There is a lot of illusion out there about what a grant means and how to get one and especially about what your chances of getting a grant are. This is partly why we started giving this advice, to shed a little light on what to expect and what you need to do in order to make it in this field.

So one way of keeping it real when applying for grants and bursaries is to check the statistics of students that have already been accepted. Most institutions will have some sort of lists and statistics of the students that they selected and you can use them to understand if you have a chance of getting that scholarship or if you should focus on something else.

From this statistics and reports you can see the interests, hobbies, qualifications and results of those that were selected for you so you will get a pretty good idea if you fit the pattern or not. If people that realized that you manage to realize or who had the same interests managed to get the scholarship you might get it too. The people who make the decision if you get the grant or not do not change overnight. This year you might get the same commission so it is good to be prepared.

What if you don`t have the same achievements as those who have managed to get the grant before you? There is no need to despair. You only need to put some thought into it and find a new approach that will benefit you. You need to find something unique that will make you stand out from the crowd.

But the other smart thing is to look for another source of financial aid. There are plenty of sources out there and you do not and in fact, you should not focus on only one. You should be able to broaden your perspective and apply to as many grants as possible as long as you do some research beforehand to understand that you will not be wasting your time. So be realistic about your chances of getting one grant or the other and ponder your efforts. And, by the way, one other good advice for getting info on who gets a bursary usually is to hit the forums and see what people who got them have to say about their experience.