What is the current situation of studying abroad in American community colleges?

The recently released "20 12 Open Door Report of the United States" shows that in 20 12, the number of China students admitted to American higher education institutions increased from 157558 to 194029, with an increase rate of 23. 1%. Among them, the total number of international students in China is194,000, accounting for 25.4% of the total number of international students in the United States, far exceeding the Indian 13. 1% of the total number of international students.

At present, some domestic study abroad agencies regard transferring from community colleges to famous American schools as the most recommended study abroad mode. So, what is the current situation of community colleges in the United States? Really save money and have a high success rate?

The cost of studying abroad is an expensive expense, which makes many people flinch or go badly on the road of studying abroad. Therefore, saving money and reassuring community colleges have gradually become the first choice for the working class.

It is understood that American Community College is a two-year short-term university operated by taxpayers in American states or cities, which provides direct employment education for four-year universities or vocational training courses, equivalent to junior college in China. There are more than 1200 community colleges in the United States, with more than10 million registered students.

Since last year, the threshold of visa policy in the United States has been relaxed again. In February last year, US Ambassador to China Gary Locke announced that the US government would relax visas and avoid face-to-face visas. As long as the visa expires within 4 years, all China applicants who need to renew their visas in the same category as the last visa need not go to the embassy or consulate for an interview. The simplification of visa application procedures has greatly saved the time and money of international students. In May last year, the United States upgraded the OPT program (off-campus work permit). According to the current OPT program in the United States, international students can continue to work and practice in the United States as students for 65,438+02 months after graduating from American universities, while graduates selected from the US Immigration Enforcement Bureau can OPT in the United States for up to 29 months.

The threshold of American community colleges is not high. The average annual tuition fee of community colleges is more than 2,000 dollars, while that of ordinary public universities is close to 6,000 dollars, and the tuition fee of community colleges is less than half of that of public universities. The admission requirements for community colleges are also very simple, as long as they graduate from high school. Students need to take math and English assessments after entering school. Those who fail to meet the standards must attend cram schools before they can take courses that have certain requirements for mathematics and English. In fact, cram school is a kind of make-up class for students with poor grades in high school, and it is also a flexible way for more students to meet the college entrance examination standards.

In fact, many American adult students choose community colleges for many reasons. When they don't go to college directly after graduating from high school, or want to return to school after working for a few years, they usually choose community colleges first. Of course, there are also some students with good grades in high school who choose community colleges for economic reasons. Some elderly people also go to community colleges to fulfill their college dreams after retirement.

According to experts studying abroad, the credit carrying program in community colleges has also attracted many students from China. The credits of some community colleges are recognized by public universities in this state. Community college is an open education system, which not only accepts students who are willing to study as much as possible, but also facilitates their further study after graduation. Going to a community college first and then transferring to a public university can save a lot of study expenses. At the same time, credit carrying allows some four-year college students to study one or two courses in a community college close to home during the summer vacation, and these credits are recognized by four-year universities. Of course, the credit carrying plan is not perfect, and sometimes some credits cannot be recognized by new schools because of coordination problems between schools.