Help to fund necessary costs to enable me attend my dream university

About the campaign

Why am I fundraising?

I am Kunal Kaushik, from New Delhi, India. I have completed my high school in 2015 from Army Public School Dhaula Kuan. I belong to a lower middle class family, from Jharkhand, India. My father works as a clerk in Delhi Fire Service and is the only earning member in my family. My mother is a housewife.

Since grade 9, I was very interested in Civil Engineering. Out of my strong interest, I participated in a variety of science & math events and won awards and commendations for my imagination, creativity, and intelligence. To take my interest in Civil Engineering to a higher level, I wanted to go abroad for higher studies. As a result, I worked very hard. I received good scores on standardized examinations:

ACT: 34/36; SAT II: 1600/1600; TOEFL: 108/120; Advanced Placement: 5/5 in Calculus and Physics. I also excelled in extracurricular activities and independent scientific research works.

This year in February, I received an admission offer from Vanderbilt University- my dream university (ranked 15 in USA). Moreover, I received a 100% scholarship (International Student Grant) of $66,255 (Rs 43,98,235) per year, renewable for four years. This scholarship covers my all costs at Vanderbilt University.

To join my university, I still need to make the following expenditures: buy a flight ticket, buy a laptop that meets engineering requirements, and other items of necessity.

But the annual income of my family is very low. In addition, my parents are already in great debt with the amount that was spent last year in university applications and registration fees for standardized exams.

A thought might arise in anyone's mind: "even if you were in an Indian college, you still would have needed to pay this much amount." I accept that fact. But even in that case, my family would have been unable to pay. It is not possible for them to do the necessary expenditures for my higher education at this moment.

I have worked very hard and have gone through very difficult financial struggles to get to this achievement. The only barrier I face now is financial barrier. I honestly need help to continue my higher education in USA and follow my passion for Civil Engineering.

How can you help?

I will really appreciate any level of help toward my goal of reaching Rs. 2,00,000 ($3015).
Also, please forward this to someone who you think can recognize my need and offer help.

What do I plan to do with the funds?

I plan to use the funds to enable myself to join my dream university. I will do it in the following ways:

Buy a flight ticket
Buy a laptop that meets engineering requirements for the university
Pay my US Visa fee
Take some money (in dollars) in cash so as to receive a permission to enter at US port of entry