Bassem Magdy - Cairo

Al-Saidi "Khalaf Al Dahshouri Khalaf" or actor Mohamed Heneidy joins the American University through a scholarship to excel in high school and enters the world of wealthy students as portrayed by the highly successful Egyptian film "Saidi at the American University." So as to keep up with his fellow university students. Is this really the American University community?

But Khalaf's story is not just a film story, and the university is not exclusive to rich students. It offers a large number of full and partial grants, including excellence for high school students, grants supported by USAID, and other grants from individuals, Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners.

The University also supports its students with material assistance programs and reductions in tuition fees for academically and mathematically outstanding students, as is customary in American education.

The American University in Cairo celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, saying it has left more than 40,000 students throughout its 100-year history in Egypt.

On October 5, 1920, the university received 142 students to form its first batch of students. The university remained for nine decades at the Tahrir square in the heart of the Egyptian capital, before opening its new headquarters in New Cairo in 2008 at a cost of $ 400 million.

More than 40,000 students have graduated from the American community in Cairo in 100 years (social networking sites)

Scholarships
Hossam Mahmoud is one of the young people who have received a scholarship at the American University in Cairo after graduating from high school to join the university's economics department, leaving top colleges such as medicine, pharmacy and engineering, as seen by most Egyptians.

His decision to choose a scholarship at the American University is one of the best decisions he has made with the support of his family, despite the difficulty of moving and adapting to the diverse and rich environment of the university.

Hossam said in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net that it is not possible to say that all university students are born with a golden spoon in their mouths, as popular proverbs say, and many university graduates are looking for work in competitive sectors and wages that are not considered superstitious as rumored.

Hossam asserts that the substantial financial return of the study - even after the financial aid and grants available at the university - necessarily means that a certain level of financial support for students and their parents guarantees them a significant level of their previous academic life.

University students are often accused of being rich and spoiled, but deny it (Reuters)

University activities
Besides the academic study, the university community provides a large number of student and service activities in which students participate, which Hossam sees as providing students with real life experiences and experiences in shaping them.

Andrew Boulos, a graduate of the College of Engineering at the American Community, sees university enrollment as a turning point in his life, because he taught him critical thinking and thinking outside the box, improved his English language skills, and met many foreign students, helping to broaden his perception.

He adds that he can not describe the university community as "spoiled", it is multicultural and trends like any other society.

Andrew continued his academic studies after graduation at a university in the United States, and continues his doctoral study there.

century
The University's administration launched a grand celebration of the centennial in February, with the opening of a cultural center at its old headquarters in Tahrir Square with the participation of businessman Naguib Sawiris. The celebration will continue in the coming months with an event commemorating the 1919 revolution in March and other events.

The university also launched a campaign to raise $ 100 million in grants and grants. The large advertising campaign launched by the university on social networking sites included a reference to the most prominent faces of its graduates, who participated in a video produced by the university and published on YouTube and Facebook.

Queen Rania graduated from the Department of Business Administration at the American University in 1991 and returned to Jordan after graduation to work in the field of banking and information technology before her marriage to Prince Abdullah, then the son of King Hussein in 1993 .