ALERT: Please note that you will be required to create a separate login account on the next screen to start your online EFAS application. In addition to the added security, this will also allow you to continue your application from any computer and it will remember where you are in the application process.

The Aga Khan Education Board USA (AKEB USA) provides a number of renewable financial assistance packages, on a competitive basis, for students entering undergraduate studies at an accredited American university. The initial award is for a period of one year. Awards may be renewable for a maximum of six more semesters (for a total of eight semesters of funding).

The essential criteria for consideration are high academic merit and demonstrated financial need. AKEB USA promotes the ethic of self-help by being a funding source of last resort. Therefore, applicants are expected to have applied to and exhausted all other funding options. Additional funding opportunities can be found at https://the.ismaili/usa/scholarships.

Eligibility:

● Applicants must be entering an undergraduate degree program at a four-year, not-for-profit American university for the first time. Students already enrolled at a university are not eligible. Students entering junior/community colleges are not eligible, although exceptions may apply for bridge programs (please contact [email protected] for more information).

● Students transferring from junior or community colleges to four-year universities for the first time are also eligible.

● Students must study full-time, with at least 60% of classes each semester being in-person.

● Applicants must be currently residing in the United States and have completed at least two years of high school in the country. However, United States citizens are eligible regardless of where they studied and currently reside.

● All available transcripts are required as part of the application, including those from high school and community college.

● Applicants are required to apply for and accept other forms of financial assistance (including federal or university student loans and federal work study) for which they are eligible, and to exhaust all other sources of financial assistance. This DOES NOT include Parent Plus Loans.

● All eligible federal student loans must be accepted (federal loans that are not accepted will retroactively be deducted from future awards and added to the estimated financial contribution of the family for the following academic year).

● Work study, if awarded, must also be accepted. Students who are eligible to work and not awarded work study are expected to contribute toward their education through other work experience unless extenuating circumstances were previously stated and the student was exempt from this obligation.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERAL AID YOU MAY STILL APPLY TO THE EFAS PROGRAM. Please email AKEB USA at [email protected] if you require clarification on the eligibility criteria.

Selection Criteria:

1. Academic qualifications: academic record (documented by high school transcript and if applicable, junior/community college transcripts), SAT or ACT scores (optional for 2026-2027), essay(s) provided with application, extracurricular activities and level of achievement, work experience, and admission to reputable institutions of higher learning are all considered.

2. Genuine financial need: family income, amount of tuition, amount contributed to other children's education, expected family contribution towards student's tuition (required), student's work contribution (required), and financial assistance obtained from other sources are all considered in determining financial need. Documentation verifying family income is required and will be kept confidential.

3. Interview: the interview component is used to determine eligibility, educational plan, career plan, and financial need.

4. Institution Selection: thoughtful decision-making and university rankings will be considered when reviewing and determining awards. AKEB USA will use the College Composite Ranking to determine the quality of the institution selected.

Critical Dates:

1. Monday, March 16, 2026: deadline to submit online application and required supporting documentation by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). All required supporting documentation must be uploaded to the application portal by the submission deadline. Late applications and required supporting documents will NOT be accepted.

2. May 2026: Interviews

3. July 2026: Notification of Award

Application Procedures:

1. Step-By-Step Guide (rebrand.ly/EFASGuide) to create an EFAS application online account.

2. EFAS Application: Applications will be accepted online at theismailiusa.org and MUST be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, March 16, 2026. Supporting documents (see Document Submission instructions below) must be uploaded to the portal or your Google Drive by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, March 16, 2026.

An application will be deemed to be on time if BOTH the online application AND the required supporting documents are submitted in accordance with the deadline. Late applications will NOT be accepted.

3. Required Documents:

● Official academic transcript(s) from a U.S. high school and, if applicable, junior/community college for at least two years prior to application;

● FAFSA Submission Summary (acquired through Federal Student Aid portal);

● Student Aid Index (SAI) (acquired through Federal Student Aid portal);

● College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile, if attending a private university (acquired through the College Board portal)

● 2023 & 2024 Parents' Personal Tax Return (all pages, including schedules and W-2 forms);

● 2023 & 2024 Parents’ Business Tax Return (if your parents own a business, then business tax returns must be included) - all pages including schedule(s);

● Parent/Guardian’s Signature Page;

● Applicant’s (Student) Signature Page;

● New Applicant’s Checklist; AND

● EFAS Overview & Eligibility Requirements (signed).

4. Document Submission: Please ensure that your supporting documents are complete, the document is properly named, and all pages are properly scanned as PDF.

● UPLOAD to Application Portal: Supporting documents must be legible and should be uploaded to the application portal during the application process in PDF format. Screenshots and JPEG will NOT be accepted; OR

● UPLOAD to Your Google Drive: ONLY IF you are unable to upload the supporting documents to the application portal, then upload your supporting documents to your google drive and share a link with [email protected]. The documents must be in PDF format. Screenshots and JPEG will NOT be accepted.

5. Interview: All eligible applicants will be interviewed by a member of the National Scholarship Panel, the local Aga Khan Education Board Chairman, and the local Aga Khan Social Welfare Board Chairman by video or telephone conference in May 2026.

6. Award Meeting: The National Scholarship Panel will meet in June 2026 to evaluate applications and select awardees. You will be notified by July 2026 whether you have received an award. Ineligible students may be notified earlier.

Completion Time:

We recommend starting early to leave enough time to gather all supporting documents, write two mandatory essays, and complete the online EFAS application. The EFAS application will take you approximately three (3) hours to complete.

Plagiarism:

All submitted essays will be evaluated for plagiarism. Essays that have been plagiarized will be subject to penalties, which may include disqualification from EFAS. Plagiarism is representing someone else’s work or ideas as your own or using the work without citing the original author. Examples of plagiarism include:

● Use of someone else's language or concepts without proper reference or credit.

● Use of AI-generated content or language generators without attribution or disclosure.

● Various online tools, including TurnItIn.com and Grammarly.com, may be utilized to check for plagiarism and AI misuse in submissions. It is crucial to ensure your work is original and properly cited.

● Any form of plagiarism is taken seriously and may result in disqualification from EFAS.

Award Conditions:

The AKEB USA EFAS awards are grants. The initial award is for a period of one year. A student's award may be renewable for a maximum of six more semesters (for a total of eight semesters of funding) during the course of undergraduate study, at Council for USA’s sole discretion.

Students must attend university with a full-time course load and maintain a cumulative minimum 3.0 out of a 4.0 GPA each semester. Council for USA is under no obligation to renew a student's award and has sole discretion to refuse to renew a student's award for any reason. Therefore, students may not rely on any future potential award(s) from Council for USA.

Consent:

By completing and signing the EFAS application, you hereby consent to the collection, use, storage, transfer, and processing of your data by His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for the United States and its affiliates for the limited purpose of developing, delivering, and evaluating programs and services offered by the Council and its affiliates.

Questions regarding the AKEB USA EFAS Program application process should be directed to [email protected].