Blue bird

Since I'm only just dipping into this, I'd like to offer some, even though still very young, personal experiences. Many students in my country get published before pursuing a PhD (I'm not one of them and have only just learned the process). They literally have a page full of publication before applying for PhD. Usually, they start to work a few years after their master or Bachelor and get involved in research projects. Once you are a part of the research then there are many opportunities for you to be a part of writing papers as well. Of course you don't get to be the first author right away, but you still have your name in the papers and you get to observe and learn from experienced writers and researchers. (I finally had the gut to ask my boss to lead a paper the other day). As for looking for a journal. I actually finished submitting a paper a couple of weeks ago (Not my paper, but it was a task I was assigned to). What I did was 1) look at the journals that published your researchers' previous papers or papers that you read and were interested in 2) http://jane.biosemantics.org/suggestions.php offers great suggestion but not always 100% matched your interest 3) ask around for suggestions (your professors, your researchers, your friends who published, etc). After doing all that I compiled an excel list of around 10 potential journals before picking one for various reasons (publication fee, impact factor score, relevance to the paper, etc). I'm still very new to this area so looking forward to reading more about everyone's experiences.

I'm not sure if you have got the answer yet but just in case you haven't. I just received the award last week. Also from an SEA country. The general answer is: it depends on the area. The selection committee is usually made up of professors from your country and from Germany. Together they will make the selection the decision and then send the 'nomination list' to DAAD in Bonn. There DAAD will finalise the selection. That's why the selection criteria depend largely on the local DAAD. Usually, you can see the criteria in the grant announcement/advert on DAAD website. From what I see personally though, you are usually expected to have good GPA, a strong recommendation from your potential supervisor, a good and well-thought-out research proposal and if applicable, good performance at the interview. But then it really depends. Sometimes it's a combination of things. As for me, my GPA was OK, I didn't have any publication but I got really good references from my university professors and the interview went really well. In fact, I was told that the interview was the only reason why they decided to give me the last scholarship. I think I was extremely lucky. The cut-off depends on the area. For my country this year, out of over a hundred applied, only 26 were invited for an interviewed and 6 were selected. If you already have another funding, you won't be eligible to received DAAD funding anymore. In that case, you have to notify DAAD as soon as possible. Hope it helps.

I understand that you are very disappointed and frustrated but I think it can't be generalised. I've talked to people and also read posts here from people who applied again and got the scholarship. Sometimes it's a combination of things: your topic, your supervisor, your interview performance, etc. I'm from a South East Asian country and not from any prestigious colleges or universities. My GPA was OK. Didn't even have any publication. I literally just decided to give it a go. I was very surprised when I got selected and decided to talk to the DAAD person to get some feedback. She said that it was because they were surprised with how I defended my topic and how enthusiastic I was. I would call myself extremely lucky. I was rejected by many fundings before DAAD. Mostly because I didn't have any publication or from a prestigious college. So I think you shouldn't be discouraged. Just keep trying.