<p>I have two suggestions: Look to Universities with branch locations near you. There are excellent Egyption universities and US universities with branches in the region.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/arab-region-universities/rankings?int=9e2808”>http://www.usnews.com/education/arab-region-universities/rankings?int=9e2808</a></p>
<p>Do NOT “Work” on your EC’s, and get out of the “Poor me, I’m in Egypt with few opportunities” victim mentality. I assure you many other students in the world use the internet and other resources to make the best of their own situation. And many students in the US feel at a disadvantage because of their local situation. For example, Egypt is a great place to study neonatal care because of the racial diversity and the lower regulatory climate. It is a major effort to get there I suspect, but compared to others around the world, you have relatively easier access to major archeological sites. Egypt also has great socioeconomic diversity. You could help the poor on many levels. In rural Egyot, you could work on getting basic necessities into the hands of the people, or invent new labor-saving ways that fit their lifestyles. Grounded (with in-person interviews) study of the Arab Spring phenomenon is uniquely available to you. Or just collaborate/work via the internet. Be curious, extend yourself, follow your passion, and have it validated by an outside entity (i.e. submit for publication or competition for award- the higher the award level the better). Don’t necessarily “try to get in” so much as start a scholarly trajectory that you can share in your application.</p>