Grossmont College - American Collegiate English (ACE)

Grossmont College
American Collegiate English (ACE)
8800 Grossmont College Drive
El Cajon, California 92020
USA
Telephone: 619-644-7293
Fax: 619.644.7934
Contact Us!

Welcome to ACE!

American Collegiate English (ACE) is a non-credit intensive English language and TOEFL preparatory program located on the Grossmont Community College Campus, in El Cajon, in beautiful San Diego, California. The program is specially designed for international students who wish to improve their English skills so they may attend an American college or university. While in ACE, students have access to all Grossmont College student services.

Schedule, Academic Program, and Instructors

ACE offers five eight-week sessions a year beginning in August, October, January, March, and June. The specific start and end dates can be found at www.grossmont.edu/intlprograms. Click on the link that says "Classes, Schedule, and Program Cost." Each session consists of twenty hours per week of English instruction in grammar, composition, oral communication, reading, vocabulary, and TOEFL iBT. ACE class sizes are small, which allows for more individualized instruction. ACE instructors are college and university trained professionals, each with a master's degree in TESOL or applied linguistics.

Transfer to Grossmont College

ACE provides a smooth transition to Grossmont College, which is a two-year public institution. Students may earn associate degrees and certificates in many different fields of study or may elect to transfer to a university after studying at Grossmont for two years. Grossmont has transfer agreements with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU), both of which are but a short drive from Grossmont College.

ACE Application Process and Conditional Acceptance

When a student successfully completes an ACE session and achieves a TOEFL Internet-based score of 45 or an Institutional TOEFL score of 450, he/she is eligible to enroll in credit courses at Grossmont College. ACE also offers conditional acceptance to Grossmont for students enrolled in our Level II courses. Students who fulfill the following conditional acceptance requirements during an eight-week session in ACE are eligible to enroll at Grossmont without the TOEFL score because they have demonstrated that they have the English proficiency and study skills necessary to succeed in college:

To meet the ACE conditional acceptance standards, an ACE student must have:

earned a combined GPA of 3.0,
nine hours of absences or fewer,
exhibited behavior with no violation of the Grossmont College Code of Conduct, and
taken the Grossmont College ESL Assessment Test and placed into ESL 103 or higher. (The ESL Assessment Test is administered to ACE students at the end of an eight-week session.)

In order to study at ACE, students will need an F-1(student) visa. Students may obtain this visa from a U.S. consulate/embassy in their country after receiving an I-20 from our program. ACE will issue an I-20 for the period of study in the program.

To enroll in the ACE Program, the following documents are needed:

a completed ACE application
a copy of the student's passport
a copy of the student's high school transcripts
a financial statement (which states the family's sponsor has $11,700 in the bank)
the non-refundable application fee ($125.00)

When we receive all of the above, we will send the student an I-20. The full tuition ($1,675.00) will be due no later than the first day of the session (orientation day). The ACE application and additional program information can be accessed on our website at: http//:www.grossmont.edu/intlprograms. Click on the link that says "How to Apply."

ACE Level Placement

Students are placed into ACE Level I (high beginning/low intermediate) or Level II (intermediate/high intermediate) classes based on the ACE English Diagnostic Test given on orientation day. Students are then scheduled into morning (9:00 am to 12:50 p.m) or afternoon (1:00 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.) classes based on priority assigned by the ACE program.

Housing

Grossmont College does not provide housing. The majority of students at our school live in apartments, either alone or with roommates. Rental rates can vary widely, depending on the type and location of the apartment. Shared apartments range from $400 to $600 per person per month, not including utilities or meals. The following Grossmont College web page contains useful information regarding housing and homestay agencies in our area: http://www.grossmont.edu/internationalstudents/Housing.asp

We're looking forward to meeting you!

The faculty and staff at ACE hope you will consider ACE for your English language-learning needs. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Helen Liesberg
ACE Academic Coordinator

If you are interested in any of our programs and would like to request information, please contact us!

Visit the web site of Grossmont College - American Collegiate English (ACE).