The Next Genius Scholarship Program School Handbook 2018-19

The Next Genius Scholarship Program
     School Handbook 2018-19

  helpdesk@next-genius.com | www.next-genius.com | +91-91677-87851

Welcome Letter

Dear Student,

The Next Genius Scholarship Program is one of the largest, privately aided,
international scholarship program for undergraduate education in the United States
for high school students from India.

Last year students from over 1100 schools across India and Indian high schools
abroad applied for the Next Genius Scholarships and we awarded over USD 7
million worth of full and partial scholarships to 80 students from 68 schools. This
year, we hope to award scholarships worth USD 8 million to 100 students and
expect the program to be even more competitive.

I hereby invite you to apply to our scholarship program. You must apply directly to
us via our website www.next-genius.com before October 10, 2018. The scholarship
application is completely free of charge. I wish you all the very best and look
forward to meeting you in the interview round. Please go through this document
carefully to learn more about our program.

Warm Wishes,

Dr. Neeraj Mandhana
Director, The Next Genius Scholarship Program

      helpdesk@next-genius.com | www.next-genius.com | +91-91677-87851

Index

     1. About Us
     2. Our Scholarships
     3. Program Timeline
     4. What We Look For
     5. Selection Process
           •   Step 1: Online Application
           •   Step 2: Online Critical Thinking Test
           •   Step 3: Candidate Selection
           •   Step 4: College Application
           •   Step 5: Interviews in Mumbai
     6. Final Awards
     7. Scholarship Acceptance
     8. Next Genius Scholars
     9. Past Scholars
     10. Education Loans
     11. Contact Us

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About The Next Genius Foundation

                                                         Founded in 2014, The Next
                                                         Genius Foundation is a
                                                         registered charitable trust in
                                                         India that offers full and partial
                                                         tuition     scholarships        to
                                                         outstanding      Indian      high
                                                         school students to pursue
                                                         their undergraduate education
                                                         in the United States. Our
                                                         vision is to identify world
                                                         changers, and connect them
                                                         with outstanding educational
                                                         and career opportunities.

                                                         The Next Genius Scholarship
                                                         Program was co-founded by
                                                         the dynamic father-son duo of
                                                         Naveen & Neeraj Mandhana.
                                                         They follow in the footsteps of
                                                         the late Shree Bhawarlalji
                                                         Mandhana, retired Judge,
                                                         Rajasthan High Court and
                                                         retired Law Secretary of
                                                         Rajasthan.

                                                         Naveen Mandhana, Director
                                                         of Videocon Industries Limited
                                                         and an engineer by education
                                                         is an alumni of BITS, Pilani.
                                                         He actively overlooks the
                                                         management of the program.

Neeraj Mandhana is a distinguished career counselor based in Mumbai and is an alumni of
the University of Cambridge and UCLA. He overlooks the talent search process and
manages all college and corporate partnerships.

The program is made possible by generous donations raised from individual citizens,
Indian corporations and leading partner colleges abroad.

         helpdesk@next-genius.com | www.next-genius.com | +91-91677-87851

Our Scholarships

In 2018-19, we hope to award over USD 8 million worth of scholarships to more
than 100 students. Scholarship winners are guaranteed both admission as well
as funds towards their college tuition. The scholarship covers four years of
tuition-fee study in any subject of their choice at one of the following colleges:

1.    Beloit College, Wisconsin
2.    Drew University, New Jersey
3.    Ithaca College, New York
4.    Juniata College, Pennsylvania
5.    Knox College, Illinois
6.    Lynn University, Florida
7.    Millsaps College, Mississippi
8.    Texas Christian University, Texas
9.    The University of the South, Tennessee
10.   Union College, New York
11.   University of Rochester, New York
12.   Washington College, Maryland
13.   Wheaton College, Massachusetts

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Program Timeline

          Student Registration Open
          June 1, 2018

          Student Registration Deadline
          October 10, 2018

          Level 1: Online Assessment
          October 12-14, 2018

          Level 1: Result
          October 17, 2018

          Level 2: Form Submission
          October 29, 2018

          College Allocation
          November 2, 2018

          Student Confirms Allocation
          November 16, 2018

          Students Submit Full College Application
          December 14, 2018

          Level 2: Scholarship Interview & Awards
          January 12-13, 2019

          Scholarship Acceptance Deadline
          May 1, 2019

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What We Look For

High School Seniors
Currently in Grade 12 (or gap year)

Citizenship
Indian citizen
Indian citizens living abroad
OCI Card Holders
Foreign national living in India

Critical Thinking Ability
Strong creative problem solving skills, both in academic and non-academic settings

Soft Skills
Strong team playing and communication skills
Positive attitude, charisma & leadership skill

Personal Vision
Strong desire to study abroad at one of our partner colleges
Desire to be an active member of the Next Genius community and give back to society

Need Aware
Ability to pay for living costs at college for a duration of 4 years (upto INR 8 Lac per year
towards housing, food, insurance, flights, books)

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Selection Process

Prospective applicants for the scholarship will undergo a careful review process.
Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate a strong ability to think critically,
a passion for learning and a desire to bring a positive change in the world. Read
carefully the following pages of the document to understand the steps you need to
go through for winning the prestigious Next Genius Scholarships.

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Step 1: Online Application

Step 1: Online Application (Deadline – October 10, 2018)

• To be considered for a scholarship, students need to create an account on
  www.next-genius.com before October 10, 2018. The application is free of charge.

• After creating the account, the applicant should log-in, fill the profile information
  and attempt a practice test which is in-built on our website.

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Step 2: Online Critical Thinking Test

Step 2: Online Critical Thinking Test (October 12-14, 2018)

•   Login to Next Genius website to take an online critical thinking assessment
    anytime between 10 AM October 12 (Friday) and 6 PM October 14 (Sunday).
    The assessment will measure your ability to read effectively, reason, analyze
    data and solve puzzles.

•   The assessment can be taken from home, school or even a cyber-cafe. Student
    will need a system (laptop/desktop) with good internet connection and functional
    webcam.

•   The test consists of 36 multiple choice questions with just one correct answer
    and will last 2 hours. The questions are divided over three sections with 12
    questions per section. The three sections are: Logical Inquiry, Functional
    Literacy, Data Analysis.

•   Each question in the test is allotted limited time. Student needs to solve the
    problem and mark the correct answer within the allotted time to score.

•   For sample questions you can follow us on Facebook where we post a
    ‘Question of the day’ or log-in to the account and solve the practice test. The
    next page contains a sample question in all the three sections.

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Sample Questions

Sample Question 1: Functional Literacy (180 seconds)

Passionate television viewers are more likely to take sleeping pills at bedtime
than people who enjoy listening to classical music. Listening to classical
music just before bedtime helps to get a more restful night’s sleep, whereas
watching television before bedtime has an opposite effect. Which option
would make the author’s argument weak?

(A) People who enjoy classical music typically like to read just before bedtime.
(B) Reading a book before bedtime helps to get restful sleep more than
    listening music does.
(C) Sleeplessness is more common among people who watch late-night
    television than among people who do not.
(D) Bedtime activity that is mentally stimulating interferes with a person’s
    ability to fall asleep.
(E) A silent environment is less helpful to restful sleep than an environment
    with calm music.

Sample Question 2: Data Interpretation (180 seconds)

Rahul, Sarath and Tarun are three friends. They live in different cities & have
different number of siblings. Using the additional information find out how
many siblings does Tarun has?
1. Rahul lives in Mumbai and has at least one sibling.
2. Sarath has at most one sibling.
3. The friend who lives in Delhi has two siblings.
4. One of them has exactly one sibling.

(A) 0     (B) 1       (C) 2      (D) More than 2     (E) Cannot be determined

Sample Question 3: Logical Inquiry (180 seconds)

Two cars started traveling toward each other at 10 AM from Mumbai and
Aurangabad which are 392 km apart. They passed each other at 1:30 PM. If
the speed of the faster car is 8 km per hour more than the slower car, find the
speed, in km per hour, of the faster car.

(A) 112      (B) 56           (C) 60      (D) 52       (E) 57

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Step 3: Candidate Selection

Step 3: Candidate Selection (October 29, 2018)

• Following the Level 1 – Online Assessment, contestants are ranked on the basis
  of their performance. Their performance is gauged on accuracy and speed of
  solving questions. The shortlisted candidates will be notified via email on October
  17, 2018.

• Shortlisted students are provided with detailed information about the various
  scholarships and are invited to identify college(s) of their preference. By October
  29, 2018 these students will fill an online form to set their college preference
  order (rank) and the scholarships they wish to be considered for.

• Combining their college preference orders, online critical thinking test scores and
  profiles, the Next Genius team will allocate a college to all the shortlisted
  students by November 2, 2018.

• This allocation will segregate all the students into mutually exclusive cohorts per
  college. Students will then have till November 16, 2018 to accept the allocation
  by submitting the college allocation confirmation form and paying a fully-
  refundable deposit of Rs. 2000 online.

• The Rs. 2000 refundable deposit is required to demonstrate an interest in
  continuing the candidature in the program, and to reserve an interview spot. The
  full amount will be refunded after the student participates in the scholarship
  interview. Please note that the full amount will be forfeited for students who
  reserve an interview spot but fail to submit a complete college application or to
  participate in the interview for any reason.

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Step 4: College Application

Step 4: College Application (December 14, 2018)

• Shortlisted students will be provided an application fee waiver for the respective
  colleges and asked to submit their full application by December 14, 2018. All
  applications will be under the Regular Decision enrollment plan.

• Prior to the final scholarship interview, the shortlisted students are expected to
  submit the following documents to the college allocated to them. All documents
  must reach the college before December 14, 2018. This is the responsibility of
  the student. Students who are unable to submit all the required components of
  the application by the deadline will be deemed ineligible for the interview.

• The following are the of components in college & financial aid application

      College Application
      ❑ Completed CommonApp Application Form
      ❑ Completed College Specific Supplementary Form
      ❑ School Counselor/Principal Recommendation Letter
      ❑ Submission of Grade 9-12 Transcripts by School Counselor
      ❑ Two Teacher Recommendation Letters
      ❑ SAT/ACT* (might be required by some colleges)
      ❑ TOEFL/IELTS* (might be required by some colleges)
      ❑ Portfolio* (might be required for certain majors)

      Financial Aid Application
      ❑ CSS Profile
      ❑ ISFAA Form
      ❑ COF Form
      ❑ Scan of parents last 3 years Income Tax returns
      ❑ Last 12 months bank statement of parents

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Step 5: Scholarship Interviews

Step 5: Scholarship Interviews (January 12, 2019 - Saturday)

• Shortlisted students who have submitted their full college application will be invited
  to attend a group interview with The Next Genius Foundation and the college
  admission officer on January 12 (Saturday), 2019.

• The tentative schedule for the day is as follows:

      ❑ 1 PM – 2 PM               Student Registration
      ❑ 2 PM – 3 PM               College Information Session
      ❑ 3 PM – 5 PM               Interview

• You will be updated with detailed interview-related information in early December
  by our team. The Next Genius Foundation is not liable to reimburse the costs
  associated with your travel and stay (or any other actual costs incurred) in
  Mumbai. This is the liability of the students and their family. We recommend that
  only one family member accompanies the student for the interviews.

• Interviews will NOT be conducted in your hometown or any other location/city. You
  must book your travel tickets and accommodation in Mumbai only after accepting
  the allocated college and confirming to Next Genius by November 16, 2018. If you
  are arriving for the interviews from outside Mumbai, plan to arrive on January 11,
  2019 evening and depart post 8 PM on January 13, 2019. We are aware that smog
  in North India causes flight and train delays at this time of the year. Please book
  your tickets accordingly.

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Final Awards

Award Ceremony (January 13, 2019 - Sunday)

The scholarship winners will be felicitated in a public ceremony in Mumbai on January
13 (Sunday), 2019. This is a moment of great pride for the student, their family and
their school. The Next Genius Scholarships are non-binding and guarantee admission
in the college.

Scholarship Inclusions
Full Tuition Scholarship
The Next Genius Scholarship only covers the actual tuition (fees) component of the
undergraduate education. A 100% tuition fees scholarship winner will be provided a full-
tuition fee waiver for only four years of their undergraduate education. The scholarship
does not offer money for actual expenses such as accommodation, food, stationery,
insurance & travel. Parents will be made aware that living cost in the US vary according
to the location and can range anywhere between USD 10,000 - 20,000 per year. Any
non-tuition expenses are the liability of the parents and the student.

Partial Tuition Scholarship
A partial scholarship winner would be provided a partial-tuition fee waiver for only four
years of their undergraduate education. The scholarship does not offer money for
actual expenses such as accommodation, food, stationery, insurance & travel. Parents
will be made aware that living cost in the US vary according to the location and can
range anywhere between USD 10,000 - 20,000 per year. Any non-tuition expenses are
the liability of the parents and the student.

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Scholarship Acceptance

Full Scholarship Winner Enrollment

Next Genius Scholarships are non binding. The full-tuition scholarship winner
will have until May 1, 2019 to decide if they wish to accept the scholarship. In
case they accept, the college will issue a letter of acceptance to the winner. In
case, they decline, Next Genius Foundation will identify a waitlisted student
who is in agreement of accepting the scholarship and issue the letter of
acceptance to them.

Partial Scholarship Winner Enrollment

The partial scholarship winners will have till May 1, 2019 to decide if they wish
to accept their award and enroll with the college.

   helpdesk@next-genius.com | www.next-genius.com | +91-91677-87851

Next Genius Scholars

This program is highly selective and winning a Next Genius Scholarship is a matter of great
pride. As a Next Genius Scholar, you’ll join a select community of distinguished individuals
who receive continuous career mentoring, internship and job support from our foundation in
future years.

At college, Next Genius scholars not only maintain high GPAs, but are also active members of
their college community.

All Next Genius Scholars pledge to the following commitments.

• To be an active member of the Next Genius community.

• To engage with the foundation in mentoring the junior scholars.

• To be an ambassador of program at their high school.

• To pursue a paid internship with the foundation during their freshman or sophomore
  summer break.

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Next Genius Scholars

Class of 2020

           Anoushka Agrawal
                                                      Rishil Sheth
           Dhirubhai Ambani International
                                                      Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai
           School, Mumbai
                                                      Wheaton College, Massachusetts
           Wheaton College, Massachusetts

Class of 2021

                                                      Twyla Barkakoty
           Shivangi Ambardar                          Faculty Higher Secondary School,
           St. Thomas' School, New Delhi              Guwahati
           Beloit College, Wisconsin                  Beloit College, Wisconsin

                                                      Anirudha Gajula
           Rajvi Thakkar
                                                      Indus International School,
           Jai Hind College, Mumbai
                                                      Hyderabad
           Beloit College, Wisconsin
                                                      Beloit College, Wisconsin

           Tanvi Pande                                Chaitali Tongaonkar
           Bombay International School,               Mercedes-Benz International
           Mumbai                                     School, Pune
           Juniata College, Pennsylvania              Juniata College, Pennsylvania

           Meesha Gupta                               Aliya Abdul Rahim
           Neerja Modi School, Jaipur                 City Montessori School, Lucknow
           Union College, New York                    University of Rochester, New York

           Gyana Shrivastava                          Tanisha Nair
           The Cathedral & John Connon                Singapore International School,
           School, Mumbai                             Mumbai
           Wheaton College, Massachusetts             Wheaton College, Massachusetts

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Next Genius Scholars

Class of 2022

           Prince John
                                                      Vaibhav Prakash Pandey
           The Sanskaar Valley School,
                                                      Hilltop School, Jamshedpur
           Bhopal
                                                      Wheaton College, Massachusetts
           Beloit College, Wisconsin

           Swambhavi Awasthi                          Umang Garg
           The British School, New Delhi              Salwan Public School, New Delhi
           Beloit College, Wisconsin                  Beloit College, Wisconsin

           Bhavya Singh                               Nayomi Neelangal
           Pathways School, Noida                     Indus International School, Pune
           Beloit College, Wisconsin                  Beloit College, Wisconsin

           Mehek Agrawal
                                                      Neha Roy
           Edubridge International School,
                                                      Garden High School, Kolkata
           Mumbai
                                                      Juniata College, Pennsylvania
           Drew University, New Jersey

           Nikunj Dalmia                              Rohan Bandekar
           Woodstock School, Mussoorie                DY Patil International School, Pune
           Juniata College, Pennsylvania              Juniata College, Pennsylvania

           Arya Ashok Dixit                           Gayathry Manoharan
           Bethany Junior College, Bangalore          Gem International School, Kannur
           Juniata College, Pennsylvania              Juniata College, Pennsylvania

           Allan Daniel                               Piyush Banerjee
           The Lords' International School,           GD Goenka World School,
           Chennai                                    Gurgaon
           Lynn University, Florida                   Lynn University, Florida

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Next Genius Scholars

Class of 2022

           Vraj Parmar                                Subhasmita Roul
           Fountainhead School, Surat                 Delhi Public School, Cuttack
           Lynn University, Florida                   Lynn University, Florida

                                                      Sakshi Singh
           Gunamay Bharadwaj                          The Emerald Heights International
           Neerja Modi School, Jaipur                 School, Indore
           University of Rochester, New York          Millsaps College, Mississippi

           Angela Jimmy                               Nithesh Reddy Bonugu
           International Indian School,               P. Obul Reddy Public School,
           Dammam Saudi Arabia                        Hyderabad
           Millsaps College, Mississippi              Texas Christian University, Texas

           Rajas Nathak
           Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1,                  Aparajita Biswas
           Bangalore                                  City Montessori School, Lucknow
           Texas Christian University, Texas          Texas Christian University, Texas

           Divyanshi Singhal                          Abir Chawla
           Delhi Public School, Ghaziabad             Pace Junior College, Mumbai
           Texas Christian University, Texas          Texas Christian University, Texas

           Akriti Dhasmana
           Amity International School, New            Harshil Ratnu
           Delhi                                      Sanskriti The School, Ajmer
           Union College, New York                    University of Rochester, New York

           Kashish Gokul Dewnani                      Sidhant Bendre
           The Cathedral Vidya School,                Mahindra United World College of
           Lonavala                                   India, Pune
           University of Rochester, New York          University of Rochester, New York

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Low-Interest Education Loans

Education abroad is expensive. We understand this. Enhancing college access
to students from families with diverse income backgrounds is a core beliefs of
ours. In association with our banking partners, The Next Genius Foundation
offers low-interest educational loans to select high school students. Only Next
Genius winners are eligible for these special loans.

Full tuition scholarship winners will have to arrange up to USD 15,000 per year
towards their living costs. Partial scholarship winners will have to arrange up to
USD 25,000 towards tuition expenses and USD 15,000 towards living costs per
year. The Next Genius Foundation will work with the winning families to plan
their educational budget in an appropriate manner.

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Contact Us
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