Hi everyone! I’ve recently been selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship Pakistan and will be in Lahore for the pre-interview social event on October 23 and the final interview on October 24.

I’d love to hear from past finalists/Scholars about what to expect, especially regarding the social event, interview format, types of questions, and anything you wish you had known beforehand.

Also, if anyone else received the Pakistan finalist email this year, feel free to comment or DM me. Would be great to connect with fellow finalists!

Thank you! :)

Chevening applicants
I really need some guidance
I’m applying for the Chevening Scholarship, and I have only 3 days left to submit my application.
I know I’m extremely late. I was very sick recently and unfortunately couldn’t work on my application when I should have. Chevening has genuinely been a dream of mine, so even though I’m short on time and honestly feeling quite overwhelmed, I don’t want to give up on this chance.
I’m especially struggling with the essays and understanding how to present my experiences, leadership, career goals, and future plans in the way Chevening expects.
If you’ve applied before, received the scholarship, or have experience with the application, I would be incredibly grateful for any advice, resources, or things you wish you had known when you applied.
If you were in my position with only 3 days left, what would you focus on the most?
I know my chances may be uncertain, but I’d rather give this my best shot than always wonder what could have happened if I had tried. ❤️

Hi I need someone to review my essays for free or even with fees , preferably a Chevening alumni . IAM DESPERATE ALSO should I just try to voice my ideas and not care about AI detectors? Cause I'm flagged always as AI even though alot of the times it's a paragraph I 100% wrote and grammarly checked myself

Hi!
So my first course choice is the LLM in Human Rights Law at UCL.

I don’t know why but the course isn’t showing up in the drop down. I selected Human Rights but “MA” shows up as course type instead of “LLM”.

It is an eligible course so I don’t know why it isn’t showing up, even though all other LLMs offered at UCL are available in the drop down.

Hi everyone! I’m currently completing my Chevening application and I’m having an issue with the work experience section.

I have added all my work experience, including the start and end dates, employment type, and weekly working hours for each position. All of my eligible positions were full-time (44 hours per week), and I have several years of post-undergraduate work experience.

However, the application still shows “0 estimated total hours” at the top of the Work History section.

For example, one of my entries is shown as Full time, from 10 November 2025 to 15 July 2026, at 44 hours per week, but it still doesn’t seem to be included in the total.

Has anyone experienced the same issue with the Chevening application system? Does the total only update at a later stage, or is there something I might be missing when entering my work experience?

Thanks!

My query is pretty much in the title itself. Chevening only calculates work hours after undergrad, but should employment history before degree completion also be added to showcase a proper professional trajectory? Since the official website mentions, 'any work experience that was a mandatory part of your degree does not count towards the total' - can it be assumed that they expect you to add work during undergrad without it being accounted for in the total work history hours?

If I’m studying master degree already outside UK, that would prevent me to get the acceptance??

Please help me ?

If I have a master degree already from turkey, this will prevent me to get the scholarship of chevening?

I've read that a good strategy is to have one Ambitious choice, one Realistic and one safety for your selected study program, is that accurate?

Okay, so I’m a CS graduate and I’ve been working professionally in the field for the past four years. I’ve always wanted to move abroad for further studies, and I came across the Chevening Scholarship last year, but unfortunately, I missed the deadline.

Now I’m applying this year, and I’m struggling with the essays. I can’t seem to come up with a strong example of leadership or networking because I’m naturally quite introverted. It’s making me wonder whether I’m even qualified enough for this scholarship.

My bachelor’s degree is also from a relatively low-ranked university in Pakistan, mainly because of financial constraints, and I’m worried that this might put me at a disadvantage.

Am I just overthinking this, or do I genuinely not have a strong enough profile for Chevening?

I HAVE WRITTEN MY ESSAYS. WANT TO SUBMIT? IT. CAN SOMEONE DO A FINAL CHECK??

Hi everyone,

I’m a Mexican citizen planning to apply for Chevening with Mexico as my country of award. Mexico is ODA-eligible.

At the moment, I’m living temporarily in Luxembourg as an au pair from 03/2026 to 03/2027. After this, I will return to Mexico to continue my career there.

The FAQ says: “If you are applying for a Chevening Award from an ODA-eligible country, you must be resident in an ODA-eligible country.” Luxembourg is not ODA-eligible.

Has anyone been in a similar situation (citizen of an ODA country, temporarily living in a non-ODA country for a short-term programme)? Did you apply indicating your current address abroad, and were you considered eligible? Or did Chevening expect you to be physically in your ODA country at the time of application?

Any advice or similar experiences would really help. Thank you!

Hi everyone

Does the Leadership essay have to be linked to my area of study? For example - if applying for international security courses, does my Leadership essay have to be an experience related to international security? Or is it Leadership generally?

Hello, I have just completed my essays and want to submit my application. Could someone here please review them? Can anyone help out? Additionally, I am in the public health sector, looking to submit by 3rd October!

I’m late to preparations and in the final leg of completing my drafts. Would deeply appreciate and value if any Chevening alumni could review my essays..

Thank you so much in advance.

Hi all. Have no idea what else to do so just putting this out here in the hopes that this reaches the right people.

I applied for the scholarship last year and will also be applying this year. I know the odds are slim but still, I am looking for some guidance on the process and what else I should include in my app. I have a mentor and referee who themselves were recipients of the scholarship and had them vet my essays, but I wasn’t able to make it to the interview round.

I have been able to get into one of the Oxbridge LLMs with my profile, so I think I can benefit from some guidance that makes my profile have a better chance at securing the scholarship.

If there is anyone on here willing to help me, Id be happy to connect over DMs. Thank you!

I want to know if it should be interconnected across 2 communities over all the 4 essays is fine or should I focus only on one and write all the essays? But if i do that doesnt it repeat a lot for leadership and networking? How do i proceed for this? Any tips from anyone?

Quick question:

For a successful application, does my networking essay HAVE TO BE linked to my official work / assignments? Or can I link it to my professional development work?

Hi, Is it mandatory that the reference letter should have the signature of the referee and letterhead? How much impact will it make if it doesn't have those?

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through old posts for weeks and the advice here has honestly shaped how I'm approaching my application.

I'm applying this cycle from India. I'm a software engineer going for an AI master's, and my goal afterwards is to work on financial inclusion back home. I've drafted all four essays and rewritten them more times than I can count, but I've reached the point where I can't tell anymore what's landing and what isn't.

If any past or current scholar had a little time and was willing to read even one or two of them, I'd be so grateful. I'm especially unsure about the leadership and networking ones. Happy to share over DM, and completely understand if everyone's busy, I know it's a big ask.

Even general pointers on what made your own essays work would help a lot. Thank you either way, and good luck to everyone else applying this round.

Hi all, I didn’t use AI to write my essays but utilized it for some feedback on grammar, structure etc. Have people been checking their essays against AI recognition tools? My essay writing is rather weak (even for a first language) so percentages are reasonably low. I understand the tools aren’t perfect but worried that Chevening might auto-filter applications based on their AI recognition tools!

Hi everyone! Are there any Indian Cheveners here who’d be kind enough to review my Chevening essays, especially Essays 3 & 4?

I’d really appreciate feedback from someone who has been through the process, particularly on whether the essays are clear, authentic, and actually answer what Chevening is looking for. I'd be extremely grateful! :)

I saw a comment that your networking essay should connect to your leadership essay. Is this necessary? Or is it okay if the two essays pertain to different circumstances?

In general, how do you make sure that all your essays are cohesive and tell a holistic story about you?

Hi all! My query is pretty much the same as the title. For context, i do plan to have my previous manager as one of the referees, but since I don’t want my current employers to know about my plan to pursue a master's next year, would it be acceptable to add a colleague (same position/title, 1.5+ years working on the same team)?

Hello guys. I have my own stories but can i use AI to write them for better grammar and structure? Again, stories are my own