The Regional Scholarship Program was established after World War II. Its beginning was “marked” by the opening of a Greek immigrant’s will, Stamatis Drakopoulos, a night watchman at Wellesley College in the USA, who allocated his entire life’s savings to fully fund studies at the College for a child from his village in Messinia.
Thanks to this unique Program, hundreds of children from around Greece, from mountain villages to remote islands, as well as from Cyprus, have discovered and taken advantage of the great opportunities for education, and subsequent professional development and social recognition, that can be acquired at the College.
After the closure of the School’s Boarding Unit in 1983, the Regional Scholarship Program was temporarily suspended. The institution was reinstated in 1989, with modifications to meet the new circumstances. From 1989 to 2020, there have been 17 Regional Scholars from Ikaria and Fournoi, Andros, Rhodes, Epirus, Eurytania, Messinia, Cephalonia, and Kalavryta with full coverage of their expenses (studies, transportation, living cost for them and their families).
Since 2019, the "Konstantinos and Rhea Nanopoulos" Scholarship has been established to financially assist a student who hails and lives in the broader region of Magnesia, in order that he/she may come and study at Athens College. Priority is given to candidates residing in Pelion, place of origin, and birth of the donor’s father and grandfather.
In academic year 2020-2021, an attempt was made to expand the Regional Scholarship Program and the "Ioanna Palaiologou" Scholarship was awarded to a student from the island of Lemnos. One more scholarship was awarded to a student from the region of Magnesia.
For academic year 2022-2023, seven Regional Scholarships were announced and awarded to 11 students from Astypalea, Volos, Zakynthos, Ioannina, Karpathos, Corfu, Cephalonia, and Rhodes.
For academic year 2023-2024, 10 Regional Scholarship have been announced, based on the participation of candidates in the Athens College Regional Entrance Examinations 2023, that will be held on two separate dates, May 13, 2023 and May 27, 2023. The deadline for submission to the Regional Entrance Examinations is on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. The examinations will take place as follows:
1. Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region (exams in Komotini, May 13, 2023)
2. Epirus Region (exams in Ioannina, May 13, 2023)
3. Ionian Islands Region (exams in Corfu, May 13, 2023)
4. Crete Region (exams in Heraklion, May 13, 2023)
5. Southern Aegean Region (exams in Rhodes, May 13, 2023, and Santorini, May 27, 2023)
6. Peloponnese Region (exams in Kalamata, May 27, 2023)
7. Central Greece Region (exams in Chalkida, May 27, 2023)
8. Lesvos Regional Unit (exams in Mytilene, May 27, 2023)
9. Magnesia Regional Unit (exams in Volos, May 27, 2023)
10. Chios Regional Unit (exams in Chios, May 27, 2023)
The criteria for Regional Scholarships are:
- outstanding academic performance of the candidate
- excellent conduct
- financial need of the family
Regional Scholarships cover 100% of tuition fees, the cost of books and the use of the school bus until the recipient’s graduation from High School or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP), as long as the criteria for the rewarded scholarship are still met. In case that the family cannot afford the recipient’s stay in Athens, up to an extra 500€ will be awarded monthly for living expenses, with a duration of 10 months for each academic year.