If you have ever thought about coming to the United Sates to attend college you might want to read this post! Many foreign students study English for years with the hope of traveling aboard to work or attend college in an English speaking country, like the United States. Depending on your TOEFL (more on this later) you will still likely have to take a few ESL class in the United States if you attend college here, even if you have studied English in your native country. Knowing which American colleges have the most ESL students and therefore many ESL classes to offer is important information. It may also be nice for you to know that according to a recent World Education Services report, “The number of students in ESL programs increased from 10,224 in 2003-04 to 29,603 in 2010-11 and soared by 24% as compared to 2009-10” at American colleges. If you end up taking ESL classes at a college in the United States, you will be in good company.
Here are the top 10 colleges in the United States that had students who attended at least one ESL class before graduating.
Lawrence Technological University (Michigan)
12% of graduates participated in ESL classes
John Brown University (Arkansas)
8% of graduates participated in ESL classes
New Jersey City University (New Jersey)
8% of graduates participated in ESL classes
Massachusetts Institute of Technology-MIT (Massachusetts)
6% of graduates participated in ESL classes
Smith College (Massachusetts)
6% of graduates participated in ESL classes
University of Tulsa (Oklahoma)
6% of graduates participated in ESL classes
Centenary College (New Jersey)
5% of graduates participated in ESL classes
New Jersey Institute of Technology (New Jersey)
5% of graduates participated in ESL classes
Roosevelt University (Illinois)
5% of graduates participated in ESL classes
Syracuse University (New York)
5% of graduates participated in ESL classes
But, before applying to attend college in the United States, you will have to already have studied English for many years and you will also have to take the TOEFL exam (or an equivalent English language examination). The TOEFL is a standardized test of English language ability for non-native English language speakers. TOEFL test scores are accepted by most America universities. This test has four different areas of examination: reading, listening, speaking and writing. You can learn more about this exam in a previous post that I wrote, by clicking here. A score of at least 60 and usually 80-100 (out of 120) is needed for acceptance into most America universities. Even with a relatively high TOFEL score you are still likely to have to take some ESL classes in the United States if you are a foreign student, so it is good to know where there are a lot of ESL classes offered. Have you ever heard of any of the universities or colleges listed above before? What American university are you most interested in attending?
