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Competition for scholarships to study in USA & UK

The Bulgarian Reading Association (BulRA) in partnership with ASSIST and HMC announce a competition for 10 grade students. Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• be students in the 10th grade during the 2024/25 school year;
• have a very good or excellent GPA from the previous school year (9th grade);
• have hobbies and interests in extracurricular activities (e.g. arts, sports, youth and/or volunteer activities);

Please follow our website and Facebook page for updated info and changes as well as feedback from alumni.

The scholarship competition for the academic year 2025-26 has ended. You can find information about last year’s competition below. The scholarship competition for the academic year 2026-27 will be published at the end of September 2025, when the updated information about the competition will also be available.

The Application Process for 2025/26 Scholarships

1. Important Dates

Online presentations of the competition:

6 pm, 30 September 2024 – First meeting    Register HERE
Second meeting (in English) – upon inquiry
6 pm, 16 October 2024 – Third meeting    Register HERE
6 pm, 14 November 2024 – Fourth meeting     Register HERE

6:30 pm, 5 December 2024 – Fifth meeting Register HERE

Competition dates:

November 1, 2024 – Early Application Deadline
December 10, 2024 – Extended application Deadline
January 2025 (TBA) – English Proficiency Test
January 2025 (TBA) – Essay Writing (online)
January 2025 (TBA)  -  Interview Dates

2. Programs and scholarships

The ASSIST International Scholars Program offers students currently in 10^th grade the opportunity to earn a scholarship to attend an independent boarding school or day school in the U.S. that is a member of the ASSIST network of schools. These are leading private schools. The scholarship fully or partially covers the cost of tuition, food and accommodation

ASSIST creates life-changing opportunities for outstanding international scholars to learn from and contribute to the finest American independent secondary schools.

ASSIST’s mission is based on the conviction that bringing together future international world leaders is a crucial step toward promoting understanding and tolerance spanning a world of cultures, racial designations, and religious beliefs.

Schools in the ASSIST network are leading private schools and they are either boarding schools (providing accommodation and meals) or day schools (in these cases the student lives with a host family who provide accommodation and meals).

ASSIST Scholarships:

• ASSIST SANDERSON SCHOLARSHIPS (Full Scholarship) – cover tuition, room and board at a boarding school, or tuition at a day school, and housing with a volunteer host family.
• ASSIST LINDFORS SCHOLARSHIPS (Partial Scholarship) – cover part of the tuition, room and board at a boarding school, or part of the tuition at a day school, and housing with a volunteer host family. The ASSIST Scholar also pays part of the tuition.

Additional information for the ASSIST program you can find here:

• ASSIST – Applying in Bulgaria
• ASSIST – Student Brochure

APPLICATION:

Students whose first choice is to apply for an ASSIST scholarship, create a profile on the student platform and complete the application form HERE.

If they wish to apply for the other programs as well, mark them on the application form.

Applicants who have selected the ASSIST program, have paid the participation fee and continue their participation will be invited to take the online Duolingo English Test. BulRA will email each individual a prepaid coupon code. The test should be taken early enough prior to the interview so that the interviewers can receive information about the test result.

After receiving your test code please visit https://englishtest.duolingo.com/applicants and select:

• Take a Test
• Create an Account
• Buy Now
• Apply Coupon
• Enter Coupon Code

You can find help & tips here: Duolingo Tips for Your Test Experience

Scholarships are also offered to boarding schools in the UK through the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC).

The HMC group of projects give Bulgarian students an opportunity to get an education at leading British private schools with a scholarship. The project fully covers the cost of tuition, food and accommodation fees. During their studies students prepare for A-Level exams and engage in extra-curricular activities.

The aim of the scholarship programme is to foster bonds of understanding and friendship between young people across Europe and to give young people from the former communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe an enriching and rewarding experience in some of the best schools in the world.

Scholarship winners are then allocated to schools across the United Kingdom, all of which have high standards of academic, sporting and cultural achievement. The schools offer the complete costs of tuition, food and accommodation. The total value of a scholarship is in the region of £40,000 a year.

All the schools in the programme are boarding schools, or schools with boarding houses, so students will become members of a full-time educational community, with members of the teaching staff responsible for their progress and welfare.

HMC Scholarships:

• Full Scholarship

Selection for full scholarships is restricted to students whose parents’ combined net income was £30,000 or less in the year of their application.

• Reduced Fee Scholarship

Students whose parental net income exceeds this sum, but is less than £80,000, may apply through the normal application procedure for a Reduced Fee Scholarship.

• HMC – Poster
• HMC – Brochure
• HMC – Guide to HMC Online Application
• HMC – General Information for Applicants
• HMC – Information for Parents
• HMC – Choosing subjects to study in the 6th Form
• HMC – Expenses calculator

APPLICATION:

Applicants whose first choice is HMC and wish to apply for an HMC scholarship, create a profile on the student platform and complete the application form HERE.

If they wish to apply for the other programs as well, mark them on the application form.

Specific requirement for HMC UK programme:

Applicants for the UK program must be aged between 16 and 17 years and 6 months at the start of the academic year in the UK, i.e. September 1, 2025!

ASSIST works closely with Davis International Scholars Program schools that are within the ASSIST network. Applicants can therefore express their desire to be considered for the two scholarships – ASSIST and Davis – offered in the competition by placing them in order of preference and completing the ASSIST form if Davis is their first choice.

Davis Scholarships are very limited in number – about 3-5 for applicants from all countries where ASSIST works. A scholarship is awarded at one of the participating schools (http://www.taftschool.org; http://www.lawrenceville.org; http://www.westminster-school.org; http://www. emmawillard.org). The program lasts for 2 academic years and students receive a diploma for completed secondary education. Applicants fill out a special Financial Aid Form.

• Davis – Information for Applicants

APPLICATION:

To apply for a Davis Scholarship, create an account on the student platform and complete the application form HERE.

Applicants who have selected the Davis program, have paid the participation fee and are continuing their participation will be invited to take the online Duolingo English Test. BulRA will email each individual a prepaid coupon code. The test should be taken well in advance prior to the interview so that the interviewers can receive information about the test result.

After receiving your test code please visit https://englishtest.duolingo.com/applicants and select:

• Take a Test
• Create an Account
• Buy Now
• Apply Coupon
• Enter Coupon Code

You can find help & tips here: Duolingo Tips for Your Test Experience

3. Country Specific Documents to Read

• Announcement
• Frequently asked questions (Q & A)

4. Application Fee Payment

An application fee is due once the web-based application is complete. The application fee for candidates who submit their application by the early deadline, November 1, is 29 BG Lev. The application fee for candidates who submit their application by the final deadline, December 1, is 59 BG lev. Please follow the payment information below. Candidates should e-mail proof of payment (scanned receipt or bank document) to bulrakonkurs@gmail.com.

5. Transcripts

Transcripts should be in English, preferably scanned and uploaded to the student portal. ASSIST, HMC and Davis recommend that all academic transcripts have the school stamp.

6. Recommendations from teachers

Part of the application documents are also three recommendations from school teachers – one from a class teacher, one from an English teacher and one from a Math teacher. Recommendations are online forms with specific questions to be answered. Applicants will be asked to fill the names and the e-mail addresses of the teachers in the application portal.

Please follow our website and Facebook page for updated info and changes as well as feedback from alumni.

To receive more information about the ASSIST program or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at bulrakonkurs@gmail.com.

Alumni share

My HMC Experience: Neli Pashova, HMC 2022-24
My HMC Experience: Dimana Davcheva, HMC 2022-24
My ASSIST Experience: Dimitar Minkov, ASSIST 2022-23
My ASSIST Experience: Viktoria Dervisheva, ASSIST 2021-22
My HMC Experience: Rada Pandeva, HMC 2019-21
My HMC Experience: Ivan Mihaylov, HMC 2018-19
My HMC Experience: Katerina Yakimova, HMC 2018-19
My ASSIST Experience: Valeria Germanova, ASSIST 2018-19
Средно образование в САЩ и Великобритания: Говори Даниел Пенев, 2010-11 HMC
Средно образование в САЩ: Говори Радияна Манчева, 2014-15 ASSIST
Средно образование във Великобритания: Говори Ралица Сливкова, 2010-11 HMC
Средно образование в САЩ: Говори Мария Бурмова, 2013-14 ASSIST