Your Chevening Scholarship Application Guide 2025/26

Author: Leju BM Jansuk

Chevening ScholarshipThe Chevening Scholarship application process is an arduous one. You must do your homework thoroughly, beginning with reading ALL guidance, tips, and other information available on their website.

Next, you start the application process, completing all sections while drafting your essays. A lot of YouTube videos made by alumni of the scholarship exist that explain how best to write each of your four essays; make use of them! Upon drafting all your essays with the guidance, revise them.

Find one or two alumni of the scholarship who are willing to review your essays and provide feedback. While doing excellent research on the application could land you the interview invitation, most successful applicants have benefited from a review of their essays by alumni!

This scholarship process typically includes two to three major stages: the application submission stage, university application for admission offers (for those without any offers yet) after submitting your Chevening application (although this can be done concurrently as you work on your Chevening application), and the interview stage (for those who go past the application stage). Each stage is cumbersome and requires utmost attention and diligence to improve one's chances of landing the scholarship.

Key pages on the Chevening website which are must-reads!

To give you direction, here are some important URLs from the Chevening website to read by all means:

i. Why do you want to study in the UK? This information forms a part of your four essays. While there are some important reasons listed on the page below, you must have your reasons, too:

Why study in the UK? Check out what the UK has to offer from a global community to stunning nature landscapes.

ii. Are you eligible for the scholarship? Read the eligibility criteria here, along with key changes made in 2025. Be sure to read any other links on this page:

Eligibility requirements to apply for a Chevening Scholarship, including citizenship, work experience, and many others.

iii. If you are eligible, before attempting to apply, take note of the key timelines to keep. These are explained here:

This timeline is for applicants applying for a Chevening Scholarship only.

iv. Before applying, what course(s) do you want to study, and in which UK universities? Read from here to find the courses Chevening accepts to sponsor you in, and their eligible partner universities. Do not forget to read the course FAQs here as well:

How to choose a UK university course as a Chevening applicant.

v. So far, have you read and taken enough notes that you feel you want to give the application your best shot? Not yet! Take your ample time to read/understand the application guidance here. There's just so much information for you:

Everything you need to know about applying for a Chevening Scholarship

vi. Although it is a part of the wider application guidance, this How to Apply page requires its dedicated understanding to minimise errors and improve chances of progressing to the next stage:

Step-by-step guidance on using Chevening's online application system

vii. To kickstart your application on a strong note, please review the Chevening Application Criteria here, again, as part of the wider application guidance. Note that these are not the same as the eligibility criteria you earlier reviewed. On this page, the four essay questions are also explained, and what to write about is highlighted for each of them:

Your guide to the Chevening Scholarship application criteria

viii. If you have been diligent enough reading through all the tons of information above, you should be ready to launch your application. Start here and follow the steps described in (vi) above.

Apply for a Chevening Scholarship or Fellowship Award

Previous application guidance sessions:

a) The following URLs lead you to previous application guidance sessions by alumni of the scholarship. You might find them helpful, although you must be keen to follow the 2025 guidance you read, especially on essay word limits, eligibility criteria, etcetera.

Tricks on how best to stand out in the Chevening Scholarship application

Professional tips for writing all the essays for the Chevening Scholarship application

General information session for the Chevening Scholarship application

Writing compelling leadership and networking essays for the Chevening Scholarship application)

The following URLs lead you to the PowerPoint slides for the above application guidance sessions. You might find them helpful, too!

General Information About the Chevening Scholarship Application and Tips | PDF

Information Session: How best to apply for the Chevening Scholarship 2024/25 | PDF | Student Financial Aid | Financial Assistance

Chevening Scholarship Networking Leadership and Influence Essays Writing Tips | PDF |

Chevening Scholarship Application Tips: Writing Outstanding Studying in the UK and Career Plan Essays | PDF | College Planning | College Education

Application tips compiled by Leju BM Jansuk, Chevening Alumna, 2023–2024