New, Continuing Scholarships for Public School Students Expand Windows of Opportunity

In Fall 2019, AUC continues to offer various scholarships for public school students, in addition to a new scholarship, Attijariwafa Bank Public School Scholarship, for students with disabilities. In celebration of AUC’s 100 years of excellence, innovation and service, the University recently launched the AUC Centennial Scholarship Fund, which offers partial or full support for undergraduate Egyptian students who demonstrate outstanding academic qualifications and financial need, as well as the AUC Liberal Arts Undergraduate Scholarship, which provides 20 full and/or partial scholarships to students who are committed to majoring in liberal arts at AUC.

“AUC offers scholarships targeting students who excel not only academically, but also in other areas such as artistic talent, cultural activities and athletic achievement,” said Randa Kamel, chief enrollment officer and assistant provost for academic student services. “This fall, we are introducing Attijariwafa Bank Public School Scholarship for students with disabilities, which will support one undergraduate public student with a physical or learning disability who has demonstrated exceptional academic and leadership capabilities.”

The Public School Scholarship Fund (PSSF) is one of AUC’s most successful scholarship programs, offering full-tuition scholarships each year for 20 public school students to study at AUC. Since its inception in 1990, the PSSF has graduated more than 390 students, of whom more than 75 percent graduated with honors. PSSF recipients are Egyptian students from different governorates, including Cairo, Fayoum, Zagazig, Beni Suef and Shebin El Kom.  

“I can’t over-emphasize the value of these scholarships,” said Amr Osman ’00, political science graduate and recipient of AUC’s Public School Scholarship who is now associate professor of history at Qatar University. Originally from Tanta, Osman holds a master's in history from the University of St. Andrews and a PhD in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University. “I don’t know how my life would have progressed differently had I not received the scholarship. AUC gave me a good opportunity to discover my potential. I hope many others can get the same opportunity too.” Read here more about Osman's journey at AUC. 

Yomna Allam '18, corporate credit analyst in ALEXBANK and also a PSSF graduate, echoed the same sentiment. "Having an AUC education is different than any other university," said Allam, who majored in business administration and aspires to head the Central Bank of Egypt one day. "We learn to understand everything we study and know how to apply it in the real world."

Undergraduate students from Upper Egypt also have outstanding scholarship opportunities at AUC through Empower and Orascom Construction Scholarship. The Empower scholarship annually provides five full and/or partial scholarships to outstanding thanawiya amma graduates from five governorates in Upper Egypt: Assiut, Beni Suef, Minya, Sohag and Fayoum. The Orascom Construction Scholarship provides full-tuition annual scholarships to graduates of public or private high schools from eight governorates in Upper Egypt: Assiut, Beni Suef, Minya, Sohag, Fayoum, Qena, Luxor and Aswan, to pursue an undergraduate degree in economics at AUC.

"If you thought you led a good life, then this scholarship is the ticket to an extraordinary one," said Mariam Soliman, recipient of the Orascom Construction Scholarship.

"My experience at AUC was a life-changing one that helped me discover new passions and have enough courage to pursue them no matter how hard it may get," said Susan Thabit, recipient of the Empower scholarship. "I had the chance to explore more about myself and about different fields and majors that I had never known about before, and that was a turning point in my life." 

Also supporting public school students, The Egyptian Refining Company Public School Scholarship supports one undergraduate student from a public school in Matareya, Khosos or Shark Shubra El Kheima (Mostorod) who demonstrates academic merit and financial need. 

Almost 50 percent of AUC students receive financial assistance from the University, and 376 undergraduate students are on full-tuition scholarships. In Fall 2018 alone, more than 570 students received full and partial scholarships and more than 1,700 students received financial aid. Moreover, 120 new undergraduate students from 23 governorates attended AUC on full-tuition scholarships that same semester. Overall, AUC offers more than 118 named scholarships for undergraduate students supported by individuals or corporations.

AUC also offers scholarships for students who excel in STEM fields, including Al Ghurair STEM Scholarship Program, which supports talented Egyptian students to pursue their undergraduate or graduate degrees in any STEM majors offered by AUC, and the Mohamed Bin Abdulkarim A. Allehedan Endowed Scholarship and Scientific Research Fund, which offers scholarships based on merit and financial need to students interested in studying in the fields of basic science such as mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, energy and petroleum, water and environment, economics and development.

“The main aim of providing these scholarships is to provide academically outstanding students who cannot afford an AUC education with an opportunity to be equipped with the quality of education that enables them to create a positive change to their future, to Egypt and to the world,” affirmed Kamel.