If you are planning to apply for the British government’s scholarship, Chevening Scholarship, you might be wondering how many people can get awarded. So did I!
Japan’s acceptance rate
When I was awarded as Chevenor from Japan, the number of applicants, which is of interest, is not disclosed. At my time, only two people from Japan were finally selected as scholarship recipients. However, if you look at data from all over the world, you can get an idea of the competitive atmosphere of the scholarship.
How many Chevening scholars in total?
First of all, in terms of the number of applicants, recently it seems that between 1,500 and 1,800 people are selected every year from 160 countries all over the world. In 2019, 1,700 students were selected, according to the official report.
However, the number of scholars seems to vary depending on the economic situation and the UK government’s purse strings. A report compiled by the consulting firm KPMG shows below that the number of scholars is heavily capped, with around 2,400 selected in the early 2000s, but a downward trend since 2003. It can be read that from 2010, when the economy was bad, the number was sometimes reduced to around 600.
Reference: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/638058/FOI_0662-17_document.pdf (Page 10)
Chevening Scholars by Country
The number of people selected varied from country to country, with more than 50 scholars from Mexico, Brazil, China, Nigeria and Indonesia in each country apparently selected. Furthermore, the official report states that in 2020 there will be a total of 60,000 applications worldwide. Of these, it also stated that interviews were conducted with 6,000 candidates.
This is the Competition Rate of Chevening scholarship!
The official website states that the competition rate is 2-3% worldwide, although the competition rate may vary from country to country.
Summary
Chevening Scholarships and fellowships are highly competitive, only 2-3% of those who apply are eventually selected, therefore, to be selected for an award is a mark of potential and of prestige. I heard from my friend that he gets top news on a website when he was awarded.
Reference: https://www.chevening.org/employers/
Either way, there is no doubt that it is a narrowly defined category.
