Gates Cambridge Scholarships Professor Robert Lethbridge Provost (CEO), Gates Cambridge Trust & Master, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Gates Cambridge Trust www.gate Mr Jim Smith Executive Officer, Gates Cambridge Trust NAFA conference July 2011
Dec 27, 2015
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
Professor Robert Lethbridge
Provost (CEO), Gates Cambridge Trust & Master, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Gates Cambridge Trust www.gatesscholar.org
Mr Jim Smith
Executive Officer, Gates Cambridge Trust
NAFA conference July 2011
Value
Core components (per year)
• Living allowance of £13,000 in 2011 (US$21,000)
• University fee – c.£4K to c. £35K (US$6K, to US$55K)
• College fee - c. £2.3K (US$3.7K)
• Return airfare
• Total p.a. between £20K and £50K (US$32K – US$80K)
Discretionary components
• Family allowance, conferences, fieldwork, some fourth year funding for PhD Scholars, hardship funding
Eligibility
• Non-UK citizen
• Must gain admission to one of the following full-time graduate programs at Cambridge:
- PhD (three year research-only degree)
- One year postgraduate course (e.g. MPhil, LLM, MASt, Diploma, MBA etc.)
- MSc or MLitt (two year research-only degree)
• No age limit
Applying
One application pack for:
• Admission to a degree course
• Membership to a Cambridge College
• A Gates Cambridge Scholarship
• Other relevant Cambridge funding
What to submit
• University’s GRADSAF application form
• Three references (2 x academic for University, 1 x personal reference for funding)
• Academic transcripts
• If required, any additional documents
Full details available from website 1 September 2011
Selection criteria and interpretation
Scholarships are awarded on the following criteria:
• intellectual ability
• a good academic fit with Cambridge
• leadership capacity
• a desire to use knowledge to improve the lives of others
No one ‘template’ for a Gates Scholar
Personal statement
The question:
“If you wish to apply for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, please describe below – in not more than 500 words – how your interests and achievements, both academic and extra-curricular, demonstrate a capacity for leadership and a commitment to improving the lives of others. Please also set out why you think there is a good fit between your professional aspirations and the graduate programme at Cambridge for which you are applying.”
• Vital part of application
• Must be targeted to Gates Cambridge
• Help us distinguish them from other applicants
Personal reference
• Joint reference for Gates and other scholarships trusts:
Gates: “Please give below your assessment of the applicant’s leadership potential and commitment to improving the lives of others. Please attach a separate letter if necessary”
• Vital part of application
• Targeted to Gates Cambridge
• Standard, template letters not helpful
Departmental comments: example
Academic excellence
“Joe Bloggs is an outstanding candidate. He is in his final year as an undergraduate at University of Somewhere and has a 3.99 GPA. He was on the Dean’s list for the last three years and has been awarded numerous other honors. He is clearly in the very top bracket academically. “
Contact
“Prof X and Dr Y at Cambridge interviewed him on the telephone and have also had extensive email contact with him. “
Distinguished from other applicants
“He has shown a real interest in gaining experience throughout his undergraduate career by working in various labs. This has allowed him to gain valuable experience in a range of techniques and approaches. What was additionally impressive was his passion for science. “
Understanding of what Cambridge offers
“He had a surprisingly good grasp of what is being done in the relevant laboratory here and his questions were probing and mature. “
Selection process and timetable
US round
15 October
Late November
Mid-December
Late December
Early February
Within a week
International round
2 December
Mid-February
Early March
Mid March
Late March
Within a week
Stage
Application
Departmental ranking
Trust shortlisting committee
Interviewees contacted
Interviews
Selection
Update for 2012 application round
Stage US round Internationalround
Total applications 400 – 500 c. 2000
Ranked by departments c. 200 c.400
Interview 100 120
Successful 35 55
Success rate 7 - 8% 2 - 3%
Interviews:
• US in San Francisco on 3 and 4 February 2012
• International interviews in Cambridge on 28 and 29 March 2012
News for 2012
• Updated on-line application process
• University’s application fees
• International deadline – midnight 2 December
Estimated numbers for 2012
THE GATES CAMBRIDGE EXPERIENCE
FURTHER INFORMATION
• Gates Cambridge website - www.gatesscholar.org
• University of Cambridge - www.cam.ac.uk
• Email Jim: [email protected]