The President's Scholarship is the top undergraduate award at the American University of Sharjah (AUS). It pays 100% of tuition and lab fees, gives you a monthly stipend, puts you in on-campus housing for free and flies you between home and Sharjah. For a Pakistani family, that removes almost every large cost of an undergraduate degree in the UAE. It is also the hardest award at AUS to win, and the application works differently from what most students expect. You can see the full scholarship details on our listing; this guide is about how to approach it.
Who is it for? Students with near-perfect school results who can also show real leadership or impact outside the classroom. If you have straight As but nothing else to talk about, you will struggle. If you have strong grades plus a debate title, a community project you built, or a competition you won, this is worth your time.
The award in one table
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Provider | American University of Sharjah (AUS) |
| Funding | Fully funded |
| Level | Bachelor's |
| Fields | All fields, including engineering, business, architecture, and arts and sciences |
| Country | United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) |
| Last listed deadline | March 19, 2026 (Fall 2026 intake) |
| Official site | AUS Financial Grants and Scholarships page |
The March 19, 2026 date applied to the Fall 2026 intake. If you are reading this for a later intake, confirm the current deadline on the official portal before planning anything around it.
A full ride, with flights included
Here is what the scholarship covers:
- A 100% waiver of tuition and laboratory fees for the full degree
- A waived application fee
- A monthly living stipend for the duration of the scholarship
- Free on-campus housing
- Round-trip air tickets between your home country and Sharjah
The flight benefit is listed as three round-trip tickets per academic year. Confirm the exact air ticket entitlement in your award letter before planning trips home.
The stipend amount is not stated in the published award summary, so do not assume a figure. With tuition, housing and flights handled, what you really need to budget for is food beyond what the stipend covers, a phone, books and personal spending. Ask AUS directly if you need the stipend figure to plan your family's support.
Why this is not the same as an AUS merit scholarship
AUS also has automatic Merit Scholarships, which are awarded on grades. The President's Scholarship is different. It needs a separate portfolio, and it is assessed holistically, so the committee looks at your whole profile rather than ranking marks. AUS says it wants well-rounded candidates, not just top test scores.
This cuts both ways. A student whose school marks fall slightly short of the very top can still be competitive if the essay, video and recommendation letters make a strong case. But a student with perfect marks and a weak portfolio can lose to someone with a better story. Strong applicants who miss out are often considered for the smaller Merit Scholarship tier anyway, so applying for the President's award does not hurt your chances of getting something.
The grade bar is very high
The scholarship is open to applicants from any country who finished secondary school outside the UAE, so Pakistani students are eligible. A Pakistani student who did Grade 12 inside the UAE would not meet that condition. The requirements are:
- Completed secondary education (Grade 12 or equivalent) outside the UAE
- An exceptional academic record, for example all A grades in three or more A-Levels, an IB score of 40+ points, or a 98%+ aggregate combined with an SAT score of 1400+
- English proficiency of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 94, or an equivalent
- Demonstrated leadership, extracurricular achievement or community engagement
- A full admission application submitted and an offer of admission in hand before the portfolio is reviewed
For FSc and Matric students, look at the aggregate route closely. It is a 98%+ aggregate together with an SAT of 1400+, not either one alone. Many board students never sit the SAT, and that is often the gap that rules them out. If you are on the board system and want this scholarship, plan for the SAT early.
A-Level students need all A grades in at least three subjects. Predicted grades can be submitted if final results are pending, with final transcripts sent once they arrive.
Admission first, then the portfolio
This is the part applicants most often get wrong. You do not apply for the scholarship and admission at the same time on one form. There are two stages on two portals.
- Create an account and complete the full undergraduate admission application at apply.aus.edu.
- Once AUS issues you an admission offer, log in to the Pulse scholarship portal at pulse.aus.edu and start the President's Scholarship portfolio.
- Submit the essay, a three-minute video and evidence of your leadership or extracurricular achievements.
- Arrange for two recommendation letters to be submitted through the portal.
- Wait for shortlisting. Shortlisted candidates may be invited to an interview before final awards are announced.
Because the portfolio can only be reviewed after you hold an offer, a late admission application squeezes your portfolio time. Apply for admission as early in the cycle as you can.
The full document set
- AUS admission application
- Official secondary school transcripts and certificates
- IELTS, TOEFL or equivalent English score
- SAT or ACT scores where applicable
- Personal essay
- Three-minute video
- Two letters of recommendation
- The portfolio, submitted through the Pulse portal
Pakistani transcripts and certificates often need extra preparation before they are accepted abroad. Our IBCC and MOFA attestation guide explains that process, and the international scholarships documents checklist is useful for getting everything ready in one go.
How the Fall 2026 cycle ran
For the Fall 2026 intake the timeline looked like this:
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 2026 | Admission portal opened for Fall 2026 |
| March 19, 2026 | Deadline for admission and the scholarship portfolio |
| April-May 2026 | Portfolio review and interviews |
| June 2026 | Scholarship decisions |
| September 2026 | Fall semester starts |
Future cycles may follow a similar pattern, but dates can change. Use this as a rough guide and check the official portal for the current year. The key point is that the window from portal opening to deadline is short, and your admission offer has to come through inside it.
What separates a winning portfolio
The portfolio takes longer than a normal application. Most of the work is the essay, the video and chasing recommendation letters, and none of it can be rushed in the final week. Start drafting in the months before the portal opens.
Lead with one specific leadership story that has evidence behind it. A club you founded and grew, with numbers to show it, is stronger than a paragraph listing ten activities. The same goes for the video. Three minutes is short, and a list of achievements read to camera is forgettable. Pick one thing you did, explain why it mattered and what changed because of it.
Choose recommenders who know you beyond your marks. A teacher who supervised your society, coached your team or saw you lead a project can talk about character. A teacher who only knows you as a top scorer in one subject will write a weaker letter for this award.
Sort out English scores early. Your IELTS or TOEFL must meet the threshold at the time of application, so if your first attempt comes in below IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 94, retake it straight away rather than hoping AUS will wait.
Who should skip this? If your grades are well below the bar and you have no standout activities, put your effort into AUS admission and the merit tier, or look at other options in our list of all UAE scholarships. Applying is not wasted, since strong candidates are often considered for merit funding, but be realistic about the odds.
Life at AUS for a Pakistani student
AUS was founded in 1997 and follows the American liberal-arts model. Teaching is entirely in English. Students come from more than 90 countries and there is a sizable South Asian community on campus, so you will not be the only Pakistani in your class. Degrees are recognised by the UAE Ministry of Education, and engineering, business and architecture programmes have strong recognition with regional employers. AUS degrees hold AACSB or ABET accreditation in the relevant programmes.
Sharjah is next to Dubai, and the UAE has a large Pakistani expatriate community with direct flights to major Pakistani cities. That makes the move easier than going much further from home straight after school. For the visa side, our guide to common student visa rejection reasons is worth a read before you file.
Frequently asked questions
Is the AUS President's Scholarship fully funded?
Yes. It covers 100% of tuition and lab fees, a monthly stipend, on-campus housing and round-trip flights between your home country and Sharjah.
Can Pakistani students apply?
Yes. It is open to applicants from any country who completed secondary education outside the UAE.
Do I need a separate scholarship application?
Yes. After you receive an admission offer, you submit a full portfolio (essay, three-minute video and two recommendation letters) through the Pulse portal.
I am an FSc student. Is my aggregate enough?
The listed benchmark for percentage-based systems is a 98%+ aggregate combined with an SAT of 1400+. Without an SAT score, you are unlikely to meet the academic bar as described.
Can I apply before my final Grade 12 results arrive?
Yes. You can submit predicted grades and send final transcripts once they are available.
What happens if I am not selected?
Strong applicants are often considered automatically for the smaller Merit Scholarship tier, so a good portfolio can still bring you funding.
Check the current intake dates and rules on the AUS Financial Grants and Scholarships page, and keep the full scholarship page handy while you prepare.