New York Times (May 12, 2012)
May 10, 2012, 7:28 PM
For International Students, a Guide to U.S. Community Colleges
By TANYA CALDWELL
HIGHER EDUCATION
The Choice on India Ink
Guidance on American college applications for readers in India from The
Times’s admissions blog.
Visit The Choice »
Like The Choice on Facebook »
As we’ve recently mentioned on The Choice, it is not too late to apply
to a college or university in the United States for the fall semester.
At least 375 colleges and universities reported that they still have
space next fall for freshmen and transfer applicants, according to the
2012 Space Availability Survey from the National Association for
College Admission Counseling.
The list of colleges does not include community colleges, however, so
we’ve decided to tell our international readers a bit more about them
in this week’s installment of The Choice on India Ink. At a community
college, also known as a junior college, students may earn a two-year
associate’s degree, and apply those credits toward a bachelor’s degree
at a four-year college or university. If all the student’s credits from
community college are accepted, the student will need only two years at
the four-year college to earn a bachelor’s degree.
In the United States, an increasing number of American students are
using community colleges as a pathway to earn bachelor’s degrees at
prestigious universities like the University of Pennsylvania and New
York University.
There are about 90,000 international students enrolled in community
colleges in the United States, said Norma Kent, a spokeswoman of the
American Association of Community Colleges. At the Houston Community
College system in Texas, nearly 10 percent of its 75,000 students are
international students, said Daniel Arguijo Jr., a spokesman.
There are several reasons international students may choose to attend a
community college. They are often much more affordable than four-year
colleges; Mr. Arguijo estimates that a student may pay $1,200 a
semester for tuition, books and related education expenses at Houston
Community College. Additionally, community colleges often have
open-door, open-access policies that admit a vast majority of its
applicants, Ms. Kent said. Community colleges across the country also
have relationships with neighboring four-year colleges, some of which
guarantee admission to community college graduates.
Here are some things international students might consider before
deciding to attend a community college:
Determine your long-term academic goals. If you plan to transfer to a
four-year college, it may be wise to research the community colleges
that often feed into the four-year college or university. Santa Monica
College, for example, boasts that it is a leader in transfers to the
University of California (including U.C.L.A.) and California State
University systems.
If your goal is to become certified in a field, or get a two-year
associate’s degree instead of a bachelor’s degree, a community college
education in the United States may make you more competitive at home,
Mr. Arguijo said.
Make sure the community college is accredited and that your credits
will transfer. A school that is accredited is recognized as having met
a certain degree of quality education. Courses taken at accredited
colleges are also more likely to be transferable to other colleges and
universities, which is important if the community college intends to
earn a bachelor’s degree elsewhere.
Houston Community College is a top feeder school for the University of
Texas, Texas A&M and the University of Houston, Mr. Arguijo said.
“By the time they leave us, they’re two years ahead,” Mr. Arguijo said.
“All of our classes, in most cases, all of them will transfer to a
major university.”
The United States Department of Education keeps a list of accredited
colleges and universities in the country.
Determine your level of proficiency in English. International students
are sometimes attracted to community colleges because their Toefl score
requirements are not as high as four-year colleges and universities,
Ms. Kent said. What’s more, many community colleges with large
populations of international students offer English proficiency
programs that will strengthen students’ skills when they apply to
four-year colleges, Mr. Arguijo said.
Get a sense of the culture. It’s important to remember, Ms. Kent said,
that different parts of the United States have different climates and
cultures. Research the city and surrounding areas of your prospective
community college, and determine whether the school has special
programs for international students.
The following community colleges, she said, have some of the highest
populations of international students in the country:
Houston Community College (Tex.)
Santa Monica College (Calif.)
Lone Star College (Tex.)
De Anza College (Calif.)
Montgomery College (Md.)
Green River Community College (Wash.)
Determine your housing needs. There are about 200 community colleges
with residential buildings on campus, Ms. Kent said. However, there are
many community colleges that don’t have dorms or any residential
buildings. Students may have to look for their own apartments near the
community college, or ask the college for recommendations.
Community colleges may be a foreign concept to many international
students, but that may eventually change. Aside from the international
students who are attending community colleges in the United States,
other countries, like Qatar, are meeting with U.S. educators to
replicate the community-college model, Ms. Kent said.
“Around the world,” Ms. Kent said, “the need is the same as the reason
why so many students are attending community colleges here"
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
