The world of tech is evolving rapidly and it is important to have diverse perspectives within the field to ensure that tech benefits all of us. This is why Google launched the Generation Google Scholarship (GGS) for women studying Computer Science around the world, to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in tech.
In this article, I will share my story of how I received the GGS APAC scholarship while in my second year studying Computer Science in Singapore and what it meant to me.
What is the Generation Google Scholarship?
The Generation Google Scholarship: for Women in Computer Science (APAC) is a scholarship program that aims to inspire and support young women pursuing careers in technology.
The scholarship provides financial assistance, networking opportunities, and access to Google-sponsored events and workshops.
Who can apply? - Eligibility
The 2023 scholarship is open to applicants who satisfy the following criteria:
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Full-time second or third-year undergraduate students
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Studying at an accredited university in Asia Pacific for the 2022/23 academic year and intend to continue pursuing in 2023/24
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Studying computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical field
I did not know about the scholarship until I received an email from my university encouraging us to apply for it. Our application deadline was 10 Dec 2021 for the 2022 scholarship.
However, the application window for 2023 is a bit later in April-May, so there is still time to apply for the scholarship this year.
What’s in it for you ?— Benefits
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Scholarship winners will receive US$2500 which can be used to cover any educational expenses like tuition fees and books. This was similar in my year as well but was US$1000 for previous years.
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The scholarship will also allow you to network with other scholarship recipients from the APAC region and with Google employees. For my batch, we have a community of scholars who continue to help and support each other in our tech journeys. :)
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You also get the chance to participate in special events and workshops from Google. For our year, we had a virtual event for all APAC scholars, but it might be in-person at Google’s headquarters this year!
GGS Virtual Retreat 2022!
A snapshot from our virtual retreat
The GGS Virtual Retreat 2022 was a full day of events themed around diversity, equity, and inclusion, and some technical workshops. These events were led by inspiring women from Google who shared their stories and insights on working in tech. I learned a lot from their experiences, and this along with the scholarship motivated me to push myself toward my own goals! We also got some Google merchandise as part of the retreat! I will try to share more about this Virtual Retreat and my own insights in a later post.
GGS Goodies!
How does it work ?— Selection Process
Scholarship recipients are chosen based on the strength of each candidate’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, demonstrated leadership, and academic performance.
You need to demonstrate qualities such as problem-solving skills, passion for improving the representation of underrepresented groups in computer science, and the impact that you have made in your community.
The selection process has 3 stages: the online application, an online coding assessment, and a casual interview with a Googler.
Stage 1: Application
The first thing you need to do is apply online with the following:
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General background info
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Resume and current academic transcript
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Work experience and extra-curricular activities
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Responses to short-answer essay questions (400 words each)
This year, the application deadline is 16 May 2023 at 2:59 PM SGT, or when 3000 eligible applications are received.
Some tips for writing a good essay:
I believe the essay questions change every year, and for my year, these were the questions:
- What is a significant challenge that you believe women in the tech industry face? How do you see yourself as part of the solution(s) to this challenge? An impact can happen in many ways and at different scales.
- What impact would you receiving this scholarship have on your education? Describe any circumstances affecting your need for a scholarship and what educational goals this scholarship will enable you to accomplish.
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These essay questions assess the applicants’ problem-solving skills and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, so make sure you focus on showcasing these qualities in your answers.
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Be authentic and honest. Don't try to impress the reviewers with what you think they want to hear.
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Keep your answers unique, which would be easy to do if you just stick to your own experiences, as everyone has different journeys in tech.
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I’d suggest writing on Grammarly, and just letting your thoughts out based on the prompt and letting Grammarly keep the word count and language in check. I’d highly recommend you not to use ChatGPT, to avoid any sort of cliché responses. (Did I use ChatGPT for this story? 😉)
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Try to get someone who is brutally honest to review the essays for you. You can also reach out to past scholarship winners for help.
Tips for the work experience and extracurriculars questions:
For these questions, you can describe the impact you made for up to 4 activities in up to 150 characters each. This section is similar to Common App’s “Activities” section for college applications.
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Choose the 4 activities you write about wisely. Make sure they showcase your problem-solving skills as well as community contributions.
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A good distribution would be 2 tech-related work experiences and 2 extracurriculars, preferably those where you held leadership positions.
Stage 2: Coding Challenge
The coding challenge is a holistic way to assess your skills. Everyone who applies gets an invitation to this challenge. From my experience, the questions are simpler than the ones for Google’s Software Engineering Internship Online Assessment, so I’d say they are Easy-Medium level questions.
For preparation, just revise your data structures and algorithms, and practice easy-medium questions on LeetCode.
Stage 3: Interview
This stage is called the “Meet-n-Greet”, and is basically a 15–30 minute video conversation with a Googler to learn more about your passion and goals. You’ll make it to this stage based on your application responses, so it's a great achievement to be selected as one among the thousands of applicants for this stage.
My Meet-and-Greet was with Adela Deng, who was a Google Software Engineer in San Francisco. She was an inspiring woman and we had a very engaging conversation about our entrepreneurial endeavors and our experiences as women in the tech industry.
Preparing for the meet-and-greet:
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Know your purpose for applying for this scholarship, and make sure you know your resume in and out. Think about your long-term plans, and how you feel as a woman in tech.
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Try to practice with another friend applying for the scholarship to avoid getting nervous during the real interview. Do the interviewing too so that both you and your friend can benefit!
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During the interview, do talk about any contributions or future plans you have to improve the representation of underrepresented communities in tech.
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Prepare well for this interview and be your true self, as this is going to be the last hurdle to get that scholarship!
Finally: The Results
I was thrilled to receive an email from Google congratulating me on winning the scholarship! I could not believe it and read the email several times, just to be sure that it was actually the final result. For my year, 55 winners were chosen among 14000+ applicants, so being one among them was an amazing achievement for me. I was extremely grateful to the Googlers who deemed me worthy and to my parents for supporting me!
My Final Message
If you are worried about your academics not being strong enough or not having enough activities to talk about, still apply! Each person has a unique journey, so just showcase your true self for the application and you might just get the scholarship :)
I hope this article has inspired you to apply for the Generation Google Scholarship for Women in Computer Science (APAC) or any other scholarship that interests you. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to me. Thanks for reading! ♥️
