High School
American International School of Costa Rica (AIS) is a private, non-profit school that was founded in 1970 under the name of Costa Rica Academy.
AIS serves approximately 200 students from Pre-School through 12th grade. These students come from 35 different countries and a dozen different countries and a dozen different native languages are spoken.
AIS is accredited in the United States by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and also by the Costa Rica Ministry of Education. AIS provides quality classroom instruction in the English language as well as a college preparatory education. Students can participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities such as basketball, soccer, Honor Society, Student Council and band.
Students at AIS receive valuable personal attention with a student to teacher ratio 10:1. The school year runs from mid-Agusut through mid-June, and provides students with a four week winter break. Classes are from 8:00 a.m.to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Graduates from our school may earn either a U.S. College preparatory diploma or the Costa Rican Baccalaureate degree, or both. Baccalaureate degree, or both. Advanced placement (AP) courses that prepare students for the AP exams and college credit are also available.
Graduation Requirements for U.S. College Preparatory Diploma
4 credits English Lit. ( British Literature in 12th grade.)
2 credits English Gramm./Vocabulary grades 9-10
2 credits Spanish (or one for each year while at AIS)
0.50 credits SAT prep. Grade 11
0.50 credits SAT prep. Grade 12
4 credits Social Studies (U.S. Government in 12th grade )
1 credit TOEFL prep (ESL students grades 11 or 12)
3 credits Math
3 credits Science
2 credits Physical Education
5 credits Electives
Graduation Requirements for Costa Rica Baccalaureate
3 English literature Courses
2 English Grammar Courses for grades 9-10
3 Spanish Courses
3 Costa Rican Social Studies Courses
1.5 Math Courses
1.5 Science Courses
U.S. History
30 hours Community Service
Students earning both diplomas must comply with course requirements for duel tracking; starting in grade 9.
AP Courses Offered
AP Spanish Language
AP Spanish Literature
AP Biology
AP Calculus
AP Studio Art
AP Physics
Average SAT Score 2005-2006
Math: 520
Verbal: 558
College Placement
Seniors from the classes of 2005 and 2006 were accepted into the following universities:
Colgate University Elon University
Trent University Universidad Latina
University of Costa Rica Grace Bible College
University of the Ozarks University of Milan
Instituto del Diseño Syracuse University
Boston University University of Korea
Savannah College of Art and Design Grand Valley University
Florida Institute of Technology
Grading Scale
92-100 A 82-74 C <64 F
91-83 B 73-65 D
No Ranking Policy
Student: teacher ratio 10:1
The 40 member teaching staff of A.I.S. consists of native English speakers as well as host country nationals with bachelors' to masters' plus degrees.