Fearfully Opinionated wrote an entry about ‘A’ level graduates needing to think properly about scholarships. Given that today is the release of ‘A’ level results, I too would like to address this issue.

I think it is important for anyone who’s considering applying for a scholarship to think far into the future. If the scholarship doesn’t come with a bond, perhaps there isn’t too much of a need to think so much. However, if there’s a 4 to 6 year bond involved, it’s perhaps important to think through one’s future career path.

While scholarships offer plenty of benefits in the short term, the negative consequences, especially in the long term could possibly outweigh the short term benefits, especially if there is a change of mind half-way through the tenure of the scholarship or bond.

There are many potential scenarios that can happen after signing onto a scholarship. One might eventually realise the chosen field of study isn’t what one likes after all, or that the career during the bond period isn’t to one’s liking, or there are better offers that come up along the way. These are very real scenarios.

I tried applying for Home Affairs scholarships a few years back based on my university grades. Although I was around a first-class honours grade range, back then, they didn’t have the Mid Term scholarships, so despite my good grades (and I had very strong ECA records), I wasn’t even granted an interview.

In retrospect, I am quite thankful I got rejected. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in academia at the end of my 3rd year, and had I signed on to a scholarship early in my university study, I would not have been able to pursue this path. Life can change unexpectedly, and signing on to a contract at 18 years of age might be way too early, and it might be way too costly for regret in future.

I’m not against people taking up scholarships, but I think it is important to seek as many opinions before signing onto one. Do not just look at the free tuition fees, allowances etc. Think further and decide if there could be the possibility of a better deal coming along, or that you might want to change your mind. If there’s any hint of indecision now, please don’t put the signature to the paper so quickly.

Something that looks good today might not look so good tomorrow. Circumstances can change in an instant.