School profile 2021-2022

The American College of Sofia (ACS) is one of the oldest American educational institutions outside the United States, tracing its roots to a boys’ school founded in 1860 at Plovdiv and a girls’ school founded in 1863 at Stara Zagora. The school was shut down in 1942 by the Bulgarian government and reopened its doors to a preparatory class of 100 students in September 1992. ACS is among the top private college preparatory schools in the Balkans. Admission is highly selective. Integrating the values and best practices of American pedagogy with the rich educational traditions of Bulgaria and Europe, we seek to develop critical thinking, lifelong intellectual curiosity, leadership, and collaboration among multi-talented students of various social, cultural, economic, and geographic backgrounds. ACS graduates are accepted into some of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. and Europe and are valued critical thinkers and problem solvers able to set clear goals and achieve them. They are engaged in social issues and are able to compete with outstanding students world-wide.  We provide a rigorous university preparatory education to motivated young people and are fully accredited by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as International Baccalaureate. Currently the IB Diploma Program is only available to non-Bulgarian international students. The majority of students receive both a Bulgarian diploma and an American diploma. The ACS curriculum is rigorous and most courses are taught in English at an advanced college/university preparatory level.

ACS is an approved secondary school under the auspices of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, and all graduates receive Bulgarian diplomas, whether or not they have met ACS’s criteria for the American diploma. ACS is fully accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and International Baccalaureate.

ACS’s student population of 917 is 97% Bulgarian (with 12% of students coming from outside Sofia), and 3% international students who represent 10 countries. There are 155 students in the Class of 2022. Admission to ACS for Bulgarians is based on an entrance examination taken in the spring of 7th grade in Bulgarian language, mathematics and analytical skills. Knowledge of English is not required. Students must have at least a 5.00 GPA to register for the entrance exam. In spring of 2021, 181 students out of the 705 who sat the entrance exam were offered admission to the College, an acceptance rate of 26%; 69% of them enrolled. Admitted students then spend a full “prep” year (8th grade) studying English. The 3% international students are admitted on the basis of an entrance exam, English proficiency and a strong academic record. Annual tuition is 7,200 Euros for the Bulgarian Diploma Program (for Bulgarian students) and 18,800 Euros for the international and IB Diploma Programs (for international students). ACS offers full scholarships to five Bulgarian students in each class, renewed annually, as well as tuition reduction for others; for the class of 2026, 87% of financial aid applications were approved. Out of 917 students, 26% currently receive tuition reduction.

All ACS courses are advanced college/university preparatory, as the pace and depth is necessary in order for them to achieve two diplomas, and 100% go on to college/university. (In addition, classes within a Profile are considered honors level.) All students earn the American High School Diploma. In addition, Bulgarians earn the national Bulgarian Diploma, and international students earn the IB Diploma. ACS has five academic grades: 8th or “prep” grade (emphasizing intensive English training) and 9th-12th grades. All courses are taught in English except Bulgarian language and literature, foreign languages, Bulgarian geography and Bulgarian history. Bulgarian students choose a “profile”, an area of concentration, within the Bulgarian Diploma Program (11th and 12th grades), in which students go into more depth. All ACS students follow an English profile and choose one other profile from the following: Humanities, Foreign Languages, Natural Sciences (biology and chemistry), Mathematics & Physics, Entrepreneurship, Software & Hardware. All ACS students take extra mathematics every year beyond the requirements of the Bulgarian curriculum.

At ACS, the IB program is available to only international students. In the class of 2021, all four international seniors earned the full IB diploma with an average score of 36, the highest score being 41 and the lowest 32.

As a matter of policy, ACS does not rank or rate students. All academic courses receive grades of 2-6 according to the standards noted in the chart below. A 6.0 is the highest possible GPA. All academic courses are taught at an advanced college/university - preparatory level, and students are required to maintain a 4.50 average or above. Students who earn a semester GPA of 5.50-5.89 (U.S. 3.50-3.89) are placed on the Honor Roll. Students with a GPA of 5.90-6.00 (U.S. 3.9-4.0) are placed on the President’s List. In the event of a tie for highest GPA, the student with the most electives/credits is named Class Valedictorian at the end of the 12^th grade year.

On average, 50% of ACS seniors take the SAT exam each year. The Class of 2022 SAT median from August to October 2021 is 1370 on the 1600 scale. ACS Class of 2022 median scores on SAT are noted below:

ACS offers optional SAT and AP preparation electives. The purpose of these electives is to familiarize students with standardized testing not typical for Bulgarian school. Under no circumstances can students miss regular classes to prepare for admission exams (SATs, AP, or local university exams etc.)

While official AP courses are not taught at ACS, interested students may elect to self-prepare and sit for examinations. In 2008, the pilot year, 17 students from grades 10-12 sat for 33 tests in 18 subject areas. 

On average, 98% of ACS seniors apply to non-Bulgarian colleges and universities each year. ACS students from the classes of 2011–2021 have attended undergraduate programs in the following colleges and universities, oftentimes having been awarded significant scholarship or financial aid from US institutions: