Stipendium Hungaricum Motivation Letter for Geography Major

I will be grateful if I could become an awardee

To the Stipendium Hungaricum Selection Committee,

In his speech at National Geographic in 2012, Barack Obama said "The study of Geography is about more than just memorizing places on map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents." As someone who initially thought that learning Geography is to memorizing places and countries on map, I am agree with him.

My interest in Geography grew since grade 4 of elementary school. For me, Geography is the key to learn more about the world I live in. In Geography I can learn about places, regions, and countries even though I have never been there before. And as a kid who's curious about something she's never knew and loves to explore everything around her, Geography is like a magic book who can tell you everything. At first, I learn Geography because I feel it's cool to know every countries name on the map. It's cool when your friends ask you, "Hey what's this country's name?" and you can told them it's name correctly. However, the more I learn Geography I knew that it's more than just knowing countries or regions.

Learning Geography helps me to understand the world better. I became more understand about the processes that occur on the Earth and how they can affect the lives of the people around them. How it will shape the system and patterns in society, and how it will influence both the environment and society itself. All of that is like a cycle that affects each other and never stop. It makes me pay more attention to my surroundings, to the life of the community and the environment where I live in.

In senior high school, I was selected as one of seven students to join Geography coaching programme funded by [my city] Government called [insert programme name] from 2017 to 2019 and won several awards, the highest one is getting the 1st prize of National Geography Science Competition at Regency's stage in 2018. Beside that, I also joining Indonesian Debate Club and became one of the 10 best speakers at 2017 debate championship held by [insert school's name]. It is fascinating that through these two activities I can broaden my mind and see the world from various viewpoints.

I am interested to study in Hungary for some reasons. The foremost reason is I really like its curriculum, goals, and methods of learning, especially at the university I choose, the University of Debrecen and the University of Pécs. With a balance between lecture and practice, and opportunity to intership, they will not only make me someone who knew the theory, but also its application. Offers a high quality education, where students have freedom to explore and ask to get a better understanding, Hungary is a perfect country for me who has a high sense of curiosity. Hungary is also a country with wide range of beautiful landscapes, classical architectures, places, and cultures that make me mesmerized, and of course it will be a plus since I am intending to study Geography. This country is quite safe with low rate of violent crime and good public facilities that can support my life as a student here. I might be surprised at the different lifestyles and cultures here, however I believe I will be able to adapt well.

In the future, I am planning to obtain my master's degree with specialization in GIS. I desire to work as an analyst specially in the identification of hotspot and burned area of forest fires at Indonesia National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN). Forest fires occur every year in Indonesia which requires proper handling. With the knowledge and experiences that I got while studying overseas in an international environment, I believe it will be very valuable to the development of the handling process.

Thank you for considering my request. It will be a great opportunity and I will be grateful if I could become an awardee of Stipendium Hungaricum this year.

You have failed to respond to the 2 basic questions for the college scholarship:
- Why Geography?
- Why Hungary?

The "Why Geography" question would have been properly responded to by a paragraph that indicates what your professional career will be in the future. Will you be a World History teacher? Will you become an archeological assistant? Do you plan on opening a tourism business in your country servicing an international clientele? There is no ambition attached to signify your professional / personal motivation for pursuing Geography as your major.

As for the "Why Hungary?" question, the response to that will also depend on the "Why Geography" explanation. The interest in the internship programs. the curriculum, and everything else, depends upon how you plan to drive your future. Solid plans for your career, forgetting the masters degree for now as that is too far into your future to consider, have to be presented. The GIS plan you have and its application does not have a clear connection with Geography at this point. Aim lower. Create a starting point for your future career first. What is the first step in your career plan? That is what should drive your overall motivation.

The motivation letter might be too long and writing too long can make the reader bored. So it might be vetter to shorten it.

@haneejah
You also have to answer the following points:
How will you apply your new skills and qualifications when you return home?
What challenges would you expect to encounter while studying in a foreign country, and how could you prepare for these challenges?