15 Cold Mails But the Man Did not Reply – A Nigerian Scholarship Winner Recounts

 

A wise man once told me, "Those who get there early know the road, and not because they have long legs." If you want to get there, knowing how to get there supersedes the willingness to get there. The same can be said about studying abroad. A student who wants to study overseas must not only know the application process but also understand the strategies and tricks. Without these, you will always get the "we regret to inform you..." email. 

This was the case for one young Nigerian student searching for a master’s opportunity abroad; rejection came in the form of no reply at all. He sent email after email, but they all disappeared into silence, and with each one, hope felt thinner.

The journey began on LinkedIn. He saw a master’s position advertised by a university. The programme looked perfect, and the scholarship opportunity was real. But there was a condition. Applicants were required to secure a research supervisor before applying. For him, this became the real challenge.

He knew he needed someone who would understand his background and research interests. After some thought, he identified an Afro-American lecturer whose work touched on development, inequality, and the African experience. He believed the lecturer would understand the African condition better than most. With hope and excitement, he sent his first email.

That email was mainly about change. He wrote passionately about what he wanted to fix in Nigeria and the impact he hoped to make in the future. Days passed. No reply.

He tried again. This time, he focused on what he could offer as a student. He talked about his commitment and willingness to work hard. However, he received no response.

He refused to give up, and he refined the message again. He spoke about his past achievements, his strengths, and the skills he had developed over the years. Silence followed.

At one point, frustration took over. He sent another email, this time opening up about his struggles and the difficulties he had faced. He hoped the honesty would connect. It did not. Again, there was no reply.

With tears in his eyes, he said, "I told Ade, 'This scholarship thing is not for me' because..." At this stage, many people would have concluded that the supervisor was simply not interested, or it was fate. But then advice came from someone who had walked the same path. The advice was simple and uncomfortable. “You are talking too much about yourself. You have not shown interest in his work.”

That comment changed everything.

He went back and carefully studied the lecturer’s publications. He read the articles, understood the research direction, and noted the key themes. When he wrote again, the email was different. He spoke about the supervisor’s work. He mentioned specific papers. He explained what he had learnt from them and how his own research interests could build on that foundation. Only then did he briefly explain what he could contribute.

For the first time, there was a reply.

The supervisor responded with questions. There were no promises, no approval, but curiosity. That curiosity grew into conversations. Conversations became an agreement. Agreement became supervision. With a supervisor secured, the application moved forward. Admission followed. The scholarship came through.

Looking back, he realised something important. Supervisors are not looking for students who admire them. They are looking for students who understand their work. Once he shifted the focus from himself to the research, everything changed.

If you are sending cold emails today and hearing nothing back, this story is for you. Sometimes the problem is not rejection. Sometimes, you are just speaking the wrong language.