very fun as we could change our virtual background to whatever that represented us – I went with Telletubbies!)
(the actual picture I used as my virtual background�)
*Given 40 mins group discussion, 5 mins each person to present and 20-30 mins QnA session
- The group interview was in the morning and then followed by individual interviews in the afternoon
- Remember the group assessment is assessing your soft skills (communication and how well you work in a team and under pressure)
- It was a group of 8 people so you can imagine how hectic it was especially having it online + having the assessors watching you while you discuss
- Make sure to keep yourself composed and respect the timing and the length of your answer as other people would want to give their opinions as well
- There will be people who might oppose your ideas and thoughts, be prepared and handle it professionally
- Be cooperative and engaging! (be a good leader and an active listener)
f. Individual Assessment:
- Not 1 to 1 but rather a 3 to 1 interview�
- Pretty scary but the whole process was very insightful and engaging. The interviewers were not scary but they kept it professional so the environment was a bit tense
- They asked questions like: “tell us about yourself”, “when did you incorporate your values in real life?”, “Why did you choose ‘your selected course’”, “Do you see yourself working in Bank Negara Malaysia?”, “What if you were offered a job in the World Bank upon completing your undergraduate programme, would you still come back to serve the Bank?”
- There were many follow up questions I received after answering each and every question asked which stretched my interview to almost 45 minutes
- Remember! There are reasons why every question was asked try to structure your answers well and give them matured answers
- It is fine if you stutter once in a while. Take a deep breath and collect yourself back together and carry on (treat the interview as a normal BUT formal conversation with other people- be natural)
General Tips:
Have some time to reflect on your own values and how you would want to incorporate it in your answers be it in your essays or interviews. Don’t know how to impress them? Try to imagine being one of the assessors, what would you want to see in a candidate, what might make you stand out than other candidates and why should they choose YOU over others. Proofread your essays and rewatch your recorded videos and see if there are any changes necessary. Ask help from parents, counsellors, siblings or seniors to proofread for you. Work on your teamwork and leadership skills (though virtual interviews might be challenging and awkward). Remember, portraying good leadership abilities is one, but being a cooperative team member is another to keep in mind. Regardless of the criticisms you may receive from the other members or the assessors themselves, be firm with your stand and have arguments supporting your stand.
Preparing for interviews, what helped me was brainstorming possible interview questions
(you may get this from seniors, online blogs, YouTube, TikTok even!) and trying to practice
saying your responses to those questions really helped. People might suggest you to practise it in front of the mirror but for me, it’s best if you record yourself on your laptop
and rewatch it. This will not only put you in practice for the actual thing (since it’s online, you will need to talk to your computer screen) but, by rewatching it, you can (cringe to yourself ) and pinpoint which areas you need to improve be it your speech or your content. Do this several times until the actual day! You could also try for mock interviews with your friends or siblings! This is great as you can get other people’s opinions on how to work on your flaws. But remember, the purpose of having interviews is for the assessors to get to know the REAL you so, don’t just be yourself but try to be the BEST VERSION of yourself
Don’t ever be shy to reach out to people, even it’s just a very distant mutual friend. Ask around, there are people who will be willing to help you. This was what helped me the most. I contacted seniors who successfully received the offer and they truly guided me through every step of the way. Trust me, you will not regret asking seniors for help as they have already gone through the stages so they can give you the Do’s and Don’ts from their own experiences.
Another thing to note is how you present yourself even though it is online, you are expected to dress formally (appropriate collared shirts, blazers, shawls, hair). Do your research on proper interview etiquettes and practice them. Imagine you’re going for an in person interview.
All in all, just be confident in yourself and most importantly, regardless whether you end up securing the scholarship or not, take it as a learning curve and don’t beat yourself too much if you think the interview did not go well. Getting a scholarship does not determine your worthy entirely and it is definitely not the end of the world if you did not manage to get your dream scholarship. At the end of the day, different people’s rezeki/luck comes at different times and places. Trust the process, trust God. All the best and have full faith in yourself!
*I have also applied the same strategies mentioned above when applying to Petronas PESP, MARA YTP, Yayasan Peneraju and JPA JKPJ. If you would like to know more on these scholarship bodies in details, I am more than honoured to share my journey with you :)
Just drop me a text or email me anytime
Instagram: @niakatarinaaa
Email: niakatarinaagmail.com
Remember, It’s a matter of hardwork, rezeki and berkat :)
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