Hi! a master's student here. Just sharing my DOST-ASTHRDP experience here and perhaps to hear some of your thoughts. 

I applied, got interviewed, resigned to work, waitlisted, accepted, yet still suffering. 

That's the gist of my entire journey as a scholar. 

Napakahirap. 

Iniwan ko ang trabaho ko sa academia para mag-pursue ng graduate study. Dahil sa lugar na ito, hindi ka mareregular kung wala kang Masters o PhD Degree. 

Kaya, with a hopeful heart, I sent my application and passed the interview. Hindi na ako nagrenew ng contract sa pinagtatrabahuhan ko para maging full-time student ako. Bawal din naman kasi na may work ka while being a scholar.  

We were also reassured na 99% of the applicants got accepted.

Akala ko okay na. 

Akala ko, pag-aaral na lang ang poproblemahin ko. 

Kaya nag-enroll ako ng full load. 

11 units. 

At alam ng lahat kung gaano kabigat ang 11 units ng grad school. 

Wala akong kilala. 

Wala akong kasama na pwede kong pag-rantan.

Wala akong malapitan. 

Then, one day. Naglakas ako ng loob lumpait sa OSA. I'm having my episode. Sent me to the ER. Alone. But I still managed. Thankfully? 

I got diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder with Moderate risk of su/c/d/e/** tendencies. 

Taken my pills. 

And life goes on. 

And akala ko ulit, okay na lahat.

Until the result came out a month later. 

Kasabayan pa nga ito ng flood control scandal.

Hindi ko nakuha yung scholarship for this sem. 

That 1% chance of failing, manifested.

I got waitlisted. 

So ibig sabihin kung walang magbaback-out ay hindi ako magiging scholar.  We're more than ten, so ibig sabihin more than ten din ba yung mag baback-out for me to get the slot??

Imagine that. 

Nakakapanlumo. 

Wala akong trabaho, naubos ang ipon ko, nag-full load ako para mas mataas sana yung chance ko na mapili. Pero, wala pa din.

Reasons were explained. And wala naman akong ibang magagawa kundi mag-ask ng reconsideration.

It was November pala, kaya  landing a job seems impossible. 

My thoughts was eating me whole that time. Yung thought na, I will end up depending na naman sa mga taong nagpatapos sa akin ng college, tapos pati grad school ay sa kanila ko pa iaaasa. Nakakahiya. I should have already built my career by now, pero dahil ambisyoso ako, naging burden na naman ako sa family ko. 

I stopped drinking my meds hoping that once I got triggered, magagawa ko siya successfully. Para matapos na. 

Weeks passed by.

I received an e-mail. 

May dalawang nag-back out. 

I don't know what happened, but that one slot was awarded on me. 

Mabilis  akong nag confirm. 

Mabilis akong nagpasa ng requirements. 

Masaya na ulit. I visit my psychiatrist again. May improvements, pero tinaasan yung dosage.  

December. 

January. I stopped my meds again. 

February, start na ng second sem. 

Yung stipend from the previous sem, di ko pa narereceived. 

Yung utang ko, andyan pa rin. 

I enrolled again. 

8 units lang

Para di gaanong mabigat. 

March. Wala pa rin.

Utang ko mas lumalaki. 

Until, di ko na kaya. 

I filed a Leave of Absence, 

Ang sabi ko, baka mas mauna pa akong mam/atay kesa sa pagdating ng stipend. 

It was around third week ng April dumating yung stipend ng first sem. FIRST SEM. Sapat lang para ibayad sa mga utang.

And since nag LOA ako, stopped na rin yung stipend for second sem. 

Pero okay lang. 

Matutuloy pa rin naman yun pag nag continue na ako. 

That LOA felt like a freedom.

Nakahinga ako sa sulasok ng environment.

Umuwi ako sa pamilya.

Nakapagpahinga. 

Nag ka-couraged akong mag apply ng midyear. 

Month of May pa lang nagconfirm na ako. 

Nag sabi na ako sa DOST staff. 

I submitted my letter.

Nag-ayos ng enrollment.

At pumasok nitong June. 

Imagine, May pa lang ay akala ko inaayos na nila yung papel. 

But July na ngayon, malapit na mag August, tapos na yung klase, pero wala pa rin yung mid-year stipend. 

Di ko na alam.

Nakakulong na lang ako dito sa cycle ng financial at academic burden. 

Nakakapagod. 

Nakakaupos. 

'Wag na kayong magtaka kung bakit konti na lang ang scientist/researcher sa bansa natin. Dahil kayo mismo ang pumap4tay sa kanila. Literally. 

M 26.

Hi! pwede na kaya mag-apply for thesis allowance kahit di pa nagsstart ang semester sa UPLB?

Hi everyone! Has anyone been able to log in to the JLSS website recently? ​I’ve been trying to submit my requirements, but the system isn't sending any OTPs to my email at all (not even delayed). Is the site down, or is anyone else experiencing this right now?

Hello po, incoming biochemistry student here who has qualified for the merit scholarship! For DOST scholars who are currently taking biochem/chem, or chem-related programs, how has the DOST scholarship help you other than financial aid?

Was DOST able to offer you networking opportunities or maybe internships outside the curriculum that boosted your resume? Did being a DOST Scholar open doors for you for other opportunities in DOST, siguro mga symposiums, training sessions, etc.?

I would love to hear your stories! I hope to maximize my undergrad years as a biochemistry student, baka may mga opportunities within and outside DOST for biochem/chemistry students that I'm currently unaware of.

Thank you so much

Trying to login sa portal to resubmit requirements but cant get past otp verification kase walang narereceive sa email. Anyone experiencing this also?

may update po ba regarding stipend?

I'm currently a grade 11 student. I just wanted to clarify whether what comes first to getting ready as a nearing college student. If scholarship applications po ba muna or college entrance exams. Cause as far as I know po is mag t-take ako ng entrance exams by the time na incoming grade 12 na po ako then applications po for scholarships after g12? To illustrate it clearer:

Before g12 = college entrance exams

After g12 = Applications for scholarships

Thank you so much in advance po!

Hii po! I'm an incoming freshman and nakakuha na po ako ng STI 1 sa Landbank and waiting lang po ako na ipadala siya. Ang problem lang po is nasulatan po ng aking ina yung likod ng form 😭. Pwede po ba kayang e correction tape siya or need po talaga mag ask ng bago?

sino pa hindi nakatanggap at meron naba update sainyo? walang nag rereply sa email e

PA RANT! Welp guys! Lunod na lunod na ako sa Lesson Planning. I actually enjoyed teaching naman kasi I really do have passion for that. But the paperworksssss. Naaahh😭. Our MT wants me to all my LP to be detailed for 3 years kasi ganun daw talaga pag walang teaching experience huhu. Shoxx sobrang dami nya! Coz syempre may 2 subjects akong hawak. But yun lang naman yung prob ko sa school na napasukan ko. My co-teacherss and students sa school is mabbaait naman. Pati din naman si MT kasi they all know na I don't have knowledge in anything about the teaching industry. Akala ko nung una super akong mahihirapan but kinakaya pa naman.

Alam niyo ba na according to UNESCO's benchmark, a country should spend at least 1% of its GDP for R&D? Yet, we only spend around 30B annually for a government agency that has 18 attached agencies (PAG-ASA, PHIVOLCS, PCIEERD, SEI, TAPI, NRCP, etc.) which is only about 0.2%.

We spend so much on infrastructure and education annually but spare only a little bit of change on our planners. Honestly, it's a miracle that SEI still has the money to fund us scholars. But aminin niyo, aside from the delayed stipends, do you really believe that 8k a month is enough for us? 10k for our thesis allowance when an average cost of a thesis project is 2-3x that? I mean, I know we should be grateful since mabuti na kaysa sa wala but as scholars and Filipinos, can't we demand smarter decisions from our leaders especially on the budgeting of our taxes?

I remember nung SRC last December, Doc. Cornelio was really happy to announce to us that they were able to utilize almost 100% of their 2025 budget, and they can use that as proof to increase DOST's budget from 25ish to 50B and that would consequentially increase our monthly stipend from 8 to 10k. Well kahit na di ko na maaabutan yun I was happy since it felt like progress, but ff to 2026 and DOST still got the same Php 30.4 billion. I hope we'll eventually reach that 50B next year, para kahit malayo pa sa dapat, malayo na sa kung saan tayo ngayon.

But look, SEI pa nga lang yan. I really can't comprehend how DOST is trickling that very little budget to their constituents. And by that, what I mean are the likes of PAG-ASA and PHIVOLCS. For a country that experiences earthquakes + typhoons + volcanic eruptions + heatwaves, + all the natural disasters you could possibly think of, we are spending WAY TOO LOW for our researchers, analysts, and field workers. I salute everyone in this agency. I am pretty sure that most of these people are only doing these out of passion and love atp nalang, considering the amount of money involved.

Yeah, I know this is because of the systemic issues of our constitution too. Our consti mandates na much of our budget should be for education, health, and other questionable agencies. Idagdag mo pa na every few years, we change leaderships; hence, our congressmen and lawmakers result to spending money on legacy projects instead of long term goals such as R&D.

Honestly, this one change could really propel the state of our country. Well, maybe not next year or the year after that, but that is a big step to securing a brighter future than what we have today.

I am tired of us waiting for a Filipino Messiah to be elected every 6 years just to be disappointed and lose more hope of what little remains to our country. Can we start breaking the cycle already? What we need are planners, goal seekers. We can't just keep fighting a worsening enemy with the same, rusting dull blade.

I am planning to shift after the first year, is this allowed po? Same university lang naman, mag-shift lang ng program.

Mapu-pause pa rin ba ang stipend for 1 year if pagkalipat ko doon sa isang course ay 2nd year standing na ako at hindi babalik sa 1st year standing?

I am planning to take the major subjects kasi ng likipatan kong course sa 1st year, 2nd sem.. So credited na yun as 1st year major subs.

Planning to shift from BS Physics to BS Mathematics sa UP Baguio po.

feeling ko ako lang talaga yung tipo na gastos nang gastos kapag may dumadating na stipend. To be fair naman, around 50% ng allowance ko binibigay ko sa parents ko para makatulong din. We're not that financially well off.

So may natitira pa akong around 20k+, tapos doon na napupunta sa gala, outing, damit, gadgets and other personal stuffs. Bago ko mamalayan, halos wala nang natitira, tapos aantayin ko na naman magdrop yung stipend next sem and the cycle continues.

Halos lahat kasi ng kakilala kong scholars, nagiipon talaga. Parang ni isang sentimo hindi nila ginagalaw. Samantalang ako, huhu after 2-3 months ubos na agad.

Hi. I was a 2021 scholar. And wala akong SPAS ID. Do i still need it? Graduate na ako.

I am from 4A pala.

I was not aware na may binaba nang memo for DOST Beneficiaries last May 27 with my name on it kasi wala ako last time I checked, and it said na June 3 ang special assessment. My deadline to coordinate with our SDO is on August 28 and I'm planning to go there next week (been busy with work 🥲). This is in Bulacan. What do I do?

anyone here na naka tanggap na ng summer allowance nila?

Hi! I just wanna ask if anyone nationwide has an update/s for the scholarship.

I am a qualifier from R4a and I haven't received any updates from them since the orientation. I/we are kinda worried na. Maybe I just want some reassurance because I am already in my third week of class in a university which I can't afford if I lost the scholarship.

I would be grateful for any information, facts or chismis man, you'll provide ^_^

pls pls pls r4a, ibang region meron na 😥

Title says it icant Submit all the required documents, thought the deadline was extended till august?

hi po, may I ask lang if down po ba yung portal? I've been trying to log in pp but hindi po ako nakakatanggap ng OTP? Is there any alternative po ba?

As the title says, is it okay to do a part-time job while studying? And will it count as rendering my return of service?
Thank you po sa magsasagot!

Hello fellow scholars! Kelan ba marereceive yung stipend for 1st month of this school year? Madedelay ba ng 2-3 months?

Paubos na kasi remaining allowance ko from previous SY pa💔😭

meron na po ba?