How to Become a Scholar in 5 Steps

The very utterance of the word ‘scholarship’ can prompt many a student to purr with delight. Who isn’t interested and intrigued by the possibility of gaining sponsorship for the expensive SPM after-life known as a university? Well then dreamer, today is your lucky day, as we give you the details on how you too can become in scholar in just 5 steps. Notice we chose to omit the word easy, because, it is anything but, requiring the pushing of your boundaries until you break through the ceiling you had previously set for yourself. Are you ready?

1. Study

The number one thing on this list is undoubtedly, the most obvious, most feared, and for the majority of you, most difficult to pull off: studying. There is no substitute for hard work, other than more hard work of course, and to become a scholar, you’ll need to put in the arduous hours on a consistent basis. Remember Bruce Lee’s famous words, “I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times”. So yes, to become a scholar, you’ll have to study until even Bruce Lee grows scared of your intellectual fortitude.

2. Strong Co-Curriculars

If you’re strengths are solely limited to the classroom, then it might be time to start working on your other skills, namely in sports, societies and uniform bodies. We’re not saying you have to have skills as silky as Neymar on the football field, nor do you have to become a King Scout, but what you do have to do is put in considerable effort in whatever extra co-curricular activities you choose. This will almost guarantee you a position/rank in these chosen groups, amounting to invaluable and oh so sweet bonus points that can give you the leverage over other potential candidates of the scholarly ilk.

3. Be Confident

Speaking of standing out from the sea of potential candidates, another crucial factor in becoming a scholar is being confident in yourself. Why, you ask? Well, ask any scholarship interview committee and they’d tell you that the number of academically excellent candidates is higher than you may assume. It all then boils down to the interview to separate the good from the great, where your disposition and mental make-up will be put under a high-powered microscope. So, don’t attempt to adopt a façade willy-nilly at the last second, it’s almost certain to crack like Humpty Dumpty. Instead, start working on talking to people and crowds, as well as speaking in public. Just like everything else in school, confidence is a skill and it can be procured via constant practice.

4. Read Up on Real-World Matters

Sure, you know Manchester United were stunned by Huddersfield Town.  You also know that the iPhone X is grossly overpriced and that you somehow still crave it. But did you know of the latest developments in green energy? About the bills and laws being constructed and considered in the chambers of pre-eminent law-makers in Malaysia? About the next advancement in Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)? You may not have to know of matters related to this, but these are the types of matters that may be discussed during interviews for scholarships, as assessors prod and probe your mind to check if you’re filling it with the right stuff – the stuff scholars are made of.

5. Stay Calm Under Pressure

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How does one become a scholar? If the crux of the matter is hard work, then the caramalised, outer coating of the kernel would be being phlegmatic when faced with uncomfortable situations. Sure, a little nervousness creeps in is, well, perfectly normal. But scholars quickly shoo such feelings away, whether it be during a major final exam, perhaps during a national level public speaking competition, and even an interview for a scholarship. They never dally in a state of nervousness for too long, quickly pushing the butterflies in their tummy and getting on with it, all the while remaining as cool as a cucumber.

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