International Students

All ESL courses beginning with the ESL prefix are non-credit/credit-equivalent remedial courses and may be used to meet credit requirements of any athletic, enrollment, financial aid and immigration requirements. However, they cannot be used as electives towards graduation and may not be substituted for any English requirement of any curricula. Students seeking to meet these requirements are required to be matriculated into a degree program and have a pre-filed program of study form completed prior to enrollment. Tuition charged for credit-equivalent hour courses are consistent with credit hour charges.

The core courses of the Intensive English Language Program include the following four skill areas: Listening Skills, Reading Skills, Writing Skills, and Speaking Skills. Courses are available in multiple language proficiency levels. Each course has 75 hours of intensive language classroom instruction; 5 credit-equivalent hours. By advice and recommendation of the ESL faculty, students may also be allowed to enroll in credit-bearing courses related to their academic goals.

Practice in aural comprehension, sound discrimination, vocabulary building, and comprehension of main ideas and inferences. Related reading, writing and note-taking activities. This course may lead to further English language studies at higher levels or be repeated, depending on the progress of the student. Hours of class per week: 5.5 credit-equivalent hours.

Practice in comprehension of basic written communication, simple descriptive and narrative texts to more advanced academic materials, study skills, and expository writing. Dictionary usage, vocabulary expansion. Related writing and speaking activities. This course may lead to further English language studies at higher levels or be repeated, depending on the progress of the student. Hours of class per week: 5.5 credit-equivalent hours.

Written reinforcement of grammatical concepts and basic writing tasks and handwriting improvement to the development of written communication skills in preparation for college expository and argumentative composition. Composition from sentence level activities to the paragraph and short essay levels. Integration of related skills. This course may lead to further English language studies at higher levels or be repeated, depending on the progress of the student. Hours of class per week: 5.5 credit-equivalent hours.

Development from simple speaking skills to skills for conversational and academic contexts. Practice in exposition, guided discussion and debate. Related listening, reading and writing activities as well as note-taking and academic study skills. This course may lead to further English language studies at higher levels or be repeated, depending on the progress of the student. Hours of class per week: 5.5 credit-equivalent hours.

Assistance through lecture/workshop/field trip and guest speaker series in adjusting to life and studies at FM and the surrounding community, and in understanding specific and broader aspects of American culture. Mandatory for all incoming full-time international students. Hours of class per week: 5.5 credit-equivalent hours.

Fully complete our free application at https://apply.fmcc.edu/apply/ and upload required documents. Please make sure that all your documents bear your name exactly as written in your passport and academic records.

Follow the instructions from the International Student Office and make payment to commit to SUNY FMCC.

Study for one year (2 semesters) or longer qualifies students for the automatic “Your Future Matters” Tuition Discount and after that is applied, students are required to show support for a minimum of $21,000 U.S. per year (documentation for the first year only is required).

If a student wishes to have family members (spouse or children) accompany them, the following additional amounts must be included in the financial support: $3,000 per year for spouse; $1,500 per year for each child. Please write a separate note to include with the application if dependents will accompany the student. The name, date of birth and gender of each dependent must be listed in the letter.

Enclose all required documents as specified in their original form or as certified copies. Documents must be written in English or be official certified translations.

Take an official language test such as MET, TOEFL or IELTS, or other approved language test scores, if applicable. Let us know which exam and we will check their secure portals for your scores.

Students without a language proficiency score will be tested virtually prior to arrival for appropriate English placement via the Michigan EPT – English Placement Test https://michiganassessment.org/michigan-tests/m-ept/.

Upload the completed and verified Immunization form per New York State regulations.

If you are currently studying in the United States, please have your current International Student Advisor complete the transfer form.

For admission to most degree programs, students must have completed secondary school, or have the equivalent qualification (students may apply while in their last year of high school). No minimum GPA is required.

The General Education Certificate program is available for students without a secondary school diploma or GED. Our competitive programs include Nursing and Radiologic Technology and they require a separate application process. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need further information.

If you are admitted to SUNY FMCC and wish to enroll, you will need to apply for a student visa to attend college in the U.S. (see Visa Information Below) The visa application process includes submitting financial statements showing that you have funding to study in the U.S. Prepare yourself and know that the appointments can vary.

U.S. immigration law requires that all international students on the F-1 student visas maintain full-time enrollment. To be considered full time, students must register for a minimum of 12 college credits (or a minimum of 4 ESL classes) each fall or spring semester.

International students should budget $21,000 annually at this time for all expenses including tuition, fees, and living estimated expenses. This amount is after “Your Future Matters” Scholarship is applied. Further details can be found on the Affordability page under the Tuition & Fee Schedule. International students pay out-of-state tuition and fees as indicated.

College fees include mandatory health insurance coverage for international students which is added to every international student’s FMCC tuition and fees statement each semester. The current insurance carrier for FMCC students is ISO International Student Health Insurance. Information on the plan can be found at https://www.isoa.org/Fulton_Montgomery_Community_College

Students may work up to 20 hours per week during regular school terms and full-time during school breaks such as summer vacation. However, since SUNY FMCC is a small campus, opportunities are competitive and cannot be guaranteed prior to arrival.

SUNY FMCC has many student organizations and associations based on academic, athletic, ethnic, religious, political, and cultural interests. You can learn more by visiting the Student Experience webpage.

SUNY FMCC also offers a wide variety of athletic opportunities for students. Check out our athletics page at https://www.fmraidersathletics.com/landing/index.