American University in Bulgaria

AUBG is a privately funded, not-for-profit institution. Tuition and private donations, as well as grants, finance its educational activities. It opened its doors in September 1991, with a first-year class of 208 students and 16 full-time faculty members.

Since then, the lively town of Blagoevgrad in southwest Bulgaria has become a cradle of academic excellence, creativity and cultural diversity. Nowadays, around 1100 curious, committed and talented students from over 40 countries come together to live and study in a supportive and secure community and immerse themselves in our first-rate American liberal arts education.

• Write an essay, which will help the AUBG Admissions Committee become acquainted with you, understand your motivation for attending AUBG and determine how well you can express yourself. The essay should be on one of the following topics:
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. 
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Submit two letters of recommendation from teachers, professors, guidance counselors and/or academic advisers familiar with your academic performance. The letters may be written in English, Bulgarian or Russian.
•  Transcript

If you are applying in your last year of high school (i.e., before having earned your diploma), you must submit an official transcript for the last three years of school that lists subjects taken, grades earned, and a calculated annual grade point average (GPA). The recommended minimum GPA is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. All transcripts must include the applicant's name, the contact information of the school issuing the transcripts, and the seal and signature of a school official. Transcripts may be submitted in English, Bulgarian, or Russian. If you have already completed  high school, please submit a  copy of your high school diploma with the final grades. Copies must be verified by a notary and translated into English by a certified translator.

Required Minimum of English Proficiency Test:

• IBT (Internet Based TOEFL) – 80;
• ITP TOEFL – 550;
• rPDT (Revised Paper-Delivered TOEFL) – 60;
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) – 6.5;
• Cambridge English (FCE, CAE, CPE, reported on Cambridge English Scale) – 180;
• ECPE (Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English) – 650;
• PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English) – 59;
• DET (Duolingo English Test) – 110.

Endowed Presidential Scholarship (endowed - minimum) - $50,000. The most prestigious award, with academic merit as a primary criterion, with students from across the campus eligible for these awards.  Donor may request that their gift benefit students who enroll in a certain program. 

Undergraduate Scholarship (endowed - minimum) - $20,000. Donors may request that their gift benefit students who qualify on the basis of specific criteria, such as enrollment in a certain program, financial need, geographic area or scholastic excellence.

Undergraduate Scholarships (annual or one-time gift - minimum) - $2,500. Scholarship can be named.  Donor can request that their gift benefit students who qualify on the basis of specific criteria, such as enrollment in a certain program, financial need, geographic area or scholastic excellence.