Student blogs

As my first blog post, I want to share how, coming from Brazil, I ended up in Sweden for my master’s degree and what the application process was like.

How did I choose KI?

First of all, hi, my name is Thais, and I was born and raised in São Paulo city, the capital of the state of São Paulo in Brazil and I lived there for my whole life.

The first time I heard about KI was during my bachelor’s studies, through a friend. When I looked into it, I found out that KI is one of the places that produces a lot of research on eating disorders (my area of interest). Since I had already decided on a research career, I started to look into the application process.

However, after graduating, I entered the job market as a dietitian in São Paulo to save up and prepare for my international plans. This included studying for an English proficiency certificate, which was a mandatory requirement for non-english native speakers (I originally speak Portuguese).

Because I couldn’t stay away from academia, I also joined a research group, completed two postgraduate courses (one in child health and the other in eating disorders), and volunteered for a non-governmental organisation focused on youth nutrition.

Besides the experience I had during my undergraduate studies, I think all of these really helped boost my CV.

Navigating the application system

When it came to the application period, even though I had already seen the CV format, actually filling it out was a different process (yes, I struggled a little). The Brazilian and Swedish academic systems are very different, so translating my background and post-bachelor experience was tough. Still, I managed to submit everything almost two months before the deadline (yes, I am anxious and a bit desperate, I know!).

During the application process, I also discovered that since the Swedish application system is a unified one, you can apply for four different courses. This is especially interesting for students outside the European Union like me, because you only have to pay one application fee and get the opportunity to have four applications.

I was actually surprised to learn from my European colleagues that they don’t have to pay this fee at all. So, dear European reader, there’s your sign: just apply! You never know what might happen.

In parallel, I applied to other universities abroad, but KI remained my top choice, especially because of the scholarship opportunities. As a non-EU student, I have to pay a tuition fee, and coming here would have been impossible without financial aid. So, again, to my European readers: apply, and if you get in, come! It’s free for you, and it’s KI, so it’s absolutely worth it.

BUT to my fellow non-EU readers, don’t lose hope! KI offers the Global Master’s Scholarship, which covers the two-year tuition for one international student in each programme. There is also the Swedish Institute (SI) scholarship, which covers both tuition and living costs.

The emotional rollercoaster

Back to my journey: in February, when the results came out on University Admissions and I saw I was accepted, I couldn’t even celebrate yet. I had to wait for the scholarship results. What followed was a long, stressful process involving a lot of printed paper and official stamps for the SI scholarship, and a simple process of applying to the KI scholarship (really, you just have to press a button).

April brought a Thursday I will never forget. The SI released their results, and I wasn’t selected. I was devastated and cried for three days. But things turned around on Sunday (well, it was a Sunday night in Brazil, but midnight Monday in Sweden). I received an email announcing I had won the KI Global Master’s Scholarship! I couldn’t believe I was actually going to KI. I accepted the offer, who wouldn’t?

In the meantime, I reached out to the very research group that had inspired me to apply in the first place. I emailed the principal investigator in June, introducing myself and expressing my desire to contribute to the group. Today, I am officially part of the group I was dreaming about two years ago.

Moving here meant making big sacrifices, like turning down financially safer opportunities (since the KI scholarship only covers the tuition fee), leaving family and friends, and opening myself up to a completely different culture far from home. After a month in Sweden, writing this has been a great reflection exercise, and I truly hope I made the right decision.