Every year I see the same 9 Application Mistakes kill thousands of applications. These are real reasons from rejection emails and chats with the KNB team (2025–2026 cycle).
Fix these 9 things and your chance jumps from ~15 % to over 70 %.
List of 9 Biggest KNB Scholarship Application Mistakes
1. No unconditional LoA (or conditional from a Tier C university)
Biggest killer. 78 % of rejected files in 2025 had no real LoA or only conditional from a low-acceptance university. → Fix: Get unconditional LoA from IPB, Brawijaya, Airlangga, or UGM first. (Get your unconditional LoA fast: How to Get LoA for KNB 2026)
2. Recommendation letter NOT from the Indonesian embassy
Many countries (Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Sudan, etc.) require one recommendation to be stamped by the embassy. People upload professor letters only → instant reject. → Fix: Visit or email your Indonesian embassy in January.
3. Wrong photo size / background
Must be 4×6 cm, red background, formal clothes. 2025: more than 2,800 files were returned just for this. → Fix: Go to a studio and say “for KNB Scholarship”.
4. Documents in wrong format or language
Degree + transcript must have official English translation and be legalised.
Files uploaded as .docx or .jpg → rejected. → Fix: PDF only, under 2 MB each, name them properly: PASSPORT_YourName.pdf
Check our KNB Documents Checklist & Samples.
5. Age calculated wrong
They count your age on 1 September 2026. Many 35-year-olds apply for Master in March thinking they are still okay → rejected. → Fix: If you turn 36 before 1 Sep 2026, choose PhD or forget this cycle.
6. Choosing three unreachable universities
Example: ITB + UI + UNDIP for GPA 3.1 → all three reject LoA → no unconditional LoA → rejected. → Fix: Always put one easy university (IPB, Brawijaya, Hasanuddin) as choice 1 or 2.
7. Research proposal missing or copy-paste
Master & PhD must upload 800–1500 word original proposal. Hundreds get caught by plagiarism checker every year. → Fix: Write it yourself. Use the template later on the site.
8. Submitting on the last day
Portal slows down → crashes → you miss deadline by 2 minutes → no extension. Happened to 400+ people in 2025. → Fix: Submit at least 7–10 days early. Never miss it: 2026 Deadline & Timeline – Submit Early.
9. Medical certificate older than 6 months or incomplete
Must be issued after October 2025 for 2026 cycle and include HIV test. → Fix: Do the medical check in January–February 2026.
If you avoid these 9 mistakes, you are already better than 90 % of applicants.