What is DKSSF?

AMIDEAST established the Diana Kamal Scholarship Search Fund (DKSSF) in 2006 in memory of AMIDEAST’s late Senior Vice President Diana Lufkin Kamal in recognition of her dedication to the field of international educational exchange.

DKSSF assists talented students from underrepresented populations in the Middle East and North Africa who are unable to pursue undergraduate study in the United States because of the high costs involved. Studying in the United States is a transforming experience for exchange students— providing academic, as well as personal and cultural, experiences that shape their futures in immeasurable ways. Scholars return to their home countries better prepared to achieve their personal goals and to be successful leaders in their communities and the broader region.

The purpose of the DKSSF fund is for AMIDEAST to provide you with academic advising –related services and TOEFL and SAT testing and prep courses that will help you be competitive for scholarships and financial aid from U.S. universities and colleges, and to connect you with universities that offer major scholarships to international students. We will do our best based on our knowledge of which institutions offer financial aid to international students to match you with schools where you will be competitive for a large financial aid award. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee that you will be awarded a scholarship since ultimately it is up to the schools to decide who they will accept and what scholarship amounts they will offer to accepted international students.

AMIDEAST’s Role

AMIDEAST uses the fund to identify highly qualified Arab youth and provide them with:

  • Academic advising, including providing feedback on application essays, helping to answer questions on application forms, etc.
  • English-language enrichment (if needed and time allows)
  • Testing services: free TOEFL and SAT testing at our local field office
  • Document translation (transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.)
  • A list of schools that offer need-based financial aid to international students (see below)

AMIDEAST staff in our headquarters (HQ) office in Washington DC will provide you with a list of five to seven schools to apply to, based on your SAT and TOEFL scores, your desired field of study, and our knowledge of availability of financial aid at these school. You are not only welcome, but also encouraged, to let us know of any other schools to which you would like to apply that are not on this list. If we are in agreement, we will add these schools and cover the application fee and the cost of sending the TOEFL and SAT scores to the universities. If we do not feel they are a good match, you may still apply, but you will be responsible for paying for the application fee and test scores. Our goal isto have you apply to ONE school of your choice from our selected list for early-decision withthe remaining completed applications to be submitted for regular decision. Early-decision applications are due to the universities in early November. Should you be accepted to your early-decision school and awarded enough financial aid to be able to attend, this representsacommitmenton your part to attend. You will not be able to wait for the decisions from the other institutions you have applied to.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

All candidates should abide by the following DKSSF timeline and meet each deadline as specified. Failure to do so may result in a missed opportunity to apply to a school and/or gain acceptance.

ROUND 1 DUE: SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2016

  • Open a Common Application account and being completing the application – The Common Application (CA) is an undergraduate college admissionapplicationthat is utilized by the vast majority of schools in the U.S., both for international students and American students. <
  • Open an Account on the CSS Profile – TheCSS Profileis the most commonly used financial aid application for colleges and universities in the U.S. <
  • Complete and turn in the student login sheet to Shannon Fleming <, which includes your account login information for the Common Application, CSS, SAT (College Board), and TOEFEL (ETS).
  • Work with local AMIDEAST office to staff to register for SAT, TOEFEL, and Subject tests (if applicable), and provide us with the test dates accordingly.
  • Submit first draft of the Common Application essay for review by AMIDEAST HQ. We will provided feedback and suggestions, and send them back to you for final revisions.

ROUND 2 DUE: OCTOBER 1ST, 2016

  • Complete Common App (CA), including successfully uploading all final documents (see below)
  • Two letters of recommendation from teachers should be obtained, translated, and uploaded to the CA. Please be sure the recommenders understand that the comments should be personal, and should convey knowledge of your academic ability and personality.
  • Official high school transcripts (with school stamp) should be obtained, translated to English, and uploaded to the CA.

*Note: All uploaded documents should be in English. If any documents need to be translated, please contact your advisor at the local AMIDEAST office for assistance.

ROUND 3 DUE: OCTOBER 15TH, 2016

  • CSS (financial aid) profile complete and ready for submission
  • Parents’ pay slips obtained from employer and translated
  • Parents’ bank-statements obtained and translated.

IMPORTANT NOTES

  • We do not encourage DKSSF students to select engineering as a major due to the very competitive nature of scholarships in this field. Students who do not achieve a minimum score of 1300 on the SAT should select a major other than engineering. It has been our experience that schools that tend to give financial aid on the basis of financial need are small liberal arts colleges. These types of schools rarely offer engineering. Merit-based engineering scholarships are very competitive, and so a candidate would need to present an outstanding SAT score and grades in order to be considered.
  • For regular (non-Engineering)applicants, you will need to achieve a minimum SAT score of 1100 in order to be considered for the DKSSF program.
  • Consistency in naming is of the utmost importance when filling out documents. Please be sure to print your name exactly as it appears on your passport on all documents.
  • Please be mindful to allocate enough time when requesting a letter of recommendation from your teachers and school counselor. You will need to send them a request through the Common Application and provide them with enough time to write the letter and upload it to the Common Application well before the deadline. For this reason, we recommend you request these letters as soon as school starts (or even earlier if you are in touch with your teachers before then).

DKSSF Candidate Profile

Please complete and return this form to AMIDEAST. Please answer all financial questions in U.S. Dollars.

1. Name:

2. Email:

3. Address:

4. Date of birth (month/day/year):

5. Place of birth (Country):

6. Country (ies) of citizenship:

7. Intended study major:

8. Family information

Father’s annual salary: / Father’s occupation:
Mother’s annual salary:
Additional annual salary: / Mother’s occupation:
(If additional extra salary is listed on Line e, please explain):

9. Financial Information

Value of family Savings and investments: / Value of owned property:
Estimate of total family annual expenses:

10. Number of people living in your household:

Name / Age / Occupation

10. Estimated Family Contribution towards your Education

Your Name / Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3 / Year 4
Expected family contribution towards your college education:

I DO HEREBY CERTIFY THAT ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY ME IN THIS APPLICATION ARE TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND BELIEF, FURTHER, I UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE EVENT THAT I HAVE KNOWINGLY AND WILLFULLY MADE ANY FALSE STATEMENTS, I WILL RISK BEING DISQUALIFIED TO COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES IN THE U.S.

My Signature