What Kills SI Scholarship Applications
Most rejections come from the same handful of mistakes. These are the patterns evaluators flag — and that applicants keep repeating year after year.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
3 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
SI received 12,922 applications for its 2026/27 master's scholarships and awarded 232. Evaluators are not looking to reject you — but a single fatal flaw will end your application, even if everything else is strong.
Fatal Mistakes
Not meeting the work experience requirement
SI requires at least 3,000 hours of work experience (any documented experience for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), accumulated from a maximum of three employers before the application period opens. Full-time and part-time employment, freelancing and self-employment count; internships do not. If your documented hours don't clearly add up, your application is disqualified before evaluation begins.
Only apply once you have documented hours from no more than three employers. Make sure the dates and hours on your forms and CV are unambiguous.
Applying from a non-eligible country
The SI Scholarship is only open to citizens of 34 specific countries. Dual nationals where the other citizenship is EU/EEA or not on the DAC list of ODA recipients are ineligible. Check the official list before spending time on your application.
Verify your country is on the current eligible countries list before applying.
Not being admitted to an eligible programme
You must apply to the master's programme through University Admissions (by 15 January) AND to the SI Scholarship. If you are not admitted or conditionally admitted to an eligible programme on admissions results day, the scholarship application lapses automatically. Applying to SI without a realistic chance at programme admission wastes your only scholarship application of the year.
Serious Weaknesses
Vague leadership claims with no evidence
Writing "I have strong leadership skills" or "I led my team to success" means nothing to SI evaluators. Every applicant writes this. Leadership at SI means: you initiated something, built something, solved a specific problem, and can describe the before/after impact. If you cannot give a concrete example, the claim will be ignored.
Use the STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result — for every leadership example in your motivation.
Weak "return home" commitment
SI explicitly funds people who will contribute to the sustainable development of their home country. If your motivation is vague about how you will use your degree back home, evaluators will assume you are treating Sweden as an immigration route. Be specific: what problem will you solve, in what sector, using what you studied.
Generic motivation that could apply to any scholarship
If you remove your name and the word "Sweden" from your statement and it still makes sense, it is not tailored enough. Evaluators can tell immediately when a letter is recycled. Reference specific Swedish universities, specific courses, specific faculty, or specific aspects of Swedish society that connect to your goals.
Application Weaknesses
A CV that reads as a job application, not a scholarship application
Your CV for SI should highlight impact and leadership across your professional and community work — not just job responsibilities. Add a brief description of what you built or changed in each role, not just your title and employer name.
Applying to unrelated programmes
SI sees which programmes you applied to (you can list up to four eligible ones). Choosing four completely unrelated programmes makes it look like you are not serious about any specific field — it signals desperation for entry rather than genuine academic purpose.
Not explaining the gap between your bachelor's and now
If there are unexplained gaps in your timeline — years where nothing is listed — evaluators will notice. Briefly account for any gap, even if it was unemployment or personal circumstances. Leaving a gap unexplained looks like you are hiding something.
SI looks for capability, an existing platform and the ambition to contribute to development. In this guide’s view, leadership often does the most to set applicants apart, and SI says it prioritises strong leadership experience from employment. Read the Selection Process guide to understand exactly what evaluators are looking for.