The Story Behind Skilliest
Built by an applicant, for applicants. From confusion and expensive rejections to securing 10+ fully funded PhD offers worldwide.
Hi, I am Waleed Abdullah, an Electrical Engineer from Lahore, Pakistan. I built Skilliest after personally going through, navigating, and ultimately cracking the fully funded PhD admissions process myself.
When I first started, I had absolutely no proper guidance. Like many applicants, I paid a huge amount to a traditional admission consultant. I trusted their generic "university shortlisting," only to realize they had no idea how funding actually worked, nor did they understand my specific research field. They never mentioned professor outreach, and they didn't tell me about application fee waivers.
🎓 Secured 10+ Fully Funded PhD Offers worldwide directly from my Bachelor's degree – without a Master's degree!
My Journey
The Master's Misconception
Applied to 15+ top MS programs in the US and was accepted into almost all of them:
The Reality Check: Master's programs cost upwards of $120K with minimal funding. I could not get any fully funded offer for a master's program, and realized that most of the funding goes to the PhD programs. Hence, I started seeking a PhD admission and pivoted entirely.
First Direct PhD Success
Secured a fully-funded PhD offer in Electrical Engineering at one of the top US universities for Fall 2025 – directly from my Bachelor's degree!
The Lesson: I could not join because of the funding impact of the professor at the last moments. That's a hard lesson learned: not to rely on one single offer. I also learned the hard way that applying directly through official portals without talking to professors is a trap. The real secret? Funding follows professors.
Aggressive Global Campaign & The AI Engine
I built an AI-powered outreach system to scale my efforts globally.
- 1000+ professors contacted globally
- 5000+ emails sent, including follow-up emails
- 50+ PhD programs applied to (mostly with fee waivers)
- 10+ fully-funded PhD offers secured
Diversification: Handled visa risks by diversifying applications across the US, Europe (Erasmus Mundus), and the Middle East (KFUPM).
Current Status
- 10+ Fully Funded PhD Offers in the US alone
- Accepted the best offer and proceeding
- Still receiving interview requests from professors
- Built this community to turn my framework into the platform I wish existed when I started.
Amount I Spent in Finding The Right Path
Includes application fees, generic consultants, and test score sending to every school. I built this platform so you can optimize costs and avoid these mistakes.
Portfolio of Acceptances
A glimpse into the global institutions I received fully-funded PhD or Master's admissions from throughout my journey:
The Skilliest Methodology
This network relies on specialized, field-tested strategies that we have mastered over years of real applications:
1. The AI Engine
Advanced systems for writing, sending, and automatically following up for bulk cold-emailing at scale.
2. Global Targeting
Framework for targeting the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and Europe simultaneously to mitigate visa risks.
3. Zero-Cost Applications
Advanced strategies for obtaining Application Fee Waivers to apply to top-tier programs for completely free.
4. Data Collection
AI-powered bulk data collection to identify global faculty contacts and deeply understand their specific research interests.
5. Elite Positioning
Crafting academic CVs, statements, and positioning profiles to stand out as a competitive applicant.
6. Precision Timing
A master schedule for when to take English tests, request LORs, and cold email professors.
Hard-Earned Lessons
❌ What Didn't Work
- Applying blindly to university portals without talking to professors.
- Wasting thousands on generic consultants who don't understand your specific research field.
- Sending a single cold email and giving up.
- Relying on just one or two applications instead of diversifying globally.
- Paying for official test scores ($25+) to send to every single school.
✅ What Actually Worked
- Aggressive professor outreach (5000+ emails sent globally).
- Automated Follow-Ups: The follow-up is where the conversion actually happens.
- Securing multiple fee waivers to apply for free.
- Risk Management: Diversifying across the US, Europe, and Middle East.
- Cost optimization at every single step.
Our Platform
Skilliest is a community-first platform. I have started this community with a pure intention of helping others for completely free via our social media channels.
The Free Community
You can learn almost everything you need by joining our community:
- ✅ The Free Guide: Your comprehensive starting point.
- ✅ Instagram: Success stories, helpful content, and best strategies.
- ✅ WhatsApp Group: Live opportunities and fee waivers.
Paid 1-on-1 Mentorship
The peer mentorship exists for serious applicants who want to bypass the trial and error. I personally set you up with my AI-powered automatic cold emailing system and provide 1-on-1 execution guidance from profiling to interviews.
Note: I also offer selective paid consultation for self-funded Master's admissions in the US, focusing heavily on strategy and cost-optimization.
Ready to take action?
Join the mentorship or start with a free profile assessment.