{
  "id": 3945736,
  "title": "22 Rejections, Then Georgetown: A Bihar 19-Year-Old's Rs 3.5 Crore Scholarship",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/22-rejections-then-georgetown-a-bihar-19-year-olds-rs-3-5-crore",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-28T10:37:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "YourStory",
    "slug": "yourstory",
    "url": "https://yourstory.com/2026/08/adarsh-kumar-bihar-georgetown-qatar-global-student-prize"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a remarkable journey from rejection to triumph, a 19-year-old student from Champaran, Bihar named Adarsh Kumar, received a life-changing Rs 3.5 crore scholarship to attend Georgetown University in Qatar. Accepted into the class of 2030 out of a mere 9.4% acceptance rate, Adarsh is a standout among 150 students representing 42 nationalities. Educated by a single mother who worked tirelessly to support his studies, Adarsh learned to code and build after purchasing a laptop with his mother's savings. By the age of 13, he co-founded Mission Badlao, helping establish a government school, facilitate vaccinations, distribute menstrual health products, and organize tree plantation drives. Despite being rejected 22 times for university admissions abroad, Adarsh persevered and founded Skillzo, a platform connecting underserved students to mentorship, scholarships, and skills training. In 2025, he was awarded the prestigious Chegg.org Global Student Prize, a $100,000 award, making him the first Indian recipient. Adarsh's scholarship to Georgetown enables him to further explore political science, economics, and international relations, focusing on why some policies succeed while others fail, particularly for states like Bihar. This scholarship, covering tuition, accommodation, meals, travel, visa, and health insurance, comes at a time when Indian demand for traditional destinations is waning, and Qatar's Education City offers an affordable alternative with the same academic offerings.",
  "summary": "From Bihar with Rs 1,000 to Georgetown Qatar, Adarsh Kumar overcame 22 rejections and won the Global Student Prize along the way.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}