International Program
Our international students enrich our school community and they are an important part of our diverse student population ranging from grades seven to postgraduate. We are proud that students from over forty countries have graduated from St. Thomas More and gone on to success in American universities.
Many have arrived with little background in English and have benefited from our intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program that prepared them for a university education in the United States as well as broader professional opportunities. Placement in our ESL curriculum is based on performance on the SLEP, TOEFL, or SSAT, recommendations from teachers and additional testing that takes place upon arrival. All international students with limited experience in English begin in our ESL program where the primary goal of our excellent ESL faculty is to build the skills necessary for them to join our mainstream classes. Students with stronger English skills study both in ESL II program and courses in the regular curriculum. An institutional TOEFL is taken twice each year to measure progress. To prepare for applications to universities, students in the 11th grade take the TOEFL once in the spring and then in 12th grade take it twice in the fall.
Levels of English as a Second Language
ESL I
Program Description
Students entering ESL I are beginners with low proficiency in English. These students' needs are met with our program with five courses:
- Grammar
- Writing
- Reading
- Vocabulary
- Listening and Speaking
Because proficiency in English requires a variety of skills, each course incorporates some aspects of the others in an attempt to integrate all of the necessary skills into each class.
The aim of the ESL I Curriculum is to immerse beginning international students in an intensive program which will provide them with basic reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Theses skills are augmented by an intensive study of grammatical structures. More details of this program can be seen in the curriculum pages under Student Life.
ESL II
Program Description
Students entering ESL II are intermediate to advanced students who have completed ESL I or who have demonstrated a mastery of basic English. Students in this advanced level are capable of working in a mainstream high school course, but need additional reinforcement of their English abilities. Students in ESL II can take ESL courses concurrently with mainstream classes at St. Thomas More School. The aim of the ESL II curriculum is to provide the English language support at the advanced level that will help them succeed in all subjects.
Three course are offered at the ESL II level:
- Grammar and Writing
- Reading and Vocabulary
- Listening and Speaking
As with the ESL I course, each course incorporates some aspects of the others in order to integrate all of the necessary skills into each class.
The aim of ESL II curriculum is to provide the students with the advanced level of skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking that will allow them to participate in mainstream English language classes. As with skills from ESL I, they are augmented by an intensive review of English grammar.
International Student College Matriculation
(Past Three Years)
Babson College
Bentley College
Boston University
Brandeis University
Carnegie Mellon University
Indiana University- Bloomington
Michigan State University
New York University
Ohio State University
Penn State University
Purdue University
Rutgers University
Stonybrook University
Syracuse University
University of Arizona
University of California- Berkeley
University of Connecticut
University of Kansas
University of Massachusetts- Amherst
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Oregon
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas- Austin
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin- Madison
Requirements for International Student Admission
St. Thomas More School has a policy of rolling admissions based on space availability. Applications can be made on line or at your request that we will send all of the necessary forms.
Checklist for a complete application:
- Completion of Application Form and $75 Application Fee
- Principal or Guidance Counselor Recommendation
- English Teacher Recommendation
- Math Teacher Recommendation
- Official Transcript with School Seal
- TOEFL, SLEP or SSAT Scores
- Telephone Interview (Scheduled Monday-Friday at 8:30 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. EST) **Personal interview can be scheduled in place of telephone interview**
- Parent Financial Affidavit and Bank Statements (original - please mail)
- Copy of Passport
- Complete Immunization Record
- Physician's Report of Physical Examination conducted within the past three months
- Verification of home address
- Copy of Visa and I-20 if transferring from a school in the USA
If an international student is accepted, please note that all forms must be completed and submitted before an I-20 can be issued. It is best to send all admissions materials together to help expedite the decision and enrollment process.
Consultants/Guardians: It is important that the student's home address is on the application for issuance of the I-20. Consultant and Guardian information should be placed in the International Student Supplement.
