Scholarship Opportunities Office

As a first-generation college student, I had hardly ever heard about prestigious scholarships like the Rhodes, Marshall, or Fulbright; never in my wildest dreams would I ever think of achieving one. As a high school student, college was hard enough to achieve, and the playing field was uneven anyways - I never had access to scholarship advisors, nor did I have parents who were able to open those doors for me.

But after a couple years at UCI, I recognized my worth, and realized the world of opportunity (and money!) that I deserved, and that so many first-generation students pass by. When I got an email from the Scholarship Opportunities Program (SOP) office in my junior year telling me I was qualified to apply for such prestigious scholarships, I was all in.

The SOP is an office designed to assist students in obtaining some of the world’s most competitive scholarships. There are some that are household names (like the Marshall, Rhodes, or Fulbright), but there are lesser known ones as well, like the Schwarzman (a fully funded one year masters degree in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University in China), Knight-Hennessy (full funding for graduate programs at Stanford), or the Soros (funding for any graduate program for first-generation American students).

The process to apply for a scholarship is lengthy, but the rewards are crazy. First, if you’re interested, you can fill out an interest form, and schedule an appointment with an advisor to discuss your interests and see if one of the scholarships would be the right fit for you. The first step is always to look at the list of scholarships and descriptions!

Next, you must submit a pre-application which is usually due the first week of April. The pre-application will give the advisors everything they need to specifically cater their services towards you. Based on your pre-application, you will meet with your own personal advisor, who will talk with you about your scholarship choice as well as give you a list of deadlines and dates to remember. This part was the most intimidating part - finding out that your scholarships might need a campus endorsement, language evaluation, and recommendations are overwhelming at times, but mark those dates in your calendar and remember that we are all our harshest critics. You are more than qualified.

You will then meet with your writing advisor during spring quarter, and check-in with your advisor as your drafts start to come in. You will receive both your advisor and writing specialist’s feedback as you start your drafting process - most people go through more than a few drafts of their application, which is completely normal. I went through 11 drafts of 2 essays in 4 months!

Depending on your scholarship, you may need a campus endorsement, which is a different process for everyone. But remember that everyone at SOP wants you to succeed!

I applied for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) in Taiwan starting April of my junior year. Throughout this time, the SOP was helpful by setting deadlines and providing support - even though I spent my summer outside of Irvine (I was in D.C. completing my fellowship), my advisors met with me over Zoom and Skype, and continued to read my drafts over the summer vacation. I submitted my application in September, and eagerly waited to hear whether or not I made it to the semi-finalist stage.

I received final notification of the grant on March 11 and cried for 20 minutes straight. The opportunity I had worked so hard for for so long was finally a reality! I spent the rest of my spring quarter with the knowledge that after graduation, I would be among some of the nation’s finest minds and cultural ambassadors. I arrived in Taiwan on July 25th and officially started my grant on August 1st, teaching English at Fen Yuan Elementary School in Changhua County.

Even if I hadn’t received the grant, though, this process helped me refine my interests, foster stronger relationships with my professors/recommenders, and learn how to write a successful application. And honestly, that learning experience was just what I needed to have as a first-generation student.

In conclusion - SOP is definitely one of the most underutilized offices at UCI, and I believe it’s because of how many first-generation students we have on campus. There are endless opportunities that people don’t believe they can achieve. But if I can do it, you can too. And UCI’s SOP office is there to support you when you decide to believe in yourself.