WHO CAN APPLY?

The American College of Sofia admits applicants in the 7^th grade in the year they are applying and earn a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.00 (Very Good on the Bulgarian grading system). Click here to review the helpful information about registration. Admissions exam fee is 60 BGN and is non-refundable, including when the candidate fails to sit for the examination, regardless of the reason.

The college admits 180 applicants who have completed the 7^th grade and have been ranked based on their results on the Admissions Exam.

After publishing the results, the first 110 boys and 110 girls are invited to enroll. The remaining applicants form the Reserves’ List. They can be invited if there are vacancies after the deadline for enrollment has expired. When enrolling applicants from the Reserves’ List, only their score at the exam is considered, not their gender.

THE EXAM consists of a short essay and a short answer/multiple choice test section. The test section is responsible for 4/5 of the total exam grade, while the essay stands for 1/5 of it. The exam is conducted entirely in Bulgarian and is geared to the expected academic development of seventh-graders, therefore there is no need of special preparation. ACS does not organize preparatory courses, nor have we ever authorized any organization or individual to engage in such activity.

THE ESSAY is a composition on a subject given on the day of the exam and unrelated to the Bulgarian schools’ syllabus. Candidates have thirty minutes to compose their texts. When grading, reviewers consider rhetorical skills - such as the ability to formulate a clear thesis, completeness of the text, and originality in approaching the subject- plus language skills - such as spelling, punctuation, and style. Each component is graded in points, with a maximum of 20 points given by each reviewer. The essay is checked by two reviewers and the final grade is the sum of their marks in points. In the case of a difference of 4 or more points between the two grades, the composition is checked by an arbiter.
 
THE TEST consists of 4 sections containing math problems, reading comprehension questions, and logic problems. Twenty-five minutes are allotted for working on each section. Some sections require candidates to write out their answers, others are in a multiple choice format. All answers are entered on a special answer sheet.

Final ranking is based solely on the total result from the essay and the test. 

Learn more about the PROGRAM FOR TUITION FEE REDUCTION AND SCHOLARSHIPS HERE.

Due to a generous donation by an American philanthropist, families from outside of Sofia are eligible for an additional tuition reduction. Families may apply for tuition reduction on the combined cost of tuition and housing. The amount of the tuition reduction is calculated according to the combined amount of tuition plus room and board.

Download the ACS Brochure in Bulgarian from HERE.