Aligarh To America: UP Boy Gets 100 Percent Scholarship To Stanford University

It is a dream come true when you taste success even after life throws all kinds of obstacles at you - Manu Chauhan is one such person who faced many roadblocks but now his path is clear as day and he is on his way to Stanford University.

Son of a village salesman, Manu comes from a humble background. But, his journey from Aligarh to Stanford University is inspiring to all those who think they won't be able to do better in life.

His father, a small insurance salesman in UP's Akrabad village, faced some hurdles to meet the daily needs of the family. However, Manu being a bright student, always knew that he if kept studying, he would be able to succeed one day.

Times Now

¡°I studied in the local government primary school in the village of Akrabad till grade 5. At the end of the year, I appeared for the entrance exam for Vidyagyan school and got selected. That was the year 2014,¡± Manu told Times Now.

Vidyagyan School is, a residential school run by Shiv Nadar Foundation for the underprivileged in Uttar Pradesh. Every year about 2,50,000 students from the smallest villages appear for the entrance which selects only 250 students. In 2014, Manu was one of the 250.

Manu thanked his school for its various efforts and driven force and how it shaped his talent and pushed him towards doing better. He also said that his teachers were extremely encouraging at every step of the way. However, it was his father who is his real motivation.

¡°When back home during vacation, I would often hear my father and family talking about various policies. I was still young, but when I added my opinion, I was appreciated for the thought process. It was then that I knew that policy-making, political science was what I aspired for,¡± Manu said.

In Class 10, Manu scored 95.4 per cent in his board examinations and won an outstanding performance award in Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Educational Testing twice. He also became the best speaker in intra-class debate competitions and won a gold medal in Open State Level Table-Tennis championship in 2018.

On asking about his choice of program in International Relations and Economics he shared that his dream was to work in the United Nations for the children of the world. ¡°Education can change everything. In India, we can provide infrastructure but the mentality of the people have to change. The teachers in government schools, especially in a village like ours, simply aren¡¯t interested in teaching. I want to change that.¡±

Times Now

When asked why he chose Stanford, he said, ¡°It is among the world's top universities and the research infrastructure is excellent. Indian Universities do not offer the opportunity of research. I want to bring change and that requires the right access which Stanford provides me."

¡°The application process begins from Class 11 itself. I was counselled by the school counsellor and even had access to counsellors in Delhi who helped me understand the process and fill out my application form. I appeared for SATs and scored 1470 out of 1600," he added.

When asked about the cancelled Class 12 board examinations, he said, ¡°There was no real impact. Admissions to universities abroad are subjective and the class 12 board marks were not that important. The admission was based on the performance over the years and the overall application. The essay also plays a crucial role."

As to whether he was happy with the decision of Class 12 getting cancelled, Manu shared he was rather disappointed. ¡°I was looking forward to the examinations and wanted to score over 95%. But now I don¡¯t know.¡±

He also revealed how he managed to pay for the application for the university, ¡°College Board¡¯s scholarship paid for my SAT exams. My school helped me with the application process. In fact, many people and institutions help students who don¡¯t have the means but have the will and the determination.¡±

Scholarship Positions

Manu is super excited to start the next chapter in his life. He has already gotten his first dose of the vaccine and is waiting for the second dose. He hopes to fly in the first week of September. He would be pursuing a bachelor¡¯s program in International Relations and Economics at Stanford University.