"Co-op" Program Exclusively for International Student

Q: Will an internship job be arranged for me, or must I locate the position on my own?

A: A private employment placement company, which works with the university, will assist all co-op students in obtaining their initial CPT positions. In addition, newly arriving students will often obtain employment information from other students currently working in CPT jobs or from college staff persons, or from newspaper advertising, job fairs or from the internet. While all of the above sources are available to assist students to locate available internship employment, it is the responsibility of each co-op student to follow up on all employment “leads” and personally interview for those positions.

A: Internship positions are available for all students. However, the type of internship position will depend on your skills, your experience, and your English ability. The co-op program is a mandatory program so every co-op student will be employed.

A: Most students will obtain employment in the first month at the campus. For those with limited skills, it may take a little longer to find a suitable internship position.

Bachelor's student must stay in school for 9 month before start the coop program.

A. No. It is very difficult to have a job arranged for students prior to their arrival due to the fact that employers almost always want to interview the candidates personally. However, the employment agent and the placement office at Coleman College have many contacts with companies near the college with jobs available, so there is no need to arrange employment before arriving in the U.S. .

A: Some entry level jobs will pay a minimum of $8.00 per hour, but more highly skilled positions may pay up to $10 or more per hour. Students are allowed to work up to 40 hours per week, with overtime also possible, depending on the job. A CPT internship is allowed at any time to apply for and obtain a different job that may pay a higher salary, but generally an advance notice of at least two weeks should be given to the current employer before leaving for another job.

Q: Can I find an internship job only in the field related to my major or is any field O.K?

A: The employment needs to be related to an integral part of the curriculum. Consequently, a job which is related to concepts and principles that you may be learning in any of your classes will be acceptable.

A: Your employment can be as a regular full time employee with the same benefits as are granted to all other employees. Most employees work 40 hours per week and receive a one week vacation per year. However, part-time employment is also available, as you may choose.

A: Some companies want the interns to work overtime, while others do not have overtime available. However, you may keep for your own use all overtime income that you may earn.

A: The procedure for obtaining a Social Security card and permission to work begins with obtaining a job offer letter from a prospective employer. Once an employer agrees to hire a student, such a letter will be issued by that employer. The letter is to be taken to the College where a revised I-20 form will be issued to the student authorizing Curricular Practical Training employment. This revised I-20 form serves as the work permit which students need in order to be legally employed. The next step is to take the job offer letter and the revised I-20 to the Social Security office where application is made for a Social Security Number.

A: Your employer may be required to hold back from your monthly earnings a little bit of money to cover any taxes that you might owe. However, after April 15th of each year most international students find that they get a refund of all, or almost all, of this withheld amount.

Q: Could the work authorization be possibly converted into a full time work permit upon completion of the Masters program?

A: Converting the internship job into a full time job, such as under an H1-b, may be possible. But, it all depends upon whether the company you find to work for during the internship is willing to sponsor you for an H1-b visa which would allow you to work in the U.S. for a longer period of time.

Questions about the co-op program

Q: What is Curricular Practical Training?

A: Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is the legal description for the paid internship employment that students engage in while in a co-op program. The purpose of CPT is to give students practical experience in the workplace to augment what they are learning in the classroom.

Q: What is Optional Practical Training?

A: Optional Practical Training (OPT) is the legal description for the one year employment that you are allowed to engage in after you graduate from your Master's program. The purpose of OPT is to give you further practical experience in the workplace relating to your Master's major.

Q: Am I allowed to engage in both CPT and OPT?

A: Yes. However, if you work for more than one year of CPT, then you may not be allowed to do the one year of OPT.

Q: If I choose to work in CPT for the entire length of time I am in the Master's program, will I be allowed to do so?

A: Yes, you are allowed to engage in CPT for as long as you are a student in the Master's program, even if that is for 2 1/2 years or more. However, as indicated above, if, in fact, you do work for more than a year you may not be allowed to do the additional one year of OPT after you graduate. Part-time CPT has not affect on the OPT.

Q: How can I go to school and work at the same time?

A: You will be working in your CPT intern position during the day and going to class several evenings each week. Thus, there will be no time conflict between your job and your course work.

Q: Can I transfer my credits from another school to Coleman College ?

A. The school may give credit for courses already taken at the Master's level at another school, if the other school is accredited and if the course content being transferred is basically the same as one of the courses in the College's requirement for that major. The Registrar will make this decision when you arrive for your first class.

Q: Can you tell me if I will be accepted with my current degree?

If you have a bachelor degree from a recognized and accredited College in any major you are qualified for acceptance, although you may be required to take some prerequisite courses, depending on your major, assuming you meet all of the other requirements for admission.

Q: What if I decide to transfer to a different College?

A: If you enroll at Coleman University and complete your course work for one semester and choose to transfer to another College you are free to do so, so long as your bills at the College are all paid in full up to that date

Q: Is there any financial aid available?

A: The financial aid that Coleman can offer at the College is the legal right to obtain full time employment from an American company for the entire time you are in the graduate school. Thus, in most cases students have the potential of earning in internship employment much more than what they might obtain in a scholarship or other financial aid from a different College.

Questions about Visas:

Q. Do I have to apply for a visa in my own country?

A: The American consulates in each country of the world make the decision about whether or not a visa applicant must be in his/her own country in order to apply for a visa. However, the general custom is that an international student will be allowed to apply for a visa in countries other than his/her own.

Q. Do I have to pay the Sevis fee before I go in for my interview?

A. Homeland Security is now requiring F-1 students to pay a $100 SEVIS fee before the student can apply for the visa. Students will need a receipt showing payment of the fee before they can go to the visa interview.

Q. How do I pay the Sevis fee?

A. Students can go to www.fmjfee.com and apply on line using a credit card which is the fastest way to make this payment. Students will receive an e-mail receipt which they will take to the consulate office at the time of their visa interviews.

Q. Can my spouse or children accompany me to the US?

A: A spouse will be allowed to apply for a visa to accompany the student. The spouse (with children) may apply at the same time the student applies, or may wait for several months to apply until after the student arrives in the U.S. and gets settled. The spouse will need to show additional financial support or a bank statement with sufficient additional money to support him/herself (and children) when accompanying the student spouse to the U.S.

Q. Do I need permission from Immigration Services in order to work off campus?

A. Students will have an F-1 student visa and, by the nature of the College's "co-op" program (which requires internship employment) no further permission is required by Immigration Services. Once the student finds employment that is certified to be "curriculum related", the College will issue the appropriate authorization signature allowing the student to begin working.

Q: Can I take a break during summer quarter to return to my country then return back to school for fall quarter?

A: Students must attend school full time for 2 consecutive semesters (9 months) before they are eligible to take a vacation from their studies.

Q: What is required in order to bring my spouse and family?

A: In order for your spouse and/or children to accompany you, the College must issue a separate I-20 form. Your family can apply for an F2 (dependant) visa. The College will need the following information for each family member (including spouse): full name, date of birth, country of birth, and country of citizenship.

Q: If my visa is valid for only 2 years, will I need to get it extended before it expires?

A: Having a 2 year visa does not mean that you have to go back to your home country at the end of two years. Rather, you can stay for as long as you like beyond the two years to finish your education in the U.S. The length of the visa just limits how long you have to cross the border into the U.S. That is, if, during those two years you want to go home to visit a number of times you can use that visa (permission to cross the border into the U.S.) as often as the visa allows. But, after the two years are over, you need to renew your visa so that, if you leave the U.S. and come back, you will have a valid visa to do so. All visas can generally be renewed for students who are legally in the U.S. and want a longer time to leave the U.S. for a visit to their home countries.

Q: I am already in the US on a B-1 visa. Can I change to F-1?

A: If you are going to change to F-1, which you need to do in order to get into the paid internship program at the College, it is much better to do that while in your home country. If you come to the U.S. and then apply for a change of status to F-1 it can take up to several months of waiting while Immigration Services processes your application. But if you take your I-20 form from the College to the consulate in your home country and apply for an F visa, the decision can be made immediately by the visa officials there. Then there will be no delay in your starting school and getting a paid internship job.

Questions about Admission:

Q. Is there a deadline for applying?

A: No. Applications will be accepted and processed at all times of the year and the College will make special efforts to notify the applicants quickly of the status of their applications.

Q: I can not get my bank statement until I have an acceptance letter from the College. Can I send my application packet in now (without a financial document) and send the bank statement in later?

A: If you need the acceptance letter before you can get the financial documents, then please write a note to the College stating this fact and include it with your application packet. This way the College can go ahead and process your application without the financial information. As soon as you do receive your financial documentation you will need to send it to the College because they cannot issue your I-20 without having the required financial documents.

Q: Does the bank statement have to be in a sponsors name or is it ok if it is in my name?

A: The bank statement can be either one from your bank account, or that of a "sponsor", or a combination of the two. If you use a sponsor's statement you will also need to have the sponsor write a letter to the College stating, "I am the sponsor for _______ and I intend to provide him/her with financial assistance during his/her first year at the College up to the amount of $_____,

Q: What should I do if my bank statement does not reflect US dollars?

A: If you can not obtain a bank statement reflecting the equivalent value of your money in U.S. dollars, you may get the conversion from the internet. Just print the page showing the conversion and include it with your bank statement. www.currency-exchange.co.uk/Currency-Converter.htm

Q: Can I have more then one sponsor?

A: You can have as many sponsors as you need. However, you and the sponsors need to make it clear to the visa officials why they are willing to provide money to you for your education in the U.S.

Q: Is the GRE or GMAT score required for admission?

A: No. For admission, it is not required that you have taken either the GMAT test or the GRE tests. However, we recommend you take the GMAT or GRE test. We suggest this because, having taken the test, you are more likely to be viewed as a more serious student by the U.S. visa officer when you go to apply for your visa.

Q: What if I am in my last semester of undergraduate study. Can I apply to the program now?

A: You can send the transcripts that you now have along with the other required application materials. Also, include a letter indicating that your final transcripts will be sent as soon as you have received them from the College. In the meantime, the College can work on "conditional" acceptance for you--that is, you can be accepted for admission subject only to presenting those final documents.

Q: Can I apply directly to the school for admission to the co-op program, or do I need to go through a consulting agent or placement agency in my home country?

A: If you are already a student in the U.S. and are wishing to transfer to the Coleman co-op program, you can apply directly by contacting you agent to know more. If you are living abroad and need to apply for a visa from the U.S. consulate in your home country, you will need to contact our consulting/placement partner-agents in your country. There will be a substantial fee charged by the consulting or placement agency to handle your application material, assist you with complying with U.S. government Immigration Service regulations, training you in preparation for the visa interview with the U.S. consulate, in the scheduling of the dates for enrollment in the program and for the visa interview and in assisting you obtain Curricular Practical Training employment when you arrive in the U.S.. Please contact us to find out the name and contact numbers and consulting/placement agent or partner in your area.

Q: where can I find out about the bus system in San Diego?

A. San Diego has a wonderful bus system. You can go to this website for more information: http://www.sdmts.com/mtscr/eStore.aspx

Q: Where can I get information on apartments near the college?

A: For rentals, I recommend searching through the website that lists various properties depending on the needs of the students. The range can vary depending on whether they want furnished or unfurnished apartments, and also on the number of rooms. Some students might like to share rooms, which can drop their costs significantly. Here are a few websites that I recommend students to research for their specific needs:

http://www.sublet.com/spider/LeSearch.asp
http://www.apartments.com/California/SanDiego&Vicinity/SanDiego/MissionValley
http://www.rent.com/rentals/california/san-diego-and-vicinity/san-diego/
http://www.apartmentcities.com/san-diego-apartments/
http://www.move.com/apartments_california/san-diego.

The areas that are close to the San Diego campus, and where the students can take a bus ride include; Kearny Mesa, Tierrasanta, Clairemont, and Mission Valley.