My advice to Chokkas

I am a Chokka. A chokka is a slang term for a person who secures 4.0/4.0 GPA. And my 4.0 CGPA at PNEC, NUST gave me a permanent membership of that club.
Most people assume that chokkas have it all figured out and life is easy for them in university. Yes you are right, we know everything already, be afraid, be very afraid. No, I am kidding, for the most part chokkas have the same fears and apprehensions as the rest of the folk, the only difference is that for a poor student there is no way to go but up, for a chokka the only way is down. This persistent struggle for consistency takes a good toll of our nerves and therefore most chokkas seem to be frazzled folks. But there are some important things that I want my fellow chokkas to remember:

Try to make your university experience well-rounded
Don't forget to make good friends
Make friends with diverse interests, it will help you to see the world in more interesting ways
Follow multiple passions, indulge in sports, magazine design, photography, chess, run in elections for societies in university, travel with your friends, write stories/essays/articles, explore your city
Keep a good posture and learn good body language
Work on interpersonal skills, we all need them
Stop being the teacher's obvious pet, you will make the grade in any case
Help out your friends with their studies, you can and you should
Get involved in social work and make a dent in your surroundings
Try to make a positive impact in the life of your student fellows
Stop telling your friends that you didn't really prepare for the test, we all know you did
Stop telling your friends that your test didn't go well, we don't believe you
Try to carry out some good research work, that will help in your quest for future studies
Apply for a job that matches your interests
Keep preparing slowly for your GRE
Read books on a diverse range of subjects
Find inner peace, through whatever means you prefer
Have fun
Keep getting the 4.0

 

My fellow Rhodes candidates

I was amazed and humbled by my fellow candidates at the Rhodes interview. They were amazing achievers in their fields and had a plethora of other talents, yet they were down to earth, friendly and supportive. Philosophy girl had an amazing adoration for Iqbal's poetry, played tennis in her free time and she could play the tablaa! Doctor dude had the most brilliant academic reference letter that I have ever read, I was bowled over by it. Economics girl was actively involved with a great number of socio-political endeavours. Computer dude had a slightly off-kilter sense of humour, yet he was the friendliest of our bunch. Architect girl was a gold medalist and full of funny anecdotes. Professor dude kept mostly to himself and we didn't get acquainted very well.
All in all, I made some really nice friends on interview day and we had a great reunion in Islamabad when I went for my IOM appointment.

How to make time for GMAT/GRE prep if you have a job

If you are looking for a short cut, you won't find it here.
In my experience, the best way to prepare for the GMAT/GRE while keeping a full time job is to start 2 months before your intended test date. Study like hell and get it over with. By study like hell I mean the program that I followed as outlined in my previous post. You will have to force yourself to take up the vocabulary list after coming back from a long office day and stay focused on the job at hand until you reach your daily word/study/problems target. It is no easy feat, I know, but the aim here is to get a GRE/GMAT score that puts you securely at the top of the achievers list. For two months everything else outside office should take the back burner. You should still allocate set amounts of time for your friends and family, but you should convey to them what you are trying to achieve and why it is important to you. They will understand. And once you get that awesome high score they will be proud of you and tell the whole world about your amazing achievement!

How to prepare for the GRE

My GRE prep began in the last semester of university. I used to carry a big word list with me wherever I went. Some friends started to test me on the words randomly and it turned out to be a good way to pass the lazy lab sessions. I learned around 500 or so words during this time.
After university, when I joined Engro, I took a hiatus from my GRE prep and for the most part of my first year allowed myself to become completely engulfed in the vibrant life at Engro's Daharki site. Then beginning in Feb, 2011 I started to focus back on my GRE prep and cut back on the rest of my social engagements, to study Princeton Review's Word Smart for GRE. It helped me get back on track with my vocabulary preparation. A lot of people differ with my opinion but I really believe that using word lists gives a huge boost to your vocabulary prep, it is simple fast and easy. Everyday after studying the new words, I studying some of the tricky words from the last lesson too. After finishing word smart, I starting to study the Kaplan word list. Each day I targeted to finish 140 words, then revised the words from the last day's list and marked those words from last day's list that I couldn't recall at all. After going through Kaplan, I revised the marked words and on my second revision, re-marked those words which were still giving me trouble. Then I started the math prep, for which I quickly went through the math tips given in Barron's book and then moved on to attempting practice tests on my computer. Math prep should not take more than 2 weeks for an engineering student. Once done with maths, I started to take some complete CAT tests, and focused on the areas in which I consistently made mistakes, which for me were the comprehension questions.
After this I started to read ARCO book for essay questions, went through a few examples to get a good idea of structure and argument formation.
On the night of the test I went through the final marked words one last time. Took a good night's sleep. Gave the test. Scored 1550/1600.

The importance of professional experience

This post is intended to address the dilemma of students who can't seem to decide whether they should go directly for further studies or get a job out of university. The simplest answer in my opinion is, you should go and get a good job first.

Pros of getting a job:
You get industry exposure
You learn people skills
You learn about good procedures
You get a good grip on your technical knowledge
You get to see a lot of things in action, which you previously only knew via books
You get better at handling people driven stress
You learn how to negotiate
You earn money, which if situation permits you can set aside to cover the costs incurred during higher studies application process
You make friends/contacts in the professional realm
You get a realistic idea of your strengths and weaknesses
You get a better idea of what you want to do with life and if the 9-5 office drill fits you

Cons of getting a job:
You feel like you have little time left for studies or GMAT/GRE preparation
You get bogged down in the 9-5 grind
You might get addicted to the steady paycheck
You might end up changing or scraping your higher studies plan entirely (this may be a pro)
You might loose sight of your personal goals for a long while, as you try to make a niche for yourself on the corporate ladder just because you are expected to
You may withhold your goals till the next year, that never comes
You may find getting back to studies difficult as you may feel that studying is "too much effort"

The cons can all be overcome by keeping sight of your goals and keep yourself motivated to achieve them no matter what it takes.
And you should be willing to re-evaluate your goals and long term vision if your stint in the professional world ends up changing your priorities all together.

The impossible personal statement

If I had a dime for each time I was asked a question related to the writing of personal statements, I would have roughly made 100 dollars by now. Personal statements are precarious grounds and the most baffling aspect of them for some people is that no one other you can truly make a great personal statement for you.
In its simplest form a personal statement should tell the reader about where you are coming from, what do you intend to do about it now and how does it translate into a better future for all of us.

Personal statements usually give jitters to a lot of Pakistani students because most of them have never been asked to put that advanced level of introspection on paper before. Most of us have never fully answered the question of "What do you want to do and why do you want to do it?". And therein lies the trap of personal statements, it is easier to procrastinate on them rather than find a good, meaningful answer to these questions.
So, what should you do about it and how should you approach this question?

First of all, give yourself at least 2 months to write your personal statement. If time permits, go on a nature/adventure trip. Change of scenery will bring you some clarity. Don't force yourself to think about your personal statement during this time, let yourself enjoy your surroundings.

Visit your family, especially the older members of your family and listen to their stories. This will give you a sense of belonging and will remind you of your heritage and roots. Talk to your parents about memories of your childhood, what you wished to become, your favourite toys, games, places to visit etc.

Ask yourself some future projection questions, "If I am 30/40/50 and I look back at my life, what do I want to see?", "What will matter to me most when I am 10/20/30 years older?", "What is the thing that I would love to have the most?" (Adventure/family/money/world peace/my own company etc.) , "Will the world be a better place if I get this chance?", "Can I make the world a better place if I get this chance?", "Can I reach my goal without doing this degree?" Don't flinch on telling yourself the true answers to these questions, accept them, embrace the truth of them and let them fill your thoughts. Give yourself some more free time after this and let these questions sit on your mind's back burner, soon good ideas will start bubbling in your head and you will know that you are ready to write your kick ass personal statement.

Every personal statement has its own character, like the wands in Harry Potter! The personal statement should be a reflection of the person writing it. When a person, who has never met you before, reads your personal statement, they should come away with a better understanding of who you are as a person, what are your aspirations and why you should be given a chance to fulfill those goals, rather than just getting a rundown of your CV in sentence form.

Approach your personal statement with a joyful heart rather than a sense of dread. You may begin your personal statement with a small personal narrative, a little personal story, a short event, that impacted your life deeply or something that you sense has been guiding you along in your life. Show how that has translated into your decisions/choices in life or how it has motivated you to excellence.

Don't just tell the reader about your achievements, tell them about the human side of those achievements, your fears, the hurdles you overcame, the lessons you learned in getting to those achievements. Try to stay away from things that the reader can garner elsewhere from your application. Show the reader your qualities, let them shine through your narrative, rather than just stating them.Show the reader your lofty ideals, the goals you aspire to and why these goals are worth pursuing. Know the limits of your experience and vision and try to stay well away from going over the top.

Keep your writing style formal, yet not pompous; personal, yet not casual. Know your inherent worth and derive confidence from this and let it reflect in your writing.

Read, re-read and re-read again. Make as many drafts as you need, but know when to stop, show it to friends and family, your professors if possible.

Most important of all, don't ask someone else to write it on your behalf. It's a personal statement.

The Rhodes interview

My Rhodes interview took place on 18 Nov, 2011 at the old FAST building in Rawalpindi. I got there at around 8:30 AM and the interviews started at 9. All the other candidates were there and we sat in the foyer outside the interview room. As soon as I arrived, I observed that all the other candidates had brought laptops with them and myriad folders, this made me queasy and I thought that maybe I had forgotten to bring along some important documentation or something or perhaps we were supposed to prepare a presentation to give to the judges, but thankfully that was not the case and everyone had just brought their laptops to pass the time (mostly check facebook). Each candidate had a roughly 50 mins long interview, followed by about a 10 mins break, after which the next candidate was called in. All of us were jittery and this quickly led to us becoming gossipy and we were soon laughing at ourselves. The first candidate to go in was Economics girl, after her Professor dude, followed by Doctor dude, then Philosophy Girl, then me, after me Computer dude, and last was Architect girl. I might be off the mark on some details about the other candidates' interviews but Economics girl's interview seemed to go pretty smooth, Professor dude seemed to be a bit unsure about questions that were out of his academic domain, Doctor dude came out exuding an aura of delight, which added to the stress for the rest of us, Philosophy girl tripped over a question of religious controversy and had to spend a considerable amount of time trying to explain it to the judges, we all tried to soothe her, but it was of little avail, Computer dude's ideal personality was a slightly controversial religious figure and this seemed to direct most of his interview, Architect girl's interview went smooth.
During lunch break we had biryani and kebabs from Savour, and the Isb/Rwp candidates told me that Savour food was really popular there, but I failed to see (taste) what the hoopla is about. Biryani in Karachi rocks any day.
My interview started around 2:30 PM. The interview room was a big conference room with a big rectangular table dividing it into two sections. The whole panel of eight judges was sitting on one side of a long table while I was alone at the other side. I cannot recall the names of all the judges, but I remember that Wasim Sajjad sat in the middle to his left was Shaukat Hameed Khan, beside him was the British High Commissioner, at my extreme right was Cyril Almeida and to my extreme left was Babar Sattar. There was a lady sitting beside Cyril. Mr Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa was also part of the selection committee.
The interviewers ask questions about everything that you have mentioned in your personal statement in particular and your application in general. They ask detailed questions about your future plans and also offer advice about them. The panel doesn't flinch in pointing out if they think you have given an answer that is completely amiss. The questions cover a broad range of topics, from global politics and economics to questions about local religious conflicts, from your proposed subject to your favourite sport. The panel drills you at times with tougher and tougher questions to see if you can handle conflict of opinion and they since they are a very distinguished group of people from all fields of life therefore it is impossible to feed them half baked answers. At one point I had to defend my choice of never having read a newspaper in the last 6 years, or never watching a news channel with interest. There are no real right or wrong answers, but the judges do want to know if you have formed an informed opinion about the topic and are willing to defend that opinion in a civil and confident manner. You should also know when to see flaws in your logic and be willing to accept that. At two points at least in my interview, I had to accept that I did not have sufficient knowledge on the subject to make an informed judgement about the issue. It went something like this:

"What is the difference between Afghan Taliban and Pakistan Taliban?"
"Sir I believe that the true difference lies in our perception, what one might view as a terrorist might be another persons hero and therefore we should be willing to accept this fundamental flaw in our perception"
"No, there is a definite difference but you seem unaware of it"
I was dumbfounded by this remark but I managed to say, "Ok Sir, I will look into it".

At another point we got into a detailed argument regarding the domino uprisings in the middle east, after being drilled about the topic for around 10 minutes Cyril asked me:

"Ali tell me frankly, what are these factors for the uprisings that you seem to be hinting at?"
"Cyril, I believe I will have to step back at this point and accept that I lack sufficient knowledge to give an informed answer to your question"
At this point Mr. Khosa  gently explained to me that it was the influx of a large number of foreign educated nationals in the middle east that led to a critical mass of dissonance, resulting in these domino uprisings.

The interviewers gently challenge your opinions and see if you can handle that maturely and defend your convictions.
There are sprinkles of humour too as the panel tries to make the candidate comfortable through out the interview. At the very end of my interview, Mr. Wasim Sajjad asked me:
"Ali, did you ever had an American teacher?"
"No, Sir"
"Then where did you get your accent from?"
I was surprised by this and an "Oh my God!" slipped from my mouth and he laughed and said to Mr. Shaukat, "He got it from God!"

After finishing my interview, I felt a huge relief and could finally see the humour of our panicked states. Sometime during all the waiting, we all decided that whoever gets selected will treat the rest at Serena Hotel.
The interviews finished at around 6 PM. Mr. Babar Sattar came out after the final deliberation, which lasted 20 mins and told us that, "Every year the pool of candidates is very talented and this year you guys made our job even more difficult, but there has to one final candidate and this year the panel has selected Mr. Syed Ali Asad Rizvi". I had a huge surge of adrenaline, suddenly it was as if I had become weightless, I glided around the hall, shaking the hands of my fellow candidates, accepting their congratulations, and was taken to the conference room one more time to meet the panel. The panel gave me their best wishes and told me to start reading newspapers!

I informed my family and friends, my parents broke down into tears. Later, all seven of us went to Sarena and enjoyed the buffet there, after which I took a walk alone in the Hotel's lawn. It was a beautiful winter night filled with the smell of red roses.

The Rhodes informal pre-interview dinner

The Rhodes interview process kicks off with an informal dinner, held on the evening before the actual interviews. The dinner gives the candidates a chance to meet and get acquainted with the judges, some Rhodes alumni and various dignitaries associated with the Rhodes scholarships in Pakistan.
I reached Islamabad on Thursday night. Agha Afzal Hussain had offered the candidates a place to stay at the Pakistan Youth Hostel Islamabadand but I chose to stay at a friend's place. On Friday evening I went to Pakistan Youth Hostel to meet up with any candidates who might be staying there, I found out that most of the candidates were from Islamabad, so only one candidate, henceforth known as Computer Dude, from Karachi was staying there. We introduced ourselves to each other and it turned that he was working in the same company for which I had undergone an extensive interview process before joining my current job.
The dinner was arranged at Marriot Hotel and Agha Sahab, Computer Dude and I went there together. On the way there Agha Sahab gave both of us a quick run down of the guests who would be present there and a bit of background information on the judges. I was reminded of the scene in the Devil Wears Parada movie where Anne is given a big album of guest pictures to memorize before the big ball.
We were the first to arrive and we chatted for a while with some academicians who arrived soon after. Soon the other candidates, guests and judges started pouring in. The candidates included Philosophy Girl, Doctor Dude, Professor Dude, Architect Girl, Economics Girl. There tables were pre designated and the judges on my table were Shaukat Hameed Khan and Cyril Almeida. The talk revolved mostly around Imran Khan's politics and then we learned a bit about what goes on behind the scenes after the application deadline. Turns out that every year around 350 people from Pakistan apply for the Rhodes Scholarship, out of which roughly half don't fulfill the basic eligibility threshold and are dropped. Copies of all the remaining applications are sent to the eight judges, who individually come up with their top candidates list, with the personal statement being one of the foremost factors in the decision making. These lists are then consolidated and the top seven or eight candidates and then called for interview, and so here we were. The food was delicious yet none of the candidates ate much, I think we were all pretty stressed. Philosophy girl wowed the people on her table with a detailed discussion about Iqbal's poetry.
After the dinner the candidates stood around for a while and chatted, we found out that most of us were on the Fulbright shortlist too. The dinner was a wonderful experience from start to finish and further fueled my desire to be part of the Rhodes community.

A brief history of mine

This is a brief timeline of things so far, detailed posts for some items may follow at later dates.

31 Aug, 2011 - Submitted Rhodes application
15 Nov, 2011 - Received call from Mr. Agha Afzal Hussain to come to Islamabad for Rhodes interview
17 Nov, 2011 - Informal dinner with judges, Rhodes alumni, academicians, and other Rhodes finalists  
18 Nov, 2011 - Rhodes interview *Got Selected*
08 Dec, 2011 - Started to receive correspondence from Mary Eaton, with instructions for applying to Oxford  
22 Dec, 2011 - Started Oxford Graduate Admissions application  
10 Jan, 2012 - Skyped with Prof. Steve Roberts to discuss my research proposal  
14 Jan, 2012 - Completed and submitted Oxford application
22 Mar, 2012  - Received initial offer for the DPhil in Engineering Science
07 Apr, 2012 - Submitted application for ATAS certificate  
27 Apr, 2012 - Received ATAS certificate  
29 May, 2012 - Got admitted to Brasenose College  
19 Jun, 2012 - Got confirmation of Scholarship, which arrives after college placement is complete
22 Jun, 2012 - Started Brasenose accommodation application. Mrs. Fiona Gair was most helpful with the submission of the GBP 100 deposit.  
27 Jun, 2012 - Received the accommodation offer and accepted it.  
27 Jun, 2012 - Received the CAS  
29 Jun, 2012 - Started online Visa application  
01 Jul, 2012 - Completed the online Visa application
06 Jul, 2012 - Sent the University contract by post  
09 Jul, 2012 - Got the TB test certificate from IOM Islamabad
10 Jul, 2012 - Received confirmation from Maureen McNaboe (University Card Manager) that contract has been received  
12 Jul, 2012 - Received Oxford registration credentials and created SSO id  
16 Jul, 2012 - Submitted visa application at Gerry's Karachi 
20 Jul, 2012 - TT and MMR-1 vaccine
27 Jul, 2012 - Got assigned a DPhil buddy by Prof. Roberts
28 Jul, 2012 - Bike
30 Jul, 2012 - Got notification of successful visa
03 Aug, 2012 - Visa collected from Gerry's Karachi  
04 Aug, 2012 - Tuxedo order 
08 Aug, 2012 - Sent bank application form to Sheila Partridge 
16 Aug, 2012 - MMR-2 vaccine
27 Aug, 2012 - Tuxedo fitting
31 Aug, 2012 - KHI-DXB-LHR ticket bought
01 Sep, 2012 - Mencevax ACWY vaccine
20 Sep, 2012 - Tuxedo collected by Madi
21 Sep, 2012 - MUL-KHI, Hartal
22 Sep, 2012 - KHI-DXB, DXB-LHR, (Collin P.)
22 Sep, 2012 - St Cross Annexe, fob collected
22 Sep, 2012 - Dinner at 102 Abingdon 
23 Sep, 2012 - Lunch at Trinity
23 Sep, 2012 - Dinner at The Kings Arms
24 Sep, 2012 - Bod card collected, passport scanned (Henry)
24 Sep, 2012 - Met Prof. Roberts, Mary E., Shellia P.
24 Sep, 2012 - Opened NatWest account
24 Sep, 2012 - Applied for Tesco Clubcard
24 Sep, 2012 - Dinner at Royal Oak
25 Sep, 2012 - Picnic lunch at Rhodes House gardens
25 Sep, 2012 - Visited Radcliffe lower camera, Gladstone Link, A World Without Islam (P.37)
25 Sep, 2012 - Potluck dinner at 102 Abingdon
26 Sep, 2012 - Got gown and mortarboard for £25, from a BNC alum
27 Sep, 2012 - International Students Orientation Program at Exam Schools
29 Sep, 2012 - Rhodes Welcome Day, RSAAF auction, bought 6 sub-fusc
02 Oct, 2012 - Graduate Freshers Dinner at Brasenose
03 Oct, 2012 - Rhodes Class of 2012 photo
03 Oct, 2012 - Oxford University Student Union Fresher's Fair
04 Oct, 2012 - BNC Parents dinner, Chilli Chilli Chicken No. 2
12 Oct, 2012 - Alain Locke reception at Rhodes House
13 Oct, 2012 - Oxford Matriculation
19 Oct, 2012 - Rhodes House Coming-up Dinner
24 Oct, 2012 - Elected OUSU Grad Rep - MPLS Division
07 Nov, 2012 -  Google Rhodes & Marshall Scholars Event

Passport Received

Hurrah! Just got a message from UK visa office, informing me that my passport has been received and is ready for collection.
I had submitted my application on 16th July, 2012 at the Karachi center. Visa application fee was PKR 44,250 (the application fee was PKR 43,950 and PKR 300 was fee for getting the receipt of payment of application fee). 
My TB x-ray was conducted on 9 July in Islamabad, and it cost PKR 4250. 
All this expense is covered by the scholars themselves. Visas of scholars have gotten delayed in the past due to confusion over this point.

Points of interest:

• The photo that needs to be submitted with the visa application has to follow the strict guidelines given on the UKBA website. A friend had snapped my photo that followed the guidelines to the T, but I forgot that the pictures need to be printed on matte, not glossy paper. Thankfully I had the soft copy of the photo in my email and got it printed on matte paper from a shop near the Gerry's office.
• The TB certificate has to be collected by the candidate themselves. The Islamabad office of IOM is better and the staff was very nice. 
• Don't bother with the premium lounge facility offered by the visa center, it costs 3000 and you can do without it. 
• Keep some spare cash on you at all times. I needed 100 to get the matte photos printed, 10 for getting my NIC photocopied, 200 to pay the visa application lady for the optional SMS notification service (take this service, helps keep you updated about your application status).
• Fill the online visa application form and take its printout with you to avoid unnecessary hassle.
• Call the Gerry's office via landline. The call costs PKR 10 per minute, and eats mobile balance fast.