Applicants tend to forget that same people are likely to be selected if same people are applying.
I don't remember how many times I applied for scholarship, but I am sure that I applied regularly since users started seriously doubting scholarship granting process. In the year 2015 (I think) some users thought, we were needed a more serious approach for scholarship application and started helping each other. I received a compiled file with answers specifically for me for scholarship form, in-case I would apply. I've used those answers as a template for my application since 2015, without much tweaking, because it was better.

In 2015, I passed to Phase 2. Once the scholarship receiver's list was published, I shared some doubts in Wikimania mailing list.

In 2016, failed in Phase 1, totally againstĀ  phase 1 criteria. My queries to find whether that happened as a repercussion for questioning the process in 2015 in public mailing list didn't get any answers.

In 2017, Passed to Phase2.

This year I didn;t apply for the scholarship. Partially because I was immediately not able to find my template file, and partially because there was no reason to spent some 30 minutes or more for just substantiate an already proven point (atleast to us).

This year, I didn't participated any related discussion. I don't know how many were applied, but it is safe to assume there were more users applied.

Again I am using my username as an example. I am not in search of scholarship. Even in local meet-ups, I attended only once (more than 10 years ago).

~user:Praveenp