Our Approach
Once a school has committed to sponsoring a student or students, ASI works closely with the Afghan Ministry of Education to locate an applicant pool of 150-200 students based on GPA, class rank and fluency in English. We then work with partner schools to determine course placement, living arrangements, and other variables.

Student Qualifications
In January of this year ASI co-founder and Vice President Qiam Amiry traveled to Kabul to coordinate the testing and selection process that resulted in Naimat and Sharaf’s selection. Qiam oversaw the selection of Naimat and Sharaf from a group of over 140 qualified students.

Candidates for the ASI program:

  • must be semi-fluent in both written and spoken English,
  • have completed 10th grade
  • display self-motivation
  • demonstrate the maturity required to make good use of the opportunity to study in the U.S.
  • have families that are comfortable with their child traveling to the U.S.

Due to the widespread interest created by the opportunity to study in the U.S., ASI continues to revise and improve our selection process to ensure that it serves the ASI mission and results in the selection of the most qualified and prepared applicants.

School Qualifcations
ASI actively seeks to partner with schools that embody educational excellence and social and cultural diversity, schools that produce intellectually curious and socially concerned young men and women.

Student Preparation
The process of preparing these students to arrive in the U.S. is a reminder of how much work is required by all parties - the students, ASI staff, and the sponsor schools – in order to make this opportunity possible. The preparations run the gamut from:

  • shepherding the students through the visa process
  • completing enrollment paperwork and financial obligations
  • making affordable travel arrangements
  • planning the details of the students’ first days in the U.S.
  • procuring many of the basic items that the students will need for life and work in a boarding school

This summer volunteers John Campbell and Lauren Pongan have worked tirelessly to tutor Naimat and Sharaf, helping them to improve their English writing skills using the video-conferencing program Skype. In Kabul the Aga Khan Foundation has generously provided the students with internet access and printers to assist in their preparation to matriculate at U.S. college-preparatory schools. With ASI’s non-profit status still pending this summer, staff and friends of ASI have generously used their personal credit cards to pay for visa fees and other expenses.