Sitting within the modern halls of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and studying under the tutelage of world-renowned scholars and eminent researchers, Maheen Suleman Sheikh realises that no dream is unattainable and no aspiration too big.
Hailing from Sialkot — a city known for its surgical instruments, sports goods and cricket star Shoaib Malik, not for any tradition of foreign higher education — Maheen has managed to secure admission to one of the world’s top business schools. And her story is one of a young woman taking her destiny into her own hands.
“It was indeed a difficult journey. The biggest issue I faced was that there was no proper counseling or guidance in Sialkot,” Maheen recalls. “I didn’t even know what liberal arts were, let alone the logistics of the application process. I had to do all my research on my own,” she says. Her school wasn’t too supportive either, she says. Like most others, it was concerned mainly with securing the highest number of A-grades as opposed to encouraging students to test themselves beyond the classroom. Her biggest, and only, resource was the internet.
But Maheen had everything else going for her: excellent O and A levels grades, with distinctions, a superb SAT score, and supportive parents willing and able to fund her higher education, which drove her to continue applying to foreign colleges against all odds.
Maheen applied to seven schools out of the top 20 in the US, including three Ivy League universities. But as rejection after rejection piled up, she saw her parents’ support turn into muted disappointment. “My parents were very disappointed but they didn’t express their feelings much because they had seen me do my best. They provided a strong support system and I made it through the rejections without sinking into depression,” recalls Maheen, the only daughter among three sons.
Maheen had applied to schools in the United Kingdom and Canada too. She got into McGill with a merit scholarship and in the University of Manchester and Warwick University in the UK. These were all great schools but she was adamant that she wanted to go to the US, as she believes that the American system better prepares one to meet the challenges of life as one can study humanities and learn languages besides fulfilling major requirements. When she finally got an offer from Bryn Mawr, a women-only liberal arts college in the US, she accepted it. It wasn’t an Ivy League as she had hoped, but it was something.
“I thought that since Bryn Mawr was a liberal arts school, I would take courses in non-business fields and do well in them, which could improve my chances of acceptance to top schools’ arts and sciences programmes,” she says.
Maheen says that that one year spent at Bryn Mawr was very productive. From a school in Sialkot to a college in the US, the difference was huge. Bryn Mawr expanded her horizons, improved her flexibility and helped her figure out what she wanted to do in life. But it lacked a real competitive environment — students only competed with themselves and not with each other. She didn’t think the real world was like that.
Within one semester, Maheen’s academic interests changed too. She studied a high-level math course, which exposed her to the theoretical end of the subject and she discovered how little she enjoyed it. She realised she was more adept at applied economics, like finance and business economics, and felt that since Bryn Mawr couldn’t satiate her academic needs and her parents were spending a ton of money on her education, she should try to transfer to another school that would provide her that opportunity.
Maheen applied for a transfer of credits to Wharton. In the six months of living on her own in the US, she had learnt much more than she did during all those years at school. Hence, her application was stronger this time: she had humanities and social sciences courses from Bryn Mawr along with regional distinctions in A levels (which she got after getting into college). Her application also included community service she did while at Bryn Mawr along with voluntary and paid job experience she gained during that time.
Maheen remembers the time when she found out she got into Wharton: “I was ecstatic when I saw the acceptance letter from Penn and I felt that my hard work had finally paid off.”
But despite being over the moon about the acceptance, Maheen went on debating whether she should really go for the offer. “As an international student, it’s hard to switch schools and adjust to a different setting, and that held me back from accepting Penn’s offer, which I did an hour before the deadline,” she says. “Moreover, going from a school where competition among peers was non-existent to the best business school in the world seemed intimidating as I had adjusted myself to Bryn Mawr already.”
But there has been no looking back for Maheen now that she is at UPenn. Initially, she found it hard to adjust to the new cutthroat environment but eventually blended in well in the course of one semester. Her experience at the college has been invaluable not only for herself but for all those aspiring to study abroad from her hometown.
“Using what I have learnt from my experience of college applications, I have tried my best to help out students from Sialkot who have a serious interest in studying abroad. I have guided them about SATs, edited personal statements and helped them choose colleges and will continue to do so,” the eager young student says.
Maheen’s story shows the positive side of Pakistan to the world — one that’s willing to send their daughters thousands of miles away to study and become capable of competing with the world. So as the classrooms of Wharton reverberate with ideas on best business practices, Maheen knows in her heart that she is not only getting a top-notch education, she is also earning the right to be called a living example of what one can achieve if one is committed despite the odds.
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, July 8th, 2012.
COMMENTS (23)
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Awesome stuff... congrats Maheen! My husband is on my case to study at UofT.... wish I can get admission :D
Well @ hassan Suleman, its not about comparing who did what and who didn't, the story is about a teenage "GIRL" from a place comparatively less exposed and with minimum guidance, had the courage to dream and fulfill those by determination and hard work. Congratulations Maheen, we pakistanis are really proud of you!
Well done! BUT .
'small town girl with big time dreams' - Sialkot is not as small as you've made it out to be. It's SIALKOT not pindi bhattian!
P.S. My brother also hails from Sialkot and from the same school as me and maheen, he's a London School of Economics Graduate with an admission offer from Oxford University for Post Grad! Therefore i find this 'SMALL town girl with big time dreams' thing 'quite' dramatic!
Biased Article as both the writer and maheen are close friends!
From where I see the point of this story is not that Maheen’s father could spend money or not. In fact, money is not even the highlight of the story. The point is that a girl from a city, where majority of the girls aren’t even sent to hostels in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, went abroad because her parents realized that education is important! There are a million rich daddies that prefer giving land to their daughters instead of education. Here the writer is probably trying to appreciate a change that he/she noticed.
Also, money cannot get anyone admission in an Ivy League institute and anyone who has applied to one of the Ivys will very well understand that.
Moreover, we know that Pakistan is full of brilliance and tons of students go abroad for education every year but the highlight of this story is that this girl got into a good college but realized that her true potential lied in something even better and opted for a transfer. It should be an inspiration for students who don’t get into their dream colleges when they apply for the first time. The story shows that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.
s mediocrity shown in whole article, Maheen
s father spent tons of Money on her education, And No any middle-class family in Pakistan could afford such levishness.. Infact, nothing could become impossible if U have Money in ur pocket Nonetheless, Pakistan is full of talent and intelligence, still oppertunities of quality educations are poles away.. If we all would have aquired such oppertunities of haveing loads of wealth in back-ground and plenty of support from our parents, we would prove a little more wrothwhile than Maheen offcource...it is nice to learn, that pakisitani girls are going to such institues.
We should all love hard working people. Way to go Maheen.
She still is an elite whose parents could afford to pay for her education.It would be 'news'if some girl from the 'mohallahs' got into Wharton.My daughter went to Bryn Mawr,there were many such samples.It is not a "rags to riches story".
"What's the big deal?" UPenn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGpOizUIY60
good but it does not mention if she is on scholarship or aid.. uPenn is 60,000 dollars a year ivy league school!!! no way a 'big dream' story if she is rich
@Optimist: "The big deal is that countries like India and China have populations far greater than that of Pakistan and the fact that they don’t have the prevailing conditions of Pakistan"
The prevailing conditions of India and China are mostly similar to Pakistan and in some ways much worse. In fact, people in India are much worse off compared to their counterparts in Pakistan.
I have to agree that this isn't extraordinary news. I've heard plenty of stories of people from even more disadvantaged backgrounds making such strides, such as those who have escaped Ahmadi persecution in Pakistan. Not to belittle Maheen's achievement in any way, congratulations to her for her personal success, I am sure she will be successful. I am simply speaking from a broader perspective.
I know a Wharton graduate, he is not that great, no offense to the young girl but seriously this news is a great news only for her school's newsletter. After studying at Wharton i wish her doing big things that will actually make it to the national news.
@what is in the name and ovais, The big deal is that countries like India and China have populations far greater than that of Pakistan and the fact that they don't have the prevailing conditions of Pakistan, their students have a better chance of getting into such universities. Plus they have established institutions which guide them through the whole process.
The Big Deal is she studies into Wharton Business School, world's No 1 Business School. All the big giant multinational employers of US look upon of this uni's graduates.
the big deal , 1000 students go abroad each year , what is the big deal seriously
God speed mahen. Make us all proud in pakistan.
Gerat Maheen,, keep it up. Really you are the proud of Pakistan.
I have been at Penn for postdoc. Wharton is certainly a dream come true for any student who wants to do major in business and economics. All the Best!
don't criticize....but learn something.
Excellent!!
Proud we have people like these in Pakistan. She is someone for the young generation to look up to :)
My daughter's at Wharton Maheen - same year as you - you are going to enjoy yourself. All the best.