Yes, people, as most of you have already known, the official award letter for a Chevening scholarship finally came. It came at a time when I was extremely busy at work last week. Hence, I could only share with you guys more details here today.
Last Tuesday, while I was about to leave office for an assignment at Jalan Sultan Ismail in the afternoon, I received an email from British Council, informing me that the award letter was ready. They asked if I would like to get them post the letter to me, or collect it on my own.
As Jalan Ampang (where British Council is located) is just a short distance from Jalan Sultan Ismail, I opted to drop by British Council after my assignment. [Of course, that was also because I could not wait any longer for the postman! I would collect the letter on my own no matter how far the office is! haha...]
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Do I need to say more about how I feel? It's been such a long journey! It's been 1 year and 4 months since I started doing research on the universities in UK in March 2008 and later preparing my application for the scholarship.
I had received offers from all the four universities that I applied for, but finally I put
Newcastle University as my first choice. I'll be studying MA International Multimedia Journalism there beginning this Sept 21, and I can't wait to start a new life in Newcastle upon Tyne!
When I'm writing this post, I'm also referring to the questions sent by
Haan last Tuesday. According to her, those are things people expect to know when reading my post about the scholarship. So, I'll answer your burning questions here, haha =)
This scholarship that I got will be jointly funded by Newcastle University and UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The university will contribute the full amount of my tuition fees of £11,715 for the one-year taught masters course, while the FCO will fund the following:
- student visa
- return air tickets
- arrival allowance (i.e. to buy warm clothes and the necessities to settle down)
- a monthly stipend to cover accommodation, food, transport etc.
- thesis allowance
- departure allowance (including an allowance for excess baggage)
Altogether it should be about £23,000 based on my own estimation. (Now I really think I won a jackpot!)
It's a fully-funded scholarship so it basically covers everything. But if I plan to travel in UK and Europe, I have to use my own savings, which is why I have decided to live a frugal life there. Hopefully with my savings and the future savings from my monthly allowances, I would be able to fulfill my dream of backpacking in Europe!
Arches of the Armstrong Building, Newcastle University.
(photo taken from Education UK)
There is no free lunch in the world, so it is understandable that this scholarship comes with several terms and conditions. I personally think that these T&Cs are acceptable because they are not strict after all. They want me to "diligently pursue" my course of study (of course I will) and not involved in political activities (of course I won't), among others.
In addition, I'm required to come back to Malaysia after my study, because the very purpose of this scholarship is to enable scholars to contribute to their home country after gaining the knowledge and skills in UK.
On that note, I particularly agree with what my News Editor, Ghani, told me about "being a good journalist". He said: "You don't necessarily have to study a MA or a PhD to be a good journalist. But what you're going to encounter in UK will help you see things with a different perpective. Try meet more people there and make more friends, get into the life of the British people, and experience life there."
Yeah, "experience" is the key word. That is the word I always stress when answering questions from some friends and relatives.
Some of my relatives told me things like: "Why you wanna study so much? Why wanna get a Masters? Haiya~ not good for a girl to study 'so high level' lar... later very hard to get married!" and bla bla bla...
It's not so much on getting a Masters degree, you know. I want to experience life! I want to see the world! I want to see how journalists work in other countries. (I really hope I could get an internship with BBC during my final semester.)
One of Haan's questions is: "What is your ambition with this scholarship?"
I have actually partly answered that question in my two-page "Personal Statement" in the scholarship application form. In one paragraph, I wrote:
"I believe a postgraduate education in a multicultural studying environment in a UK university will further open my eyes and widen my perspective, and enable me to understand this world better. I want to develop critical thinking and see what is really happening in this world, and to make sense out of it..."
I can't tell you for sure how different studying in UK would be, but I'm very certain that my one-year life in UK will be a life-changing experience, and it will help me become a better journalist. I always believe so. And I pray that I would be the same old "strong Yen Kuan" when I face problems and challenges in UK.
Before I received the official award letter, I had planned to resign on July 1. In fact, I had drafted my resignation letter in June and dated the letter July 1. Isn't it amazing that I actually received the scholarship letter on June 30 itself? That fits into my planned date of resignation very well!
I've tendered my resignation letter on July 1. My official last day should be July 31 but after clearing my leave, my actual last day will be July 24.
Currently, I'm preparing documents for visa application. Tomorrow I'll go renew my passport. British Council will help me book my air ticket later so I don't know when exactly I'll be leaving Malaysia. It should be Sept 14 or 15 if everything goes well.
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Arches of the Armstrong Building, Newcastle University.
躺在婆婆怀里好像在偷偷笑~
真的很感谢程伟，七早八早就帮我们订到门票，而且还有10%折扣呢！抵到烂！
我们虽然坐在山顶，可是是山顶区的第二排，而且对着舞台正中间，风水位啊！好高兴！
静茹，你很棒啊！很好听啊！啊~~ 我喊到喉咙都快破了~~
来张合照！（左起）雁君、佩君、贤君；很喜欢和佩君的合照哩。
