Ashoka Aptitude Test (AAT) - Admission Procedure, Application and sample QP

Intellectual curiosity and critical thinking

Academic rigour, research, and writing

Open-mindedness and willingness to learn

An interdisciplinary and problem-solving approach

Resilience, tolerance, and teamwork

Application: Academic scores, SAT/ACT scores, Personal Essays, Recommendation, Non-academic Engagement

Assessments: Ashoka Aptitude Assessment (Mandatory); On-the-Spot Essay (Mandatory) In-depth review of all applications and assessments by the Office of Admissions

Interview with Panel (Mandatory)
Interviewers will interact with shortlisted candidates to get to know them and evaluate their suitability for academics at Ashoka

Conditional Offer

Waitlist (upon availability)

Deferral of Decision

Denial of Admission

Admissions Committee declares decisions. A separate Financial Aid application form will be opened for those granted an Offer of Admission

Holistic Admissions Process where each applicant is evaluated within their unique Context

Strong focus on Affirmative Action based on social, personal, medical, geographical, educational backgrounds, etc, to name a few

Merit based Admissions process and decisions

Need based Financial Aid Policy after offers have been made

An applicant needs to register with a personal email address (Gmail, Yahoo or Personal Domain IDs preferred) to start an application form. Use a personal email address and not a school or office-affiliated email address to ensure that they have access to this email address till the duration of their undergraduate degree programme

All communication from Ashoka University will be sent only to the applicant’s registered email address

The application form has multiple sections and is designed to get to know the applicant. The applicant is advised to carefully and thoughtfully engage with all the sections in the form

The applicant should supply all relevant information in both mandatory and non-mandatory sections of the application form

The applicant should attach all mandatory documents to prevent the application form from being considered ‘incomplete’. The applicant’s photograph, government identification document, and examination mark-sheets should be clearly visible and not password-protected

Haryana Domicile Applicants will be required to submit their Government issued Haryana Resident Certificate (Domicile) to avail of benefits (if relevant) as per the Haryana Private Universities Act. Eligible applicants may attach a receipt of their Resident Certificates if they do not have access to their Resident Certificates at the time of submitting their Application Forms.

The applicant should attach collaterals (certificates, photographs, artwork, writing samples, web-links, letters of experience/completion/appointment, etc) for optional sections to substantiate their listed activities and areas of engagement

The applicants are required to respond to three mandatory personal essay prompts. They should be written by the applicant and should aim to address the stated prompt/cue as genuinely as possible

The applicant should get the consent of the recommender before enlisting the recommender’s name on the application form

The applicant’s choice of preferred Majors under the Course Preference Section in the application form is only indicative in nature

Ashoka University also offers extensive support to its students for English language, writing, learning disabilities, medical, mental health, and counselling.

Please find the details for these support centres here: Support at Ashoka. To enable the university to extend adequate support to the applicant during the admissions process and on campus (if made an offer of admission), the applicant is requested to submit all relevant details in the Support at Ashoka Section of the application form

Academic Bridge Programme: The Office of Admissions at Ashoka University seeks to support select students from each incoming cohort by offering them the chance to attend a fully-funded 3-week Academic Bridge Programme on campus prior to the start of the academic session.

The Academic Bridge Programme aims to bridge the gap between their high school education and the Ashoka University classroom experience. The focus of the classes during the academic Bridge Programme is on the usage of the English language, academic reading and writing, thinking critically, synthesizing information, and presenting cogent arguments. Classes are taught by tutors from Ashoka’s Undergraduate Writing Programme (UWP) and Centre for Writing and Communication (CWC). The Office of Admissions and the Office of Student Affairs co-host the residential life experience for the Academic Bridge Programme students, collaborating with the Office of Learning Support, the Ashoka Centre for Well Being, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Career Development Office to offer workshops and special events to prepare and help students settle into their Ashoka journey

Please make sure that you click SUBMIT after you finish completing your application form

Sample application : https://ashoka.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Sample-Application-1.pdf

On-the-Spot Essay; Mandatory (30 minutes)
The on-the-spot essay evaluates the following parameters: engagement with the prompt, critical thinking, clarity of thought, and creativity. The candidate will be given two topics to choose from at the time of writing the essay. The candidate cannot use any external resources to help them write the essay. The essay has no word limit and can be attempted with minimal preparation

Ashoka Aptitude Assessment; Mandatory (90 minutes)
The Ashoka Aptitude Assessment has been developed for Ashoka University’s admissions purposes by Cambridge and is based on the Thinking Skills Assessment to evaluate the thinking skills of the applicant. It consists of questions on problem-solving skills (includes numerical and spatial reasoning) and critical thinking skills (includes understanding arguments and reasoning using everyday language). It has a total of 40 Multiple Choice Questions (20 problem-solving questions and 20 critical thinking questions) and is designed to be taken with minimal preparation.

Interview with a panel; Mandatory The Ashoka Interview seeks to understand and get to know the candidate, their background and story. It also evaluates various parameters of the application form submitted by the candidate to gauge the candidate’s suitability to Ashoka University’s academic and residential life programme. The candidate will be interviewed by a panel. The time taken for the interview might vary depending on the interaction