Many people have asked me whether they should apply for a PSC scholarship or not, and while I havent been in it for very long (only about 1 year since my acceptance) and I havent started working in the civil service, this is the advice I can give. It's pretty general though because that's the way it is. (I am writing this now at 5 am because I am jetlagged, and no I ended up sleeping on the plane) I tried to make it PSC specific but I realized I cant really cos the same stuff pretty much applies for all scholarships as well.
1. I dont think it hurts you to apply and see what happens to your application. Applying is free after all.
I feel that it would be extremely wasted if you are actually interested in the scholarship/school/whatever else but you didnt apply because you thought you wont get in. Call me idealistic, but I feel that many things in the world have a luck component to it and you may get lucky. This is of course not to diminish the achievements of those who get in because you are really good, but really can you deny the luck component involved?
I had a friend who deemed herself unqualified for her dream university, and didnt apply. I am not sure how she felt when she eventually saw others (who had worse grades/qualifications than her) getting in. Again you can argue for the luck component, but I think it just puts a lot of "what-if"s into your head. It's easy to start wondering, what if I applied, maybe i could have gotten in, etc... in any case, you save yourself a lot of agony by just applying and seeing how it turns out.
2. That said, there is no point applying if you dont see yourself ever working in that organization
If you already know that a life in the civil service is not for you, then I dont see why you would want to apply for PSC. Or if you know 100% that you dont like research, then dont bother to apply for AStar or DSTA...
Why did I take up a PSC scholarship?
I guess for me it was an easy decision because I always wanted to work in the civil service since young (like hm sec 1?). My dad works in the civil service and a few of my other relatives do as well, it helps cos I get a feel of what it is like and I dont actually mind it. I couldnt actually see myself doing anything very vastly different from entering the civil service (and I guess I would have really been at a loss of what to do if PSC didnt accept me). The PSC internship helped a lot, I enjoyed my time there and so it merely served to solidify my want to enter the civil service.
Of course not everyone knows what they want from young, and I cannot say I understand how you feel because I had an easy decision making process, but I'd say talk to more people and you will find out more about what you want. Do you like what you hear about the profession or the job?
very well written
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