National ICT Scholarship Program 2008
FOR A PROSPEROUS PAKISTAN

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q1.  I completed my F.Sc in 2007. Can I apply for the program?
Ans. Students who have completed their F.Sc with Mathematics and Physics, in 2007 or have appeared for the exam in 2008 are eligible to apply. However students who completed their F.Sc in 2006 or before are not eligible to apply.

Q2.  I did my F.Sc in pre-medical, however I have given additional mathematics exam as well. Am I eligible to apply for the program?
Ans. Pre-medical students who have taken additional mathematics are eligible to apply for the program.

Q3.  How many exams do I have to appear in to get the scholarship?
Ans. National ICT R&D Fund will be conducting only one exam to determine the merit of its candidates. The exam will be conducted by NTS, however students have to take the exam of their university of preference and obtain admission on their own. (Also see Q4)

Q4.  Are there any universities that will accept, National ICT Scholarship Program 2008 exam conducted by NTS, for their admissions?
Ans. NUST, IIUI, COMSATS and IBA Sukkur are the four universities that will accept our exam for their admissions in all disciplines listed on the Registration Form. Apart from these four universities, National ICT Scholarship Program 2008 aspirants will have to take the tests of any other universities and their selected disciplines, on their own.

Q5.  How many university exams can I take for this scholarship?
Ans. As per National ICT Scholarship Program 2008, students can opt for only four disciplines of their preference. Students are expected to apply for admissions in these disciplines in the respective universities.

Q6.  Is there going to be any training?
Ans. 20 day training on techniques to perform well in the MCQ based university entrance exam shall commence from 28^th of July 2008.

Q7.  How do I know which training center is allotted to me?
Ans. List of all registered students and their respective colleges has been updated on our website, along with their assigned training centers.

Q8.  When will I get my Roll No. slip?
Ans. Roll No. slip of each registered student shall be dispatched two weeks prior to the Scholarship Award Test at their addresses as filled on the Registration Form.

Q9.  When will the Scholarship Award Test be conducted?
Ans. Scholarship Award Test will be conducted during 4^th week of August 2008, however a definite time and date shall be highlighted on our website 2 weeks prior to the test and subsequently role number slips of students shall be dispatched to their addresses, as filled on the Registration Forms.

Q10.  What does the Scholarship cover?
Ans. The scholarship covers the tuition fee for the four year undergraduate program and also covers boarding and lodging expenses for the period of study. Furthermore the students shall also be given a monthly stipend.

Q11.  What will be the test format?
Ans. The test shall be MCQ based with students required to solve 120 MCQ’s in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Percentage of different subjects in final assessment will be as under:

Mathematics            40%
Physics                    30%
English                    15%
Chemistry               7.5%
Computing Science  7.5%

Q12.  I have been offered admission in a university and they are asking me to deposit fee. What should I do?
Ans. If the admission offer is from one of the universities/disciplines of your preference, as filled-out in the National ICT Scholarship Program 2008 Registration Form and you want to take up the same discipline in the same university for your undergraduate studies, then it is advised that you make the required minimal payment and continue with the classes. If you qualify amongst the top students on merit in our Scholarship Award Test then we shall be paying your dues to the university. You can request for a refund of the dues that you paid to the university earlier.

Q13.  Do I have to sign a bond if I am awarded the scholarship?
Ans. Students who are awarded the scholarship have to sign a bond whereby they are required to stay within Pakistan for two years minimum, after the completion of their degree.

Q14.  Why do we have an option of only these 11 universities?
Ans. This program has been running for third year in a row. In the first year there was only one university participating in the program and in the second year we had three. This year we have made significant progress and have included a total of 11 universities. We expect to further increase the number of participating universities in the following years.

Q15.  Why are GIKI, FAST-NU and Engineering disciplines of Bahria university not part of the program anymore?
Ans. As this scholarship program is partially funded by the Government of Pakistan, universities have to fulfill certain criteria and responsibilities. The above three were excluded as they could not meet all the criteria/responsibilities.

Q16.  Some of the selection codes have been eliminated. Can I select new selection codes in their place?
Ans. Eliminated selection codes were advertised in national newspapers and also flashed on our website, well in time. However students who have filled out invalid codes cannot change them now. Only valid codes shall be considered as preference.  

Q17. I did my F.Sc from a Private or Semi-Government institution; can I apply for the National ICT Scholarship Program 2008?
Ans. Only regular students of Government schools/ colleges are eligible to apply for National ICT Scholarship Program 2008. Moreover the list of eligible colleges is available on our website.

Q 18. When is the "Scholarship Award Test" going to be conducted?
Ans. Scholarship Award Test shall be conducted on Sunday, 31st August 2008.

Q19. Will there be any negative marking in the Test?
Ans. There will be no negative marking in the test.