ESSAY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

For the past couple of years, I have been working as an Assistant Professor at MBS School of
Planning and Architecture in New Delhi in India. My teaching load in the current term is twenty
two hours per week excluding the guidance of thesis students and extra-curricular
responsibilities. Extra-curricular duties involved coordinating cultural events of the college,
accompanying the students in multiple study trips In addition, I was able get three research
papers and an article published in the year 2015. At the same time I was also preparing to apply
at your university. This meant jumping through the hoops like qualifying for GRE, TOEFL,
obtaining transcripts from my alma mater (one of which is in another state), obtaining
recommendation requests and so on. This was to prepare a credible base for my doctoral research
if I were to get admitted to such an illustrious university as yours which is now dream come true.
My hometown is Rourkela which is in an economically backward state called Odisha. Since my
childhood, I like to paint in watercolour which made me choose a creative field like architecture
as my profession. My happiest moment in my life was when I got accepted at the pursue
bachelor degree in architecture at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur in
2007. For this I had to compete against hundreds of thousands applicants to secure a seat. The
college was located about two days journey by train from my hometown. Living conditions
were harsh in Jaipur owing to the hot dry climate and poor quality of water due to which I lost 33
pounds in the first couple of months. This is the prime reason for my baldness at the age of
twenty six. Inspite of these I was truly happy to pursue the profession of my dreams and enjoying
the new found liberties in college life. I managed to secure 73.8% in my overall evaluation.
My under graduate thesis (on which my doctorate proposal is based upon) and my dissertation
made me realize my interest in the housing sector in urban planning. Not only did I manage to
secure a seat in the housing department in the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi but
also assistantship for the next two years while I pursued the graduate degree. My family support
and the assistantship (which I received by qualifying the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering)
were critical as it helped me to continue my interests even though I felt obligated to earn. The
kindness granted by my selection board and by my professors enabled me to be the first in my
family to get this far. My total percentage came to 70.4%.
After all the above, the easiest path for me at the moment is to continue teaching in India and
start pursuing a part time PhD at a nearby instution. This would mean acculmulating the teaching
experience with increasing pay every year and obtaining a PhD degree at the same time. My
father is going to retire in couple of years. At your university I am future seem uncertain for at
least the next four years. Unlike here in India, it is unlikely for me to get married in USA for the
next few years. The expediture to pursue a PhD at TAMU seem difficult to me at the moment as I
did not anticipate taking a loan to pursue a doctorate. My entire life saving seem very insufficient
at the moent. The professors in my alma mater and in presitgious institutions like the Indian
Institute of Technology have encouraged me to apply there for full time PhD and this is a
convenient road as well.

What would be the road not taken is pursuing a doctorate at the Texas A & M Univesity. Because
this is the toughest challenge to me at the moment and because rejecting this would mean
forgoing a tremendous opportunity, not only because of the reputation of your university but also
because of the research centres in housing and conservation of which I ardently wish to be a part
of. I believe my background in architecture and planning (housing) would be appreciated here
and I would receive the best guidance there ever is. I believe I will be an asset to your elite
human resource which makes me the ideal candidate for the International Student Financial Aid.
I thank the committee for the consideration bestowed upon me.

Rohit Kumar
UIN 126003451