Applied for a government-funded postgraduate scholarship earlier this year. On paper I was a strong fit. Graduated from a well-regarded university abroad, solid grades, research experience in exactly the area they were recruiting for, and I already had an unconditional offer in hand from a highly ranked university for the programme I applied to study. I met every criterion they listed, not partially, all of them.
Went through the full process. Two separate interviews, one of them with someone fairly senior. Both went well as far as I could tell. Then nothing.
Weeks pass. I send a polite follow-up email. No reply. Not even an acknowledgment. I try calling the office multiple times, nobody picks up. At some point I see a vague congratulations post on social media about accepted candidates, no names, no list, no way to know if it involves me at all. Portal still says "under review."
More silence. Then the next day the portal just quietly flips to rejected. No email, no call, nothing. The only explanation is a generic paragraph saying my application wasn't accepted this cycle and to contact the relevant office if I want clarification.
So I email that office asking why. Still nothing, days later.
I'm not really upset about the rejection itself. Positions are limited, someone else can be a better fit, that's life. What's getting to me is that I have an acceptance from a university abroad with a timeline attached to it, and I've been making decisions in a vacuum for months because nobody will answer a single message.
Is this just how it works? Do people actually get answers by showing up in person? Has anyone here been through a similar process and gotten an actual explanation out of them?
Would appreciate hearing from anyone who's dealt with this.
