A*STAR India Youth Scholarship - Information & Updates

Sorry for keeping the title a little mundane. This post includes the Procedure for Application of the A*STAR India Youth Scholarship and the Syllabus for Written Test. More info & update space coming up.

This is intended to be the first post among the string of posts that relate to the same scholarship and my updates. Please tag along, and if you need any help, just email me at (atharvjoshi@ymail.com) or join the blog. The first post is a bit boring, because it touches upon formal details, but anyways, if you just want the updates, promptly scroll down.

So, Read only if:

Number 1: I presume you are either an applicant/wannabe or someone selected under the Singapore MOE (Ministry Of Education) & A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) India Youth Scholarship.

Number 2: Or, you just are one of those awesome people I’m missing right now, reading my updates.

Number 3: Ah, just read along anyways! 

To begin, I have some web clippings (jpeg images) that tell something about the scholarship, the benefits, and yeah – the Moolah! Trust me, during my online research pre and post obtaining scholarship, I found websites reproducing the SAME info again and again, which is of no help to anyone benefitting from the scholarship. Sometimes, just reading written text builds your confidence and satisfaction, and as 4 years is no short time span, such info helps. Here goes nothing!

For more info, go to the Official Website. 90% of other hits on Google lead to nowhere but copy-paste!

In short, this promises to be a wonderful opportunity, studying in a country well known for its edu system, enjoying certain benefits, working hard and it can help you shape your future career. But, there are some areas you need to probe, and then decide for yourself whether you are up to the challenges that you will be facing. I arrived in Singapore on 27^th Dec 2011, just like 8 days before, and I found things different from accounts that were recounted by past scholars, through social media or telephone. So, let’s start from the beginning.

In June/July, start checking for the advertisement in any leading newspaper, or just check out the MOE website. Send your documents (Report Books, Birth Certificate etc), and you should fill in a very extensive portfolio online, asking for things ranging from Parent’s details to number of siblings. Leave aside atleast an hour to fill it up carefully. Make a rough note of some of your Achievements, even anything trivial will do. The key is to show that you are good at many diverse areas, be it CCAs, Sports, Academics or Leadership Roles. After filling in, promptly submit and wait for them to contact you. (Send documents through a reliable courier service)

Singapore - The Little Red Dot at the end of the Malay Peninsula

As given in the important dates screenshot, you will get a letter from MOE inviting you to the Written Exam at your preferred centre. Now, you have 3 papers – General Ability, Mathematics and English. During our written exams, the Gen. Ability paper had questions on Series, Complete the Pattern (the kind of Mental Ability you see for the NTSE exam). It mainly tested your spatial abilities, how you can work with shapes in your mind and match the pattern to one of the options given. This test required speed, doing 48 questions in 20 minutes. The English paper is generally quite like school exam papers, divided into sections – Comprehension (Reading Passages and answering based on them), Grammar and a Structured Essay. The Math test is there to scare you, its tough. It covers Algebra (upto Indian equivalent of 9^th Grade), some problems testing Application skills, Geometry (Grade 8), Speed/Distance problems (Grade 10) and yeah, Trigonometry (Grade 10). If you just touch upon these topics, and use your head a little bit, the Math paper should be a breeze. 

During your written test, there are parent & student briefings, and try and listen to the details and ask the MOE representatives whatever queries you have.

After this, you wait. Atleast for about 2 months. If you are selected for the interview, you will get an email and a letter from MOE. Umm, quite tired by now, I intend to cover the Interview in my next post. Sorry! Have been sleep deprived for the past 3-4 days. 

Mr. Curious - UPDATES

WiredDifferently

Its been more than a week since I came here. One week done in school already. Touched down on CHANGi on the 27^th. I have been posted to Temasek Secondary School, one of the better schools and I am staying at Victoria Hall, a massive boarding complex in the Victoria School campus. There are four of us in our room, one Vietnamese, one Laosian and an Indian, and me. The people here are really friendly, the hostel staff, the teacher mentors, the peers at school and the teachers at school too. I have met a bunch of 17 Indians (mostly seniors) staying at VH too. By the way, I’ve had my parents come with me for 8 days, helping me settle in. They left today at 7pm. I had time to explore Singapore (MRT, Bus Service, Sentosa, Singapore Flyer, TOPless Bus Tours around Singapore), and met up with some relatives and contacts staying here. The schooling here demands hardwork, and lots of it. This means staying up till midnight completing homework, assignments and also having fun!!! So, this blog is a diary cum info space for me from now! Contact me a atharvjoshi@ymail.com or just find me on Facebook by following the link to the right tab of the blog!

Bye for now, and, yeah, wait for the next post!

Atharv