scholarships

2025 AACO Scholarship Program applications have closed.

Applications for the eighth annual Afghan-American Community Organization Scholarship Program were due Tuesday, April 1st, at 11:59 PM PST. Last year, we awarded $30,000 in scholarship opportunities available for eligible graduate, undergraduate, and vocational students.

Want a preview of our application questions? Please reference our 2025 AACO Scholarship Application Preview.

Please see below for this year’s scholarships, a description of each, and eligibility requirements. For any other questions, please reference our FAQ page and feel free to contact us at scholarships@aa-co.org.

  • The Afghan-American Community Organization Scholarship will be awarded to students who are engaged and committed to empowering the Afghan-American community and demonstrate financial need.

  • The Sophia and Sabrina Scholarship was created in honor of the founders of the AACO Scholarship program. Their investment in the community is a testament to their belief in the diaspora, youth, and the power of education. This scholarship hopes to inspire and recognize Afghan women with similar aspirations to give back to the community.

Since the scholarship program’s inception, we have awarded nearly $300,000 in scholarship funds.

Established in 2018 in close collaboration with generous members of the community, the Afghan-American Community Organization Scholarship Program supports undergraduate, graduate, and vocational students committed to the betterment of the Afghan-American community as well as those engaged in aid work within the community. AACO believes developing a strong scholarship program  is one of the most powerful ways to support, empower, and engage the next generation – to continue to build our legacy as a diaspora and to fulfill the dreams of our parents who sacrificed everything to dare to dream big in the face of failure. Scholarships level the playing field by removing the financial burden of education and allow students to be focused purely on their academic pursuits. There are no other scholarship opportunities specifically for our diaspora. 

 

Past recipients:

2024 Scholarship Recipients

GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Laila Afzal

  • Zainab Ahmed

  • Yassna Ahmadi

  • Mina Akbari

  • Ferdous Dehqan

  • Yusuf Rafiqzada

UNDERGRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Asima Baharistani

  • Mustafa Jamshidi

  • Zohal Noori

  • Sana Osman

2022 Scholarship Recipients

2023 Scholarship Recipients

GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Sana Alam

  • Ahmad Ahmadzada

  • Yagana Parwak

  • Atiqullah Hameedi

  • Saamia Haqiq

GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Kawsar Nasir-Ahmad

  • Nahreen Aref

  • Mirvais Aminy

UNDERGRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Fereshta Islamzada

  • Nijat Qazi

UNDERGRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Alaha Nasari

  • Hadia Karzai

  • Medina Danish

  • Shabnum Hamidi

2021 Scholarship Recipients

UNDERGRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Amber Afzali

  • Harris Ebrahim

  • Mariam Farzayee

  • Morvareed Ghafoori

  • Nilufar Kayhani

  • Safa Sultany

  • Sophia Sharifi

  • Yasmine Erbat

GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Afifa Zaman

  • Alexander Nasserjah

  • Baktho Jan

  • Forogh Bashizada

  • Nazineen Kandahari

  • Sarah Faizy

  • Maywand Pohyar



2019 Scholarship Recipients

  • Zohrah Ahmadi

  • Saher Popal

  • Hamid Habibi

  • Salima Khan

  • Hanna Kherzai

  • Tahmina Naseri

  • Ahmad Amin



2020 Scholarship Recipients

UNDERGRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Elaha Noori

  • Lema Safi

  • Musa Quddus

  • Nadeema Safi

  • Sadef Osmanzai

GRADUATE RECIPIENTS

  • Sofia Schersei

  • Zohal Karimy

  • Ariana Mirzada

  • Osman Shokoor

2018 Scholarship Recipients

  • Susan Naseri

  • Dunia Azizi

  • Farzana Nawabi

  • Noah Sedique

  • Fara Arefi

  • Farishta Abbasi

  • Mursal Noory

  • Elias Kemal

Questions?

Please email us at scholarships@aa-co.org.