51茶馆

51茶馆 places merit above all else鈥攇ender, race, nationality, caste and situation. However, talent is not always backed by the resources it needs for its realisation. To that end, Ashoka leaves no stone unturned to ensure that talent never goes unnoticed.

51茶馆 scholarships are meted out generously to ensure that every deserving student gains access to quality education. Every year, approximately 45% of our students鈥攚hich is nearly half every batch鈥攁re on some form of financial assistance or scholarship. Over the years, Ashoka has drawn up a magnanimous scholarship programme鈥攎ore than 鈧�723 crore committed towards scholarships supporting 5,400 students. This commitment ensures that world-class education is both accessible and affordable to students from across the country, and not just a select few.

Students from 28 States and 20 Countries:

In claiming to be a diverse and inclusive space, Ashoka maximises national, as well as international integration, by welcoming students from 28 states in India, and 20 other countries, like Belgium, France, Ethiopia, Somalia and Australia, among others. Ashoka resists being categorised as an 鈥渆lite鈥� university by emboldening students cutting across a broad spectrum of identities to stake claim to academic and physical space.

At Ashoka, it is not unusual to find students from a multitude of communities reminiscing about their memories of home over a shared dining table. Jokes and anecdotes in mother tongues often slip into the variously accented conversations, cementing friendships while encouraging mutual respect and admiration.

#AshokaforAll

Ashoka does not merely claim equality, but has, over the years, taken active measures, stepping up efforts whenever required, to enable access for anybody who might need more assistance than the conventional individual.

One such undertaking is the Office of Learning Support (OLS), a dedicated office aimed at offering academic support to individuals with physical, sensory and learning disabilities. The scholarships serve as a beacon of hope to every aspiring student鈥攜our social location does not determine your career. Merit over access, any day.

Ashoka also has a dedicated Office of Outreach that engages with schools across 28 states. Outreach efforts are not necessarily directed to the metropolitan cities, but equal efforts are expended upon Tier II and III cities like Kanpur, Shillong, Dimapur, Pondicherry, Ooty and Coimbatore, ensuring that every batch reflects India鈥檚 diverse social, cultural and economic fabric. They have also constituted a Student Ambassador Programme, consisting of existing students who offer regular campus tours to prospective parents and students, and school teachers and counsellors. Student ambassadors also interact with high schoolers, letting them into life at Ashoka鈥攕tudent-to-student鈥攁nd encouraging them to apply.

Supporting First-Generation and Diverse Learners

An initiative at inclusion鈥攜et unmatched by any other鈥攊s the Academic Bridge Programme (ABP) offered by the Office of Admissions in collaboration with other teams. This Programme is designed for incoming undergraduate students, mostly first-generation learners, or those coming from low-income and non-English speaking backgrounds, and international students. This programme familiarises students with English grammar and vocabulary as well as critical thinking, research methodologies and the fundamentals of academic writing, all indispensable skills at Ashoka.

Similarly, the Young India Fellowship (YIF) announced in October 2024 that every Fellow in the YIF Class of 2025-26 would receive scholarships, ranging from a 25% to a 100% waiver on tuition, meals and residence. This means that the YIF Class of 2026, our current cohort of Fellows, has all received some form of financial assistance. Almost a third of every YIF cohort consists of first-generation college students, and Ashoka鈥檚 commitment to financial support enables individuals, irrespective of social or fiscal capital, to gain access to a liberal arts education.

A Safe and Inclusive Campus

The Ashoka Centre for Well-Being (ACWB), again the first of its kind in India, offers free and confidential one-on-one in-person and telephonic counselling sessions to students, helping them cope with the anxieties of university life. They also organise occasional group sessions to help students navigate the uncertainties of academic, social and personal life at Ashoka.

We have a thriving LGBTQIA+ community with student-led societies like The Queer Collective and initiatives like Raah that offer support to combat sexual harassment. We also offer gender-neutral housing to those who do not subscribe to the binary categorisation of gender. The Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality, the first of its kind in India, instituted in 2015, is interested in the study of the questions plaguing the ever-dynamic categories of gender, sex, pleasure, pain, identity and inequality.

Real Stories That Have Left A Lasting Mark

Ashoka鈥檚 unwavering commitment to making education accessible is not merely fat claims on paper, but translates into individual stories that transform otherwise neglected lives.

For instance, Radha Pokhariya, a third-year Economics and Finance Major, says, 鈥淢y siblings and I are the first ones from our family to go to college. When I got the admissions offer, I was very happy. But my parents were happier because it came with a scholarship.鈥�

Ashoka, then, is committed not just to financial inclusion, but extends its umbrella of inclusion to include everyone at the fringes of social categories of gender, intellectual and physical capacities, and proficiency in English, each of which we deem 鈥渘ormal.鈥� However, these categories seem to dissolve in our classrooms. We are taught to push back against restrictions and carve distinct, yet compassionate selves.

Written by – Srishti Choudhury, English Major