Tuesday, January 12, 2010

How my daughter almost lost her scholarship

This is the story of how my daughter applied for a diploma course in a local private university which promised a "straight A's straight in" scholarship and the nightmare we went through just to finally obtain that scholarship.

Except for the name of the wonderful angel who helped us every step of the way, all other names have been changed to protect a few guilty ones (as expected in this wonderful country of ours)


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Sir/Mdm,
I should be very happy my daughter has been offered a place in your University to undergo a BA (Hons) course in Graphic Design. By the results of her SPM (she obtained 8As), she believes she qualifies to obtain a scholarship, which is what I hope she would get because I do not think I can manage to finance her entire course. But the offer letter states that she has to enrol and pay for the first year's fees, etc. There has been no mention of whether she is successful or not in getting the scholarship.
What I worry about is after she enrols and starts her studies and she fails to obtain the scholarship, what happens to her? I do wish for her to pursue her dreams, but my resources are quite limited for we have to consider all expenses other than the course fees, which I thought at first I could afford, but which now I doubt.
Could you kindly advise what the process is like for a scholarship application? How long does it take? What other procedures do we follow if we opt for government loan if we fail to get scholarship? Hopefully, someone can answer some of my doubts so that my girl can proceed with her preparations to go to the University of her choice.
Thanks in anticipation of your kind reply.
........................................................................
Regards,
L.C. Teh
From: Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 14 June 2004 09:14
To: Teh Lian Chye
Cc: charlene@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Subject: Scholarship application
Dear Mdm Teh,
With regards to your daughter's application for the scholarship, all she
needs to do is to fill in the Straight As Straight In application form,
attached it with a copy of her I.C, SPM results and application form (entry
to Littlebigwigs University) and submit it to me. She can also apply for the PTPTN loan
for her course, but she needs to complete her foundation (first year) level
before she can apply.
If she needs any assistance on both matters, please do not hesitate to
approach me at Registry (the orange block), ground floor and I would be
happy to assist her in any way that I can.
The Straight As Straight In applications are mostly guaranteed to succeed,
especially as your daughter has 8 As which is eligible for 100% scholarship
for tuition fees only. The scholarship is only applicable for the diploma
level (which is the first 3 years of her degree course). Once she secures
the scholarship, all she needs to do is top-up for the final year of her
degree course.
Another option would be to take an EPF withdrawal which is available to
degree course students only. You may obtain a letter from us for the
withdrawal and approach the EPF office for further processing. The amount
would depend on the funds available in your account. The EPF officer will
be able to calculate the amount for you and advise you on their procedures.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at 87778888, ext. 8877 should you have
any queries. I will be most happy to assist you.
Regards
Cynthia
Original Message -----
From: "Teh Lian Chye"
To: <Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my>
Cc:
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 1:31 PM
Subject: Fax lines still down?
> Dear Ms Cynthia,
>
> I managed to fax some documents to Ms Parem (Marketing) for Jenny's scholarship application. But until now, my fax utility status still shows "phone line problem".
Alternatively, I also sent the documents via e-mail. She told me the mail server was down also. I left her my handphone number but I haven't got back any response from her. Is there any problem? I need to know if she has received the documents. I will greatly appreciate your help again.
Thanks.
>
> ..............
> Kind regards,
> L.C. Teh
-----Original Message-----
From: Cynthia@littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 14 July 2004 15:31
To: Teh Lian Chye
Subject: Re: Fax lines still down?
Dear Mr Teh,
I've called Azilan of the Marketing department as soon as I received your
e-mail & he confirmed that the fax line and e-mail are both still down, but
you can fax the documents to my side & I will get her to collect them. At
the moment, Parem is on a school visit.
My fax number is 03-8888 7777. If you should encounter further problems
(touch wood, no), please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Cynthia
Ms Cynthia,
My fax utility now says "unknown error reported by fax board". No idea where the problem is.(and these modern offices of ours don't have wood anymore for us to touch) I'm sending the zipped file attachment to you. Please do me the favor of printing them out for her.
Please let me know if you have any problems opening the files. Thanks a lot.
Regards,
LC Teh

PS. And isn’t it a wonder that our communication lines can be so horrible in spite of the fact that your University is sitting right in the middle of the Multimedia SUPER Corridor?

-----Original Message-----
> From: Teh Lian Chye
> Sent: 15 July 2004 10:19
> To: 'parem@ littlebigwigs.edu.my '
> Subject: Scholarship application documents
>
>
> Dear Parem,
>
> I've couriered the above by DHL AWB No. 119 3552 382. You should receive
them before noon tomorrow. Please acknowledge receipt. Thanks.
>
> ........................................................................
> Kind regards,
> L.C. Teh
Original Message -----
From: "Teh Lian Chye"
To: <> littlebigwigs.edu.my >
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 3:00 PM
Subject: FW: Scholarship application documents
> Dear Ms Cynthia,
>
> Sorry to have to bother you again. Please check with Parem's office
whether the documents have arrived. If not I'll (either sue DHL or
hand-carry the documents to her, whichever is cheaper) bring them along when
my daughter check in to her hostel on the 23-July.
>
> Thanks very much. You have been most helpful. And if the occasion
permits, I'll come to the campus on our next trip and thank you personally.
>
> Best regards,
> LC Teh
From: Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 16 July 2004 15:32
To: Teh Lian Chye
Subject: Re: Scholarship application documents
Dear Mr Teh,
Parem came to give me the documents (just now) because I'm in charge of
scholarships. All the July applications will be given to the selection
committee on the 2nd week of August for processing.
Once they've gone through the applications and have chosen the students who
will receive scholarships, I will issue the appropriate letters and forward
them to Gilly Thung (our Senior Vice President for Corporate Dev.) for
signing. I will then distribute them to the appropriate recipients once the
letters come back to me.
Normally students will have to pay up front for their fees and once they
receive approvals for their applications, they can then get a refund from
Bursary by showing them their scholarship letter.
Your daughter has 8 As and therefore is eligible to receive 100% scholarship
on her tuition fees only for the first 3 years (the Straight As Straight In
scholarship is applicable to Diploma level only). Once I receive the good
news, I will most definitely call your daughter to collect the letter from
me.
Meanwhile, take care and have a safe trip to our campus and back home.
Regards
Cynthia
From: "Teh Lian Chye"
To: <> littlebigwigs.edu.my >
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 12:09 PM
Subject: Scholarship
> Dear Ms Cynthia,
>
> Re: scholarship application
>
> Pardon my impatience, but kindly update me on the status of my daughter's
scholarship application. As it is, I would like for her to carry
on whole-heartedly in her pursuit of knowledge in the field of her choice
without being troubled by the financial question. She has been wanting to
approach you with this issue but seeing that you had been rather busy, was
reluctant to do so.
>
> Thank you for your understanding.
>
> ........................................................................
> Kind regards,
> L.C. Teh
-----Original Message-----
From: Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 28 September 2004 13:43
To: Teh Lian Chye
Subject: Re: Scholarship
Dear Mr Teh,
The interviews for the scholarship applicants was conducted sometime earlier
this month & all the successful applicants have been notified. According to
the person who conducted the interview (Ms Salaji from Marketing Department),
she tried calling your daughter to come for the interview but there was no
answer so she gave up.
Perhaps you can ask your daughter to see Ms Salaji and appeal for her to
conduct another interview so that it can be submitted to our Senior Vice
President, Ms Gilly Thung for consideration. Thank you.
Regards
Cynthia
From: Teh Lian Chye
Sent: 28 September 2004 15:08
To: ' Cynthia'
Cc:
Subject: RE: Scholarship
Dear Ms Cynthia,
I can't express how disappointed I am.
First, the marketing people lost my daughter’s documents, and I had to go through so much trouble to send them by courier when the faxes couldn't get through. Now they miss her out for the interview because they couldn't get her on the phone. I wonder why they couldn't use other means of communicating with her. She had told me she wanted to see you early Sept but found that your office was always crowded. She also told me her handphone sometimes couldn't receive calls in the campus.
Anyway, I've sent her an SMS message following your instructions. In the meantime, I would really greatly appreciate if you could possibly intervene and at least give her chance to an interview. And if she's not successful after that, then at least, she's free to decide on other courses of action. Or perhaps, as promised in Littlebigwigs website, help her to source for other means of financing or scholarships from other benefactors. But somehow, I have to keep my promise to her that if she scored well, she could go to Littlebigwigs University. (And I only promised her a diploma course owing to my financial standing, but she was offered a degree course).
I was banking on the promises on your website that her 8As would guarantee her that scholarship. I had not expected to be floored by some communication problems. As her father, her dreams are my dreams. I never made it to college, but I want make everything possible to send her there. I am willing to extend myself further if she has the capability. But I have my limits.
Ms Cynthia, you have been very helpful in your capacity, and I thank you very much for that. But I sincerely hope your marketing people can live up to the promises they make in the name of Littlebigwigs University.
Your sincerely,
LC Teh.
From: Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 29 September 2004 13:56
To: Teh Lian Chye
Cc:
Subject: Re: Scholarship
Dear Mr Teh,
I must apologise for all the heartache that you & your family have gone
through because of the Marketing Dept. staff's negligence. I have
approached my senior and your daughter's documents were forwarded to our
Senior Vice President, Ms Gilly Thung.
Ms Gilly has instructed us to inform Ms Salaji to call & arrange for an
interview with your daughter as soon as she returns from her trip to
Myanmar. That should be sometime next week. Meanwhile, I hope that you can
hold on for a little longer and once Ms Salaji returns, I will ask her to make
arrangements with your daughter.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Regards
Cynthia
From: Teh Lian Chye
Sent: 29 September 2004 15:05
To: ' Cynthia '
Cc: ‘Jenny’
Subject: RE: Scholarship
Dear Ms Cynthia,
Thank you so much. Your reply brings such a great relief to us. And also thanks for sparing some time with my daughter this morning. She told me how friendly you are. I will forward her your good news. You are such a wonderful person. Littlebigwigs should be proud to have someone like you on its team.
Regards,
LC Teh
From: Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 30 September 2004 10:10
To: Teh Lian Chye
Subject: Re: Scholarship
Dear Mr Teh,
Both you and your family are wonderful people too. Thank you for your
patience and understanding. I'm glad to help wherever I can. I shall pray
for your daughter to receive 100% scholarship and that her interview will go
smoothly. Be happy!!
Regards
Cynthia
---- Original Message -----
From: "Teh Lian Chye"
To: " Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my >
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 11:56 AM
Subject: RE: Scholarship
> Dear Ms Cynthia,
>
> I heard the official opening of Littlebigwigs by the PM went smoothly. You and
other staffs must have worked extra hard to make it a success.
>
> If I seem to be one of your most bothersome students' parents, I'm sorry
about it. But it gives me no comfort not knowing what's going on about my daughter’s scholarship application. At least, by using email it doesn't bother too many people and it gives me some
consolation knowing someone in Littlebigwigs cares enough to reply.
>
> So please advise, has there been any progress regarding my daughter's
scholarship application?
>
> Thank you for your attention.
>
> Kind regards,
> L.C. Teh
From: Cynthia@littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 18 October 2004 10:22
To: Teh Lian Chye
Cc:
Subject: Re: Scholarship
Dear Mr Teh,
I called Salaji just now and she said that Gilly has approved for your daughter
to have 100% scholarship for the Diploma level. As she is pursuing the
degree level of her course, she needs to top-up the difference only.
Salaji said that she will be passing the document with Gilly 's approval on it,
to me sometime today and I will immediately issue the letter for Gilly 's
signature. Once the letter is signed, I will call your daughter to collect
it.
So sorry for all the delay and thank you for your patience and
understanding.
Regards
Cynthia
----- Original Message -----
From: "Teh Lian Chye"
To: " Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my >
Cc:
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 10:04 AM
Subject: Letter of acceptance
> Dear Ms Cynthia,
>
> My daughter managed to send me the letter. I have signed and posted it
directly to you via Pos Ekspress #LX14 631 154 5MY this morning at 9.30am.
You should be able to receive it by tomorrow or Monday at the latest.
>
> Once again, thank you very much for all your efforts in helping my
daughter secure this valuable assistance in her education. It means a lot
to us. My wife and I wish to express our heart-felt appreciation.
>
> Best Regards,
> LC Teh
From: Cynthia@ littlebigwigs.edu.my
Sent: 29 October 2004 14:12
To: Teh Lian Chye
Subject: Re: Letter of acceptance
Dear Mr Teh,
You're most welcome. God bless you and your family. Have a good weekend.
Regards
Cynthia

2 comments:

  1. Thanks Bengbeng. Such is life. We struggle and fight for something we feel is worthwhile and when we win it, it has an added value attached. Memories are made of these. So are the real friends we gain as we move along. I regret we didn't get to meet Cynthia on our daughter's graduation day. I supposed she has moved on to a better job. But she's one lady who will always remain in our hearts.

    May God bless you Cynthia, wherever you may be.

    ReplyDelete