By Sara Ballenger
With the start of every new quarter, students from all over the world come to study at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Foothill is striving to have one of the best exchange programs in the state as well as the country.
The college’s International Program began in 1989 with 120 students. It grows in enrollment year after year.
“The main reason we started was we wanted to have a really diverse student population with representation from all over the world,” said George Beers, dean of International Education. “We have students from over 100 countries.”
In the 1999-2000 school year, 1,021 of Foothill’s 21,745 students were international, according to the Institute for International Education.
“We are the 11th largest (international program) in the U.S. since the last statistical look and we’ve grown since then,” Beers said. “We’re probably actually around ninth largest.”
For the spring quarter alone, which began April 9, Foothill reported 500 part-time international students and 864 full-time international students, or students taking 12 or more credits with an F-1 visa.
“In order to get an F-1 visa you have to show us that you have the ability to pay your total expenses here in the U.S. for one year,” Beers said. “It costs about $14,000 to come here - $4,000 is tuition and $10,000 of that is living expenses.”
Students have the choice of renting their own housing or living with a family in a homestay.
Aside from the necessary visas and immigration documents, students also have to show that they have completed high school and have a grade average of C or better, Beers said.
Students are also required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL) and need a score of at least 500 to come to Foothill, he said.
The majority of the International students who come to Foothill are focused on getting a two-year transfer degree.
“Most of the students are really focused on Berkeley and Stanford. We transfer more students to Stanford than any community college or university in the world,” Beers said. “Transferring into the junior class. We get anywhere between 2 and 10 a year.”
Last year, 50 of Foothill’s international students transferred to Berkeley.
“The main reason students come here is that they can save money and have the prospect of transferring to a prestigious university their third year,” Beers said.
Martin Keller, a student from Herisau, Switzerland, hopes to transfer to City University of New York to study information technology. Once he has completed his studies, Keller is not sure whether he will work back in Switzerland or here. However, he’s certain his experience at Foothill has helped him prepare for the job market.
“Foothill got me started and interested in the Internet. Foothill offers a lot of very useful Internet classes which helped me a lot to get a job last year,” Keller said. Keller worked at a local Internet company.
Some students acquire more than two degrees from Foothill. Student Melissa Handal from Kingston, Jamaica, is hoping to earn both a business and child development degree.
“I want to open a day care in Kingston,” she said. “If the child care thing doesn’t work out, I will transfer to a university.”
Handal also works part time in the international admissions office.
“I’ve learned a lot in the office and here at Foothill. It’s been fun. It has taught me more responsibility. I think it has helped me,” she said.
Brazilian student and international business major Rui Ewald plans on going back to Brazil after getting his degree. He hopes someday to become a diplomat.
“A degree from over here is the greatest thing you can accomplish in Brazil. You are a person that speaks more than one language. You have a chance at a better job,” he said.
Ewald said of his experience at Foothill, “It’s 1,000 years ahead of Brazil. It’s not necessarily better, but in a way because you are studying another language and living in another culture, you have more experiences to share. It’s a life experience besides learning and finding a new job and having money.”
Foothill also has exchange programs where American students can study abroad. Information about Foothill’s international programs can be found at www.international.fhda.edu
