Funding your Study Abroad Dream

“Be authentic, tell us who you really are; don’t try to be someone else.“

This was the advice I received from the NYU-Tandon School of Engineering representative when I met her at the SEED STEM Master’s Conclave event held at my alma mater – IIT-Madras in 2022.

Having always had a curiosity about how things worked, I knew engineering would be the right path to explore this inquisitiveness. The best path for an engineering aspirant in India has always been one of the IITs. After securing an All India Rank (AIR) of 331 in JEE Advanced and AIR 434 in the Mains, I was among the top 0.02% of the admits at IIT-Madras. My IIT journey was full of exciting, irreplaceable experiences but I hungered for more. However, at this point, I did not know what I craved to achieve.

Post graduation, I decided to build my career at Oracle where I explored Computer Science to greater lengths. While being fulfilling, time passed and I yearned to expand my horizons. Having contemplated studying abroad before, I still had some reservations. The lack of knowledge about foreign countries and their education system, the complicated processes involved and the lack of return on investment were daunting for me. On the other hand, the security my job offered forced me to stay in my comfort zone. I happily continued to work at Oracle but one day saw an advertisement about SEED’s STEM Master’s Conclave being held in Chennai. I saw no harm in attending the event as it was in my city. The way my perspective shifted after meeting the universities was absolutely unimaginable.

At the SEED STEM Master’s Conclave at IIT-M, I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Carrie Bowling, NYU-Tandon’s representative who enlightened me on what the school could offer based on my preferences and goals. She went through my profile in detail, had an enlightening discussion with me about the future, and gave me an exact roadmap to NYU for the Fall 2023 intake.

At the beginning of the event, I did not know what I wanted to achieve but by the end of it, not only did I know what choices I had as an international student, which universities had the best courses, but also what my career trajectory could be with a degree from a top US STEM school.

I went on to start my application. It seemed tedious at the time but the joy I felt when I received an offer from NYU made everything worth it. Just when I couldn’t be happier, the SEED team approached me with a new avenue. They had introduced a scholarship fund and I applied for their STEM Leadership Scholarship without further thought even though I knew getting a scholarship is much harder than getting admission to a school. The scholarship application process was straightforward and simple. When I received an email saying I was shortlisted, I was elated and started preparing for my interview. The interview was very focused on understanding my ideas and objectives when it came to my career as well as my future at NYU. It was refreshing to see that the organisation cared about me as a candidate and spent time knowing my aim. When I learned that I had received the scholarship award, I was ecstatic!

Not only am I grateful to SEED for giving me a scholarship to achieve my dreams but for introducing me to the NYU representative who helped me understand that there are no limits to dreaming big as long as you are willing to put in the effort.