Maxis Scholarship for Excellence: Application

Recently I have been awarded a scholarship by Maxis known as Maxis Scholarship for Excellence 2010. I am of course thrilled and on cloud nine when I got to know of such great news!! If you've been following my previous blog posts, I had had bad experiences with other scholarship applications namely Tun Tan Cheng Lock Foundation / Scholarship which I don't wish to elaborate here. But just in case you want to know how to apply for it, read application, here, and interview, here. Now, I am glad to say that I am proud and totally honoured to be a Maxis' Scholar for the year 2010!! Maxis has totally lifted my parents' burden on my tertiary studies expenses! Though it may not be an extravagant amount of money, it, nonetheless, means a lot to me! With this, I am very grateful towards Maxis!

So, this post is intended to inform you guys on how to apply for Maxis Scholarship for Excellence which is a biannual program (usually April and November) and application is done online via Maxis website. Here's this year's application site (which is obviously closed). Maxis "presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to embark upon a journey that will lead them to the realisation of their greatest goals" for BOTH undergraduate AND postgraduate students, who will be (or in my case, already) pursuing their course in a recognized (by Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education) in Malaysia OR abroad!

Application requirements include SOFT COPIES of:

• Proof of age (Certified Birth Certificate / Certified I.C.),
• Relevant academic transcripts including your SPM and foundation course results(STPM Results / A-Level Results / Matriculation Results / Diploma Results / Foundation Study Results),
• Letter of admission from the university,
• Two letters of recommendation from people who are qualified to provide insight into the applicant’s potential for success and leadership,
• Résumé (This MUST be included if the applicant has any prior work experience) 
• Any other documents that applicants wish to submit to strengthen their application including copies of articles written, reports of volunteer work, extra-curricular certificates etc.

Oh! Before I go on any further, of course you'll need to find out who's eligible for it right?? Haha...sorry, my mistake. Here is the eligibility:

• Applicants or their parents must be a Maxis postpaid customer with a minimum of one year tenure with Maxis postpaid services, having a good payment record with Maxis.
• must be Malaysian citizens aged below 23 years old
• must not be bonded to any body and must have secured an unconditional offer or acceptance letter from a local or foreign university prior to receiving the Maxis Scholarship for Excellence
• Applicants currently in their 1st or 2nd year of undergraduate studies may also apply for this scholarship
• Applicants must demonstrate academic excellence and be active in extra-curricular activities. Applicants must at least pass their SPM examinations and achieve any of the following results in their foundation course of choice :
• STPM - minimum 3 As or
• Matriculation / Diploma - CGPA 3.5 or above or
• A Levels - minimum 3 As or
• Australian TER - minimum 90.0 or
• Recognized foundation/Pre-university courses – equivalent to CGPA 3.5 or above or
• Current 1st or 2nd year university students must have a CGPA of 3.5 or above
•  Applicants are also required to: 
• Possess a good command of the English language, both written and oral;
• Be a team player;
• Excel in extra-curricular activities and sports; and
• Possess leadership qualities.
• For local universities, there is no restriction to field of studies; for foreign universities, preferred field of studies are those related to the telecommunications industry, ie.:
• Business Administration/Management/Marketing/Accounting/Finance/Communications/Human Resources Management;
• Engineering – Electronic/Electrical/Power/Computer Communications/Telecommunications/Civil and Mechanical;
• Computer Science/Information Technology/Information System/Science Quantitative;
• Mathematics/Actuarial Science;
• Law.

In case you are wondering how much is the scholarship value and are there any catch?? Well, Maxis Scholarship for Excellence awards RM10,000 per annum for local university students while foreign universities will get up to RM150,000 yearly! ONLY FOREIGN university applicants will be bonded for 3 years. So, yes! Local university students will get the award with NO STRINGS ATTACHED! :D
If you want to know more, here's a link to their terms and conditions.

The flow of the whole application includes: first, an online application; followed by first interview and then a second interview (if you have passed the first one); finally anouncement of successful recipients and an award ceremony!

I'll talk about my experience on both interviews in the next post and FYI, I am required to go for a publicity photo shoot this Wednesday!!! How cool is that!?! Haha....all right guys... keep an eye on the next post then! Bye~~~