Policies and Procedures

Brief:

The Sir Syed Education Society of North America (SSESA-NA), a 501(c) (3) non-profit organisation, annually administers the Sir Syed Global Scholar Award (SSGSA). SSGSA, formerly known as the Sir Syed Excellence in Science Award (SSESA), is a merit-based scholarship that is awarded to academically outstanding students from all faculties at the Aligarh Muslim University, India. SSGSA helps awardees in applying for MS/PhD programs at centers/universities of international repute.

Award Benefits:

SSGSA helps selected awardees with 1-to-1 personalized mentoring throughout the application process starting from selection of universities to refining personal essays and resumes and financial support that includes the following:

• Preparation material for standardised exams
• One out of GRE or GMAT or any other equivalent exam
• One out of TOEFL or IELTS
• Score reports up to five universities
• Application fees up to five universities

Please note that no cash is available to the student at any point during the entire application procedure and SSGSA submits the fees at its own end. Also, in order to ensure serious effort by the scholars, we pay for the tests once they get a minimum score in at least two practice tests, as recommended by SSGSA.

Application Requirements

Applications for the award are typically invited in the month of February and results are declared in May. The selection is purely based only on merit. The entire application procedure entails the following requirements:

• Personal information based on Curriculum Vitae/Resume
• Copy of mark sheets for all years of bachelors and masters degree.
• Copies of co-curricular and extra-curricular certificates and documents in support of listed achievements.
• Responses to essay-type questions (similar to US graduate school applications).

Selection of Awardees:

Scholars are selected on the basis of rigorous review of their application by independent academic experts and followed by personal interviews to assess knowledge and motivation. About 25-30 students (dependent on available financial aid) are awarded SSGSA scholarships each year.

Mentorship:

In addition to financial support, awardees are paired with expert personal mentors who guide them throughout the entire application process. These mentors provide personalized advice on crafting compelling personal statements, refining resumes, and building a strong overall application package.

Upon successful admission, the students in turn become mentors to other students.

Validity of the award:

The award and its benefits are valid for a period of 1 year from the date of announcement of the award. Students must take the exams and apply for admission within this time. Failure to do so would automatically disqualify the student from the award. Extensions to the award—up to one year—may be granted under extenuating circumstances, subject to approval by the SSGSA Executive Team.

Conditions for disqualification

Students will face immediate disqualification under the following conditions:

• If at any stage, it is found that wrong or fraudulent information was submitted. Disqualification will also ensure due to an act of plagiarism.
• The students are required to update the committee on their progress at regular intervals (e.g., monthly updates). If they fail to do so or attempts to contact them prove futile repeatedly, they will be given a notice to respond or face disqualification.
• Awardees are prohibited from participating in or benefiting from programs similar to SSGSA during the award period.

New policies starting from 2025 (to emphasize)

• The validity of the award will be for only one year (May 2025 to May 2026). We recommend that you apply for the award only if you can commit at least 4 hours per week on preparing your university applications this year. Extensions to the award (up to 1 year) may be granted subject to approval from the mentors and SSGSA mentorship team.
• The SSGSA Award will initially be offered on a provisional basis, followed by a three to four month probationary period commencing from the date of the result announcement, after which a comprehensive review of your progress will determine the confirmation of your status as an SSGSA Scholar, granting you access to financial benefits. The comprehensive review will consist of but is not limited to:
  • Creation of a university application timeline and plan with your assigned SSGSA mentors
  • Regular and effective communication with SSGSA mentors.
  • Participation in workshops organized by SSGSA.
• Awardees are prohibited from participating in or benefiting from programs similar to SSGSA during the award period. If any financial support has been offered, repayments must be made within one month since the date of award revocation.
• The exact timeline for completing the comprehensive review will be communicated after the award is offered. The SSGSA Executive Committee retains the sole discretion to revoke any support provided by the organization at any time and under any circumstances it deems necessary.