Your personal statement is a key part of your Bright Minds Fund application. It is your chance to provide a detailed account of your personal circumstances, explaining how the scholarship would enable you to thrive in the PPLE programme and unlock opportunities that may otherwise be out of reach. We encourage you to share your academic ambitions, any challenges you've faced, and the specific ways this scholarship would empower you to overcome barriers and fully engage in the PPLE community.

Take note, the application process for the Bright Minds Fund Scholarship is separate from PPLE’s admissions procedure. Your personal statement should therefore be a unique and focused reflection on the impact the scholarship would have on you, distinct from the statement you submitted for the PPLE admission.

By reading your personal statement, the BMF Selection Committee would very much like to find out: 

• What are the financial circumstances of you and your family? 
• How would this scholarship help you succeed in PPLE? 
• Would you like the Committee to disregard your parents'/guardians' financial situation as they do not support you financially?
• Are you a student with a migration background, or are you a first-generation student?* You are very much encouraged to apply and to write about it in your statement.

Besides answering the above-mentioned questions, your personal statement should:

• be written in your own words, since we genuinely want to get to know you and your unique story
• be a maximum of 500 words
• be written in English
• state your full name and UvAnetID
• be handed in in digital format (e.g. a PDF)

* First-generation refers to students who are the first to attend a college or university in their family. 

To be eligible for a Bright Minds Fund scholarship, you need to receive or be eligible for an supplementary grant (“aanvullende beurs”) from DUO (the Dutch government agency in charge of study finance). In your BMF application, you need to submit proof of this eligibility.

Proof of eligibility can be either; the official statement from DUO detailing the supplimentary grant amount you qualify for or, if you do not have that yet, the result of the calculation from the DUO website.

Be aware that if you are selected for a BMF scholarship, you will have to provide a copy of the official statement from DUO detailing the supplimentary grant amount you qualify for. 

Therefore, we encourage you to apply to DUO for student funding as soon as possible, as processing and notification can take several weeks. 

Be sure to read the additional instructions on how to adequately document and submit the required proof of financial need: 

Before handing in your proof of eligibility, make sure that:

• you have a digital version of the proof, ready to upload
• every page of the document clearly states your name (this is for internal verification purposes only: your name will not be shared with the Selection Committee)