Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his helper) Khalifa tul Masih (V) said
“Advance so much in every field of education that your minimum target becomes the Nobel prize..”
AHMADIYYA TALENT AWARDS
The Ahmadiyya Talent Awards are given to students graduating from degree programs and professionals who have outstanding academic achievements. The Talent Award was started by Hazrat Khalifatul Masih III (ra). Then called the Ahmadiyya Centenary Gold Medal Award, the award recognized students from Pakistan who held a first, second or third position in t an educational board or university examination. Under the auspices of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aba), this program was expanded to include students and professionals from Jamaats outside Pakistan in 2006.
Talent Award Categories:
Ahmadiyya Talent Award Gold Medal: Gold Medal awardees are typically in the top 3 % of their group, e.g. SAT >97%, first in school, cumulative GPA of 4.0 from a good university, top of the class in graduate studies, professionals with national recognition, etc. Awardees receive a gold medal and a certificate on stage at Jalsa Salana USA.
Ahmadiyya Talent Recognition Award:
Awardees are typically in the top 5% of their group, e.g. SAT 95%, GPA 3.8, professionals with some national and local recognition, etc. Awardees will receive a certificate on stage at Jalsa Salana USA.
Ahmadiyya Talent Award Finalist: This is awarded to those outstanding candidates who were strongly considered for the award but their scores fell just short of the top 5% of their group. Awardees will have their names displayed at Jalsa Salana USA. Their certificates will be mailed to them.
Required Document:
Copy of most recent official transcript from the most recent institution (high school, college or university).
An official copy of SAT, ACT, or GRE score.
Proof of enrollment or proof of degree (BS, MS, PhD etc.)
NATIONAL EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
It is typically given to students in the top 15% of their class who have completed at least 1 year of continuous study at a college or university or completed high school and are going to a college. The amount of scholarship varies from $500 to $1000 given in one installment in a fiscal year.
ELIGIBILITY FOR TALENT AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS:
To be eligible applicants must:
Be a U.S resident.
Be a high school graduate or higher. Scholarships are not awarded to students still in high school or lower levels. Demonstrate strong/outstanding academic performance.
Continue their education in the US.
U.S student studying abroad can apply for scholarship, however, it is student’s responsibility to provide transcript equivalent to U.S colleges and universities.
Plan to enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study toward a bachelor’s degree at an accredited four-year college or enroll in a graduate or professional program at a university in the United States for the entire upcoming academic year.
NON-ELIGIBILITY FOR TALENT AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS
Non-US residents or International Students studying in the US (e.g. F1 visa holders).
Students with disciplinary action against them by the Jama’at.
If the local Jama’at President strongly recommends against the applicant.
REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS
Upon receipt of the completed application, the scholarship committee will evaluate each application. The following criteria will be followed:
Overall class standing (must be ranked in the 90th percentile)
The student must be a member of the local jama’at in good standing with no pending disciplinary action against his/her.
Students pursuing a competitive degree will be given preference.
Example: Students pursuing a competitive education (i.e. Mathematics, Science, Engineering etc.) will be preferred compared to students who are enrolled in non-competitive programs.
Students should show extracurricular activities to have their application stand out among other applicants.
Applications are divided into four categories:
High School Graduates.
Students currently enrolled in Undergraduate or Vocational schools.
Students graduating from 4-year institute and planning to attend postgraduate.
Students currently enrolled in postgraduate.
(Note: We use bucket system when evaluating applications. For example, all high school graduates will be put in one bucket and compared against each other based on coursework, extracurricular activities, governor school, and other subjective factors).
The scholarship committee read each personal statement, It is important that candidates provide maximum 2 pages personal statement stating what sets them apart from other candidates.
This is merit base scholarship. We recommend that candidates should focus on achievements in their statement rather than making an argument based on financial hardship.
Due to the pandemic, most schools waived the requirement of standardize test such as SAT, GRE etc. Therefore, standardized test score is not part of the evaluation this year. However, candidates can provide their score if they like.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Copy of most recent official transcript from the most recent institution.
An official copy of SAT, ACT, or GRE score (Scholarships Only)
Proof of enrollment or proof of degree
Personal Statement – Maximum 2 pages
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Question: What is Educational scholarship?
Answer: Small amount of scholarship for academic achievements ($500-$1000) is given as a recognition to outstanding students. All US Jamaat members who are current or prospective students are eligible for this.
Question: Can I apply for an Education loan as well as the scholarship?
Answer: Yes. You can apply for both.
Question: What if I have received assistance from other Jamaat programs like Khadija or Tahir Scholarship?
Answer: You can apply for scholarship as well.
Question: I applied for the scholarship and/ or talent award before the announced deadline but never heard anything. What should I expect?
Answer: Successful applicants are notified by the scholarship committee. If you have any questions please contact scholarship.committee@ahmadiyya.us
Question: I am an African American Ahmadi. Can I apply for an educational scholarship too?
Answer: Yes you can apply for a scholarship.
Question: What if I missed the deadline to submit my application?
Answer: Please respect the deadline. You can contact the committee at the email address scholarship.committee@ahmadiyya.us to see if they will accept your late application.
Question: I have an online degree/I am enrolled in an online degree program. Am I eligible for the educational scholarship?
Answer: Yes. Applicants of online degrees are eligible for the educational scholarship.
