The AU Emerging Global Leader Scholarship promotes educational access and opportunity while enhancing international diversity. Bringing together the best of AU – academic excellence, leadership development, and global engagement – the AU Emerging Global Leader achieves, inspires, and serves with vision. The AU EGL is dedicated to positive civic and social change, and will return home to improve under-resourced, underserved communities in their home country. We invite you to meet our inspiring current AU Emerging Global Leader Scholars and recent EGLS alumni. 

Benefits

  • The AU EGL scholarship covers all billable AU expenses (full tuition, room, and board) for one international student who will need a non-immigrant visa (preferably an F-1 or J-1 student visa) to study in the United States. The scholarship does not cover non-billable expenses such as mandatory health insurance, books, airline tickets, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses (approximately U.S.$4,000 per year).
  • The AU EGL scholarship is renewable for a total of four years of undergraduate study, based on continued satisfactory academic performance. Students interested in all majors offered at AU are eligible to apply.

Requirements

You are NOT eligible to apply if:

  • You are a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, U.S. pending permanent resident, or dual citizen of the U.S. and another country.
  • You are enrolled in or have already begun any post-secondary studies at another university in your home country or the United States.
  • You graduated secondary school earlier than 2022.

Preference will be given to:

  1. International students who have overcome various obstacles and challenges as well as those from diverse and underrepresented global and socioeconomic backgrounds.
  2. A minimum 3.8 GPA equivalent out of 4.0 GPA (or in the top 10% of graduating class) for 9th-12th grades.
  3. A demonstrated commitment to leadership, volunteerism, community service, and to advancing the needs of people in their home country.
  4. Students with one of the following:
    1. 95+ TOEFL iBT (all subscores must be 20 or above)
    2. Sub-scores of 24+ on the paper-based TOEFL (Taken after May 31, 2017)
    3. 7.0+ IELTS (all subscores must be 6.0 or above)
    4. 33 minimum SAT Reading subscore
    5. 29 minimum ACT English
    6. 65 minimum PTE
    7. 125+ Duolingo (all subscores must be 115 or above)
    8. Cambridge Assessment English score of 185 or higher. Each sub-score must be 169 or higher.
  5. Students who are still enrolled in secondary/high school and graduating by June 2024.
  6. Important: Students in the IB system should plan to graduate with a full IB diploma with at least 3 HL subjects. Students studying in the British A-Levels system must complete at least 3 A levels and finish 13 years of study before August 2024.

Selection Process

Very Important: The AU EGLS selection process is most competitive. Priority consideration will be given to those AU EGLS applicants who apply and complete the AU EGLS application, Common Application, and international admissions document submission process, including proof of English proficiency and bank letter confirming US$4,000 minimum, by December 15, 2023.

Zoom interviews and/or additional essay submissions will be required for AU EGL semi-finalists and finalists. If you have any questions, please contact intadm@american.edu.

Method of Application

Click Here to Apply

AU EGLS applicants must apply Regular Decision for fall (August) 2024. Do not apply Early Decision (ED).

Instructions

  1. Complete the AU EGLS application on the Future Eagle Portal.
  2. Submit a bank letter confirming a minimum of U.S.$4,000. This can be uploaded via your Future Eagle Portal or sent by fax to +1-202-885-1025. Examples of bank letters
  3. Submit your official TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English, PTE, or Cambridge Assessment English Test score results by December 15, 2023 at the latest. Please have official English proficiency score reports sent directly by the testing agency to American University, Undergraduate Admissions, Washington, District of Columbia. Please note: Students cannot submit their own results.
  4. Complete and submit the Common Application or Coalition Application, together with all supporting documents per checklist by AU EGLS priority deadline of December 15, 2023, or by January 15, 2024 at the latest. Please note that preliminary AU EGLS application packet must include a bank letter confirming a minimum of US$4,000 (not US$78,296). Students who do not submit a complete application packet with all supporting documents by the deadline will not be reviewed.
  5. If you are applying through a program supported by EducationUSA or if you are a past FLEX or YES high school scholarship recipient from the U.S. Department of State, please provide a letter from your EducationUSA center’s adviser confirming your candidacy. You may request for the letter to be sent to levinson@american.edu as a PDF.
  6. If you are not selected as one of the finalists, you may still be considered for admission to American University, Washington, DC and eligible for partial merit scholarships. However, to continue the application process, you will need to submit proof of funds totaling U.S.$78,296 (estimated costs for first year of study).

For More Information,

Visit the Official Webpage

Application Deadline: January 15, 2025.