IELTS Success: How IELTS helped me apply successfully for funding
Quick Summary for Applicants: Even when your undergraduate degree was taught in English, submitting a strong IELTS Academic score acts as proof of academic excellence. Scholarship boards evaluate English proficiency scores to select between equally qualified candidates for international funding.
Oyindinipre Bioko, an engineer from Nigeria, shares his journey on how taking IELTS enabled him to win funding for his Master's degree in the United Kingdom.
How IELTS success made Bioko a good candidate for funding
Bioko knew that he wanted to study in the UK or in Europe. Before making the move, he was working in an engineering company in Nigeria, and one of his biggest concerns about his next life chapter was securing financing.
“I wanted to go where funding was available. I also knew that funding is very competitive, and often requires extra criteria. IELTS wasn’t required for my course because my undergraduate was in English. But IELTS made me a good candidate for getting funding – and it eventually helped me achieve my goal.”
Bioko first applied for a scholarship back in 2001, but wasn’t successful. He remembers that he felt unprepared and realised that he needed to spend time on IELTS to boost his application.
“I spent two years taking lots of English courses, making my profile diverse, and making sure that I stood out as a candidate for funding.”
Explore British Council guidance on how IELTS scores support international scholarship applications.
“My results were better than I expected”
Before taking the test, Bioko used the online resources and practice tests from the British Council, as well as materials that a colleague shared with him. He knew many people from his electrical engineering department who had also taken IELTS, and he felt a sense of ease entering the test.
Bioko opted to take his IELTS test on computer. The format was familiar to him from doing the online practice tests with the British Council. “I was familiar with the guides, the instructions, and the user face. Only the Speaking part is slightly different but that was still straightforward.” Despite initial nerves, the Examiner gave Bioko a moment to relax, which helped!
Handling the Reading section of the IELTS test
The test content was what Bioko expected too, although there was one section that he knew would require a different approach. “Reading was difficult for me. Sometimes I would skip ahead to read the question and then apply what it was asking when I read the text for the first time. That helped me formulate a clearer response straight away.” This technique helped him to get a good score on the Reading section of the IELTS test.
When Bioko received his results, he remembers being very happy. “My results were better than I expected. When I marked myself in the test papers, I tried to remove a certain percentage to prepare for the worst case scenario. So, when my results were in, I was pleasantly surprised. We went out to lunch to celebrate.”
Practice with free IELTS on Computer familiarisation tests before test day.
“The certification will once again help me”
Bioko was granted funding to study his Master’s degree in Automation and Control Engineering at Newcastle University, and made the move to England last year. For Bioko, studying in the UK has allowed him to access world class education. “You know you are receiving a quality education in the UK,” he explains. “The quality of the projects, when I see what our professors are researching, the breakthroughs and the discoveries they are making at my school - it’s amazing.”
He is already looking towards future plans and how his IELTS success can assist making them a reality.
“I plan to start a PhD in robotics and autonomous systems after I finish my programme in the UK. Maybe in the US or maybe in the UK. I won’t need IELTS for those applications because I will have completed my Master’s in English, however, the certification will once again help me with my search for funding.”
For anyone who is planning to take the IELTS test (for funding or other purposes), Bioko recommends making a strategy for your studies. “You need to cover the essential elements, but you also don’t know what you don’t know. With a strategy, you can highlight any gaps in your knowledge and have a more comprehensive English learning experience.”
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