After a recent query, I have created a facebook page for people who are applying for Rhodes Scholarships in Pakistan. The purpose of the group is to serve as a knowledge and experience sharing platform, where people can share advice and ask any queries that remain unanswered after reading the posts on this blog.

I have recently made a twitter account @saa_rizvi where I want to reach out to students in Pakistan who are thinking of social entrepreneurship, people who are engaged in photography and my peers in machine learning. I have also crafted my personal website www.saarizvi.com where I share my photography, provide links to my blog(s) and keep some pages of personal interest.

I have recently received some queries about the Rhodes Scholarship which I am going to answer here, so others who have similar questions can also benefit. If you have a question, post it in the comments and I will try to answer it in a future post.

I wrote this article in Sept 2012, in response to a request from Onib Nasir for publishing in my home university magazine. But I am not sure if it was ever used, so I am just posting it here in its original form without any editing.

The mobile phone networks in Pakistan are an amazing blessing, one that like so many things you don’t fully value, until you land in a country which follows arcane phone contract plans. Case in point: (you guessed it right) UK.

A few days ago, a very good friend of mine called me up and asked me very seriously, “Ali, are you an Illuminati?”.

Alice: I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn’t matter, as long as…
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go.

A lot of students, whose GPAs range from 2.0 to 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), often ask me if they would be eligible for any scholarships at all, let alone the most popular ones like Fulbright and Rhodes, because they are afraid that they have very low GPAs. In order to fully answer this question, there are some factors that must be taken into consideration and I will try to outline them in this post.

A lot of my fellows ask me to review their CVs and give suggestions for improvement, in this post I will try to put those things in one place. Most of the CVs that I come across have one thing in common: they are very ugly. There are many things that are essential for the making of an ugly CV, I want to cover the most glaring ones and how to circumvent them.

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.

If you are looking for a short cut, you won’t find it here.

My GRE prep began in the last semester of university. I used to carry a big word list with me wherever I went.

Ashmolean Museum opened its doors exclusively to Oxford fresher students on the night of 06 Nov, 2012.

Firday, 26th Oct, 2012 was my first Eid-ul-Azha in UK. I had found out before hand that there was a big central Mosque in Cowely, where one of the main Eid prayer in Oxford would be held at 9am. My rough estimate for reaching the Mosque was 40 mins, on foot. I woke up at 8am, and was immediately faced with the desire not to go to Eid prayer.

Brasenose College has a very active HCR (Hulme Common Room, the gathering point for graduate students in the college). They have a salsa class every Sunday. This Sunday, was the first one that I attended.

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

31st Oct, 2012 was my first Halloween in a country which actually celebrates it, and in typical Oxford fashion, I was faced with the option of being at two equally enticing places at once.

On Wed, 16th of Oct 2012, I saw my first every live ballet performance.

On 03 Oct, 2012, the Rhodes class of 2012 had their official group photo taken at the Rhodes House. I had initially planned to go dressed in a suit, but on the morning of the group photo, I felt that Shalwar Kameez was the right choice. And so, dressed in a black kameez and white shalwar, I arrived at the Rhodes House.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On 21st Sept, 2012, after a teary eyed farewell from my parents in Multan, I reached Karachi. I reached Karachi on the “Day of Love”.

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.