Currently, the demand for Indonesian government scholarships for Masters or Doctoral programs both domestically and abroad, known as LPDP, is increasing rapidly over the years. Let's find out what kinds of scholarships that are available and what things you should prepare beforehand to apply for the LPDP scholarship..
Studying abroad has been a lifetime dream for many people, mainly because the quality and accreditation of a more global campus can increase one's credibility background and expertise. But because of the tuition fees that are quite expensive, especially for Master’s and Doctoral degree education, students are looking for tuition assistance programs. Seeing this problem, the Indonesian government provides a fully-funded scholarship program (known as the LPDP scholarship) to further support Indonesian students in pursuing higher education in Indonesia and abroad.
LPDP provides a variety of scholarship options, which is why many people are confused about which option is right for them. Shape Your Life Indonesia understands this difficulty, so we invited Fathia Fairuza, an LPDP scholarship awardee at Columbia University majoring in Human Rights, as well as the founder of Shape Your Life, to discuss more about the LPDP scholarship and what needs to be prepared.
1. Scholarship registration is only open for 1 month
The opening period for LPDP scholarships is usually only one month and the opening schedule can sometimes be quite sudden. Therefore, it is very important to always keep an update on LPDP's social pages and website.
2. Administrative selection with LoA vs without LoA
Letter of Acceptance or LoA is a letter issued by the destination campus stating the acceptance of the student.
After you pass the administrative selection:
If you have LOA: Applicants do not need to do scholastic aptitude selection, and go directly to substance selection or interview selection.
If you do not have LOA: Applicants must take the scholastic aptitude selection, the test tested is the Academic Knowledge Test, the form of the test is like the UTBK or SBMPTN test.
3. Types of scholarships provided by LPDP
a. Targeted Scholarships, one of which is:
Civil Servant (PNS), Indonesian National Military (TNI), and Police (POLRI) Scholarship
Entrepreneurship Scholarship: Especially for those taking entrepreneurship majors
Ulama Cadre Education Scholarship: Especially for students with Islamic religion education namely Santri or UIN graduate
Specialist and Subspeciliast Doctor Scholarships
StuNed Scholarship / Collaboration between Diktiristek-LPDP-OKP: 50% of the scholarship is funded by LPDP and 50% is funded by the Dutch Government.
b. Affirmative Scholarships, one of which is:
Disability Scholarship
Affirmation Scholarship
Pre-Prosperous Scholarship
Papuan Youth Scholarship
c. General Scholarships, one of which is:
Regular Scholarship
World’s Top Universities Scholarship (PTUD)
Partial Scholarship
d. Collaborative Scholarships
Because the scholarships provided by LPDP vary greatly, therefore you should determine the scholarship you want to apply according to your own background and devise the right strategy.
The latest information about LPDP scholarships:
For LPDP applicants, LPDP has allowed its scholarship recipients to do a double degree, for example, conducting one year of study at Columbia University and another year in Paris. This double degree can be done in universities between countries or between departments in the same university.
4. What are the cost components provided by LPDP?
LPDP will provide Fully-Funded to its scholarship recipients, during their studies. From registration funds, full tuition fees that are directly paid to the University, living expenses, research funds, health insurance, travel expenses, thesis fees, international seminars and journal publications will also be paid by the LPDP.
5. There are not many stories about this, will you still incur personal costs
The answer is yes! The registration is free, but before that there will be some costs that must be incurred. Before being accepted by LPDP, there are several requirements that must be met, namely proof of English language standardization test (IELTS or TOEFL) and the test will cost approximately 3 million rupiah. In the case where the test fails or needs to be repeated, of course, you have to pay the same cost again.
For those who obtain their bachelor’s degree abroad, the equalization of degree and transcripts are required. The costs that have been incurred will not be reimbursed by the LPDP.
Therefore, it is important to prepare unexpected funds that will be needed!
6. Publications may affect acceptance rates
Not really, graduate applicants who do not have publications can still pass and receive the scholarship. As long as they can still prove that even without publications, they are still able to undergo the lectures by meeting the GPA requirements (syarat IPK) of each university. Especially for doctoral applicants, they must attach a research proposal to the LPDP, one of which includes scientific publications.
Things you have to be careful when writing an essay
In writing an essay, it is necessary to include both our own strengths and weaknesses. When writing our strengths, do not just mention about the strengths but also explain the nature of the strengths and the advantages of having these strengths. Furthermore, in writing shortcomings, the strategy is to be able to back up the statement of weaknesses with the advantages possessed.
1. Don't overdo it when writing an essay!
When telling about something you are proud of, just focus on the things you want to describe. You can do this by listing the exclusive things that differentiate you from other activities. Choose one topic that is most meaningful in your life.
2. Yourself in essay
In writing an essay about yourself, make it as if you’re writing a short story. Describe the life you have lived and of course during life there are many stories that occur, but adjust it to the intended major. If you want to major in human rights, tell one of your experiences related to human rights. If you want to major in politics, tell one experience related to politics, and so on. Also include survey data that can help explain the essay and the solutions offered to the problems that occur.
Contribution and Commitment to Indonesia
LPDP graduates are MANDATORY to have a commitment to return to Indonesia or contribute to Indonesia, there are several things that must be considered!
Contribute to Indonesia until the end
The contribution obligation for LPDP graduates can be formulated as "2N + 1", N is the study time. For example, if the study in the UK is 1 year, it means '2 x 1 + 1 = 3' so the mandatory year of contribution to Indonesia is 3 years.
LPDP graduates do have an obligation to return to Indonesia, but can also not return home by contributing in other ways. LPDP allows work in the UN, World Bank, and IMF, and specifically in international organizations. Because in these international organizations, the task is to carry the name of Indonesia. The forms of contribution that can be made are very diverse, even by making a thesis by doing research counts as a contribution to the field of study in Indonesia.
After knowing more about the things needed to prepare for the LPDP, arrange the right strategy according to your individual needs and needs. In the article, there are many points that can help quite a lot for the preparation process.
Still confused about where to start and want to have someone to consult? Don't forget to join our one-on-one consultation session this month!