How Belgian Scholarship Winners Are Chosen
Belgian scholarship selection is not purely merit-based, and that surprises a lot of applicants. Both ARES and VLIR-UOS use development-focused criteria alongside academic performance, and VLIR-UOS explicitly applies gender and regional balancing. Understanding how selection actually works helps you tailor your application to what reviewers look for — and manage your expectations about outcomes.
ARES Selection Process
- •Are you eligible? (nationality, age, experience, language)
- •Are all documents complete and properly certified?
- •Did you apply to only one programme?
- •Passing this check does not guarantee you'll be reviewed for selection
Each programme has a selection panel that evaluates:
- Development relevance of your application
- Quality and relevance of professional experience
- Alignment between your study plan and home country development needs
- French language proficiency
- Quality of pre-project/motivation
- •Not all candidates are interviewed
- •Shortlisted candidates may be asked to demonstrate communication skills, academic preparation, and professional potential
- •Interview format and timing vary by programme
VLIR-UOS Selection Process
The host university/programme committee:
- •Reviews all eligible applications
- •Evaluates against their own academic admission criteria
- •Ranks candidates in order of preference
- •Submits ranked list to VLIR-UOS
VLIR-UOS reviews the ranked lists from ALL programmes and applies policy criteria:
Does the candidate show competence in knowledge transfer? Is their motivation linked to sustainable development? Can they articulate how they'll be an "agent of change"?
Does the candidate have demonstrated ability to implement and transfer knowledge in a development context?
What are the realistic opportunities for applying new skills after returning home?
VLIR-UOS targets equal representation of male and female scholars. Female candidates are "strongly encouraged" and positive discrimination applies.
If many high-scoring candidates come from one country, some may be passed over in favour of candidates from underrepresented countries.
Among equally qualified candidates, preference goes to those from vulnerable/disadvantaged groups, ethnic minorities, or underserved areas.
Why the Best Application Doesn't Always Win
A lower-scoring female candidate from an underrepresented country can be selected over a higher-scoring male from an overrepresented country. This is by design — VLIR-UOS aims for representative, diverse cohorts, not just the top academic performers.
The same applicant with the same application can be selected one year and rejected the next, purely because the applicant pool changed. If your country sent 50 strong applicants last year and 200 this year, your chances dropped even though your application didn't get worse.
This frustrates many applicants, but it's transparent in the guidelines. VLIR-UOS publishes these criteria openly — they're not hiding the ball. The problem is that most applicants never read the policy documents and only discover this after being rejected.
No feedback on rejection reasons is provided, making it impossible to know whether you were rejected on merit or on balancing criteria. You won't get a letter saying "your score was X but we needed more candidates from country Y." You'll just get a rejection email.
Reapplication is allowed, but there's no guarantee of different results. If the pool composition stays similar, your outcome may stay the same regardless of how much you improve your application.
Master Mind Selection
- •The university nominates candidates to the Flemish government — you can't apply directly to Master Mind
- •Selection is based on academic excellence (GPA 3.5+), English proficiency, motivation, and recommendations
- •Only ~30 total spots across all Flemish universities. This is one of the smallest scholarship programmes in Europe relative to the number of applicants.
- •Some spots are reserved for priority countries (Japan, Mexico, Palestine, USA)
- •Purely merit-based — no development focus or positive discrimination. If you have the best grades and scores, your nationality won't count against you (unless you're from a non-priority country competing for reserved spots).
What Actually Gets You Selected
- •Strong French language skills (or at minimum, clear evidence you're learning). Half-hearted "I plan to learn French" statements won't cut it.
- •Solid professional experience directly connected to the programme you're applying to. Random work history doesn't help — the experience needs to make the programme choice logical.
- •A pre-project that's specific, achievable, and development-relevant. Vague plans about "contributing to my country's growth" are exactly what everyone writes.
- •Recommendation letters from people who know your professional impact, not just your academic performance. A boss who can describe what you actually did matters more than a professor who remembers your grade.
- •Clear return plan with concrete institutional backing. A letter from your employer saying "we want them back" is worth its weight in gold.
- •A motivation letter that goes beyond "I want to contribute to development" — show HOW and WHERE. Name specific institutions, projects, or initiatives.
- •Evidence of current work in education, government, civil society, or research. They want people already embedded in systems that can benefit from new knowledge.
- •Concrete knowledge transfer plan (e.g., "I will develop curriculum for X at Y university" or "I will train 50 health workers on Z protocol at my district hospital")
- •If you're female or from an underrepresented country, this genuinely helps — it's a structural advantage, not just a tiebreaker
- •Previous community/development work, even if unpaid. Volunteer coordination, NGO fieldwork, community health initiatives — these signal the kind of person VLIR-UOS wants to fund.
- •Outstanding GPA — 3.5 is the minimum, not the target. Competitive applicants typically have 3.7+.
- •Perfect or near-perfect English scores. IELTS 7.5+ or TOEFL 105+ is the realistic benchmark for this programme.
- •A motivation letter that shows genuine intellectual curiosity, not just career ambition. Why this specific programme at this specific Flemish university?
- •Strong recommendations from academic supervisors who can speak to your research potential and intellectual abilities, not just say you were a good student.
Dealing With the Wait
ARES: 9 months between application and results. There are NO interim updates. You submit in September and hear back in June. That's the deal.
VLIR-UOS: 3–6 months depending on your programme deadline. Also no interim updates. The silence is normal.
Both programmes send results by email only — check your spam folder. Seriously. Scholarship result emails get caught by spam filters more often than you'd think.
If you don't hear by the expected date, contact the programme directly. For ARES: [email protected]
- •Don't put your life on hold — apply to other opportunities simultaneously. Belgian scholarships should be one option among several, not your only plan.
- •The wait is normal, not a sign of rejection. Everyone waits the same amount regardless of outcome.
- •If you're on a reserve list, decisions can come very late (July–August). Keep your passport ready and don't commit to other plans until you've officially declined or the window has closed.
What Happens If You Get Selected
Apply immediately at the Belgian embassy/consulate. Processing takes 6–8 weeks, and up to 3+ months for some nationalities. Do not wait.
Start looking immediately — Belgian student housing fills fast, especially in Brussels, Leuven, and Ghent. Some programmes help arrange housing, but many don't.
Check whether your programme includes it or if you need to arrange it separately. ARES and VLIR-UOS typically cover insurance, but verify the details in your award letter.
You must register at your local commune (municipality office) within 8 working days of arrival. This is a legal requirement, not optional.
For detailed post-selection guidance, including the most common mistakes that selected scholars make, see our Common Mistakes page.
Know what to expect after selection
Getting selected is just the first hurdle. The visa process, housing search, and commune registration all have deadlines that can trip you up if you're not prepared.
Next: Common Mistakes to Avoid →