Student Services
Students are required to provide ICDS, in advance, with complete information about their arrival in San Jose, so that ICDS may arrange for a ICDS staff member to meet them at the airport. ICDS staff, easily identified by a sign with the arriving student’s name on it, will meet students outside the baggage claim area of the airport, and they will give the student(s) a ride to the ULatina campus, where a member of the student’s host family will be waiting to take him/her home. Host families will assist students in the process of becoming acquainted with the new surroundings, the new culture, and the language, too. ICDS will also arrange transfers to the airport for the students’ departure at the end of the program, if necessary.
The ICDS on site orientation consists of a two-day session held at La Catalina, a resort and conference center in Heredia, in the mountains north of San Jose. This interactive workshop functions as a “buffer” to help diminish the effect of the culture shock that students may experience when immersed in a cultural context which is very different from their own. The session is conducted by a professional psychologist with ample experience in the area of multicultural education, and ICDS staff. Its main objective is to provide students with insights and strategies to better manage the process of integration to a new cultural context, while allowing group interaction and integration.
Practical information about security, living arrangements, and advising for the adaptation process is also provided, with an emphasis on safety in and around the San José area. Further, information regarding emergency plans and procedures is covered during orientation.
ICDS also provides an academic orientation, in which students are introduced to the campus and facilities of the ULatina as well as academic expectations for the courses.
ICDS’s Student Welfare Coordinator is a professional psychologist and counselor who acts as a social/cultural activity coordinator and collaborates with ICDS in the process of integration of students to ULatina's student life, as well as provides support during their adaptation to the new culture, the family, and the community through social and cultural activities particularly designed for this purpose. This provides international students with an additional opportunity for a more complete cultural immersion, which will in turn aid in their objective to improve Spanish language proficiency. For further support to minimize culture shock and maximize cultural immersion, ICDS’s Student Welfare Coordinator organizes periodic experience-sharing meetings and private counseling sessions, when requested by individual students.
Homestays are one of the most important parts of a student’s experience, facilitating immersion in and adaptation to the new culture and language, and helping students to integrate into the local society.
ICDS has a homestay coordinator with ample experience in the selection of host families and the placement of students with an appropriate host family, according to what the student has indicated as his/her preferences in the housing application.
Students are expected to follow regulations set by both ICDS and the local family, in keeping with ICDS’s guidelines and policies. Problems or concern about host families should be brought to the immediate attention of ICDS staff and the homestay coordinator.
When notified ahead of time, ICDS will make all the necessary arrangements to accommodate special needs students, providing an appropriate host family (one that knows about the student’s special requirements and is willing to fulfill them), and facilitating the student’s academic experience in ways within ICDS’s reach.
ICDS and ULatina will take the necessary steps to guarantee the students’ legal status during their participation in ICDS’s programs. The law pertaining to the procedure for obtaining student visas is currently under review, but ICDS, through ULatina’s Office of International Cooperation will secure the necessary permits for the students for the duration of the program. Students are responsible for following all instructions given regarding obtaining visas, such as submitting passports, birth certificates, police records, passport-sized photos, fingerprints, etc. when required by ICDS or ULatina. Failure to do so will make the visa process more difficult, as the student will be responsible to obtain the required legal permits by his/her own means.
ULatina and the Office for International Cooperation will assist students in obtaining ULatina student IDs. These IDs serve not only as your identification while on campus, but may be needed as IDs to show that you are an international student in Costa Rica at national parks and by police.
Students may use ICDS’s postal address to have their family and friends send letters or small packages to them. The address is as follows: Student’s Name
C/O Centro Internacional para el Estudio del Desarrollo (ICDS)
P.O. Box 1411-1000
San José, Costa Rica
This address is appropriate for small packages or letters sent via regular US Postal Service Mail.
For larger packages or for items sent via DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc, please use ICDS’s physical location, not the PO Box. The street address of ICDS is:
Student’s Name
C/O ICDS
Barrio Escalante, de la Iglesia Santa Teresita, 200m. este, 150m. sur,
Esquina sureste del Parque Francia
Edificio blanco de tres pisos, 2º piso
San José, Costa Rica
*ICDS will not be responsible for any payments due or for costs incurred for damages to packages sent to any of its international students at ICDS’s address.
International students at ICDS are required to have their own health insurance with international coverage when coming to Costa Rica. Students in all of ICDS programs have access to both physical and mental health care. Participants in ICDS’s programs may use ULatina’s Health Center, as well as its counseling facilities. This is for a nominal fee. In case of illness, ULatina will provide access to basic medical services –general medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology, and counseling for a small fee.
For specific medical needs and at the students’ request, ICDS will make the necessary arrangements so that they may consult a physician in the area required at a private clinic. When needed, ICDS and ULatina will help students obtain doctor’s appointments at Costa Rican private hospitals and will give assistance in case of problems to communicate with the doctor in Spanish.
In all cases, the student will be responsible to cover her/his medical expenses, saving the bills to get reimbursements through her/his home country insurance upon her/his return. In cases of extreme medical emergencies, the home university may authorize ICDS to cover the expenses and pass the bill to them later.
ICDS makes sure beforehand that the places where students are going to go on program field trips are suitable and safe. The places visited should have some means of communication (phone, radio) so that the group could be contacted in case of any emergency, and they should be equipped with emergency medical aids (medicines, thermometers, blood pressure gauges, stretchers, etc.). An experienced paramedic and wilderness guide is available for emergencies on ICDS field trips, including the hikes and treks.
Students have access to the computer labs at the ULatina for internet access, use of lab computers, and printing. Students may have to pay a fee to print from the ULatina, and should check with the Office for International Cooperation regarding printing procedures. Students who bring their own laptops can have them configured by the ULatina computing staff in order to be able to access wireless internet on the ULatina campus.
Also, internet cafes are numerous and inexpensive in Costa Rica. Many offer international calling services in addition to printing, fax, and other services.
Professors will leave their course readers in the Photocopy Center at the ULatina. During the first week of classes, students should stop by the Copy Center to pick up and pay for course anthologies.
At their request, ICDS will assist students staying over six months in obtaining a savings account in the local currency (Costa Rican colones ¢) at any Costa Rican bank, if the student wishes to do so. With a savings account in colones students will get a debit card, which will make purchases and cash withdrawals easier. Having an account number at a Costa Rican bank will also facilitate the process of receiving money from home through an electronic transfer, when needed.
The ICDS on site orientation consists of a two-day session held at La Catalina, a resort and conference center in Heredia, in the mountains north of San Jose. This interactive workshop functions as a “buffer” to help diminish the effect of the culture shock that students may experience when immersed in a cultural context which is very different from their own. The session is conducted by a professional psychologist with ample experience in the area of multicultural education, and ICDS staff. Its main objective is to provide students with insights and strategies to better manage the process of integration to a new cultural context, while allowing group interaction and integration.
Practical information about security, living arrangements, and advising for the adaptation process is also provided, with an emphasis on safety in and around the San José area. Further, information regarding emergency plans and procedures is covered during orientation.
ICDS also provides an academic orientation, in which students are introduced to the campus and facilities of the ULatina as well as academic expectations for the courses.
ICDS’s Student Welfare Coordinator is a professional psychologist and counselor who acts as a social/cultural activity coordinator and collaborates with ICDS in the process of integration of students to ULatina's student life, as well as provides support during their adaptation to the new culture, the family, and the community through social and cultural activities particularly designed for this purpose. This provides international students with an additional opportunity for a more complete cultural immersion, which will in turn aid in their objective to improve Spanish language proficiency. For further support to minimize culture shock and maximize cultural immersion, ICDS’s Student Welfare Coordinator organizes periodic experience-sharing meetings and private counseling sessions, when requested by individual students.
Homestays are one of the most important parts of a student’s experience, facilitating immersion in and adaptation to the new culture and language, and helping students to integrate into the local society.
ICDS has a homestay coordinator with ample experience in the selection of host families and the placement of students with an appropriate host family, according to what the student has indicated as his/her preferences in the housing application.
- To find the families, ICDS’s housing coordinator researches appropriate families who live in areas close to the ULatina campus and the ICDS office, and who are willing and qualified to host international students.
- Next, she contacts the families and arranges for a visit to observe the home and family characteristics personally.
- The families that meet the requirements are then included in a data base for future use.
- When the students’ housing applications are received, the housing coordinator matches the students and the families in accordance with the students’ expectations and special requirements, if any, and the family’s characteristics.
- Students provide ICDS with feedback about their homestay experience through an evaluation done in the middle and at the end of the program, and based on this, ICDS makes a decision whether to continue working with that family or not.
- The data base is updated periodically by paying a visit to the families and making sure the home and family conditions remain appropriate to host international students.
Students are expected to follow regulations set by both ICDS and the local family, in keeping with ICDS’s guidelines and policies. Problems or concern about host families should be brought to the immediate attention of ICDS staff and the homestay coordinator.
When notified ahead of time, ICDS will make all the necessary arrangements to accommodate special needs students, providing an appropriate host family (one that knows about the student’s special requirements and is willing to fulfill them), and facilitating the student’s academic experience in ways within ICDS’s reach.
ICDS and ULatina will take the necessary steps to guarantee the students’ legal status during their participation in ICDS’s programs. The law pertaining to the procedure for obtaining student visas is currently under review, but ICDS, through ULatina’s Office of International Cooperation will secure the necessary permits for the students for the duration of the program. Students are responsible for following all instructions given regarding obtaining visas, such as submitting passports, birth certificates, police records, passport-sized photos, fingerprints, etc. when required by ICDS or ULatina. Failure to do so will make the visa process more difficult, as the student will be responsible to obtain the required legal permits by his/her own means.
ULatina and the Office for International Cooperation will assist students in obtaining ULatina student IDs. These IDs serve not only as your identification while on campus, but may be needed as IDs to show that you are an international student in Costa Rica at national parks and by police.
Students may use ICDS’s postal address to have their family and friends send letters or small packages to them. The address is as follows: Student’s Name
C/O Centro Internacional para el Estudio del Desarrollo (ICDS)
P.O. Box 1411-1000
San José, Costa Rica
This address is appropriate for small packages or letters sent via regular US Postal Service Mail.
For larger packages or for items sent via DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc, please use ICDS’s physical location, not the PO Box. The street address of ICDS is:
Student’s Name
C/O ICDS
Barrio Escalante, de la Iglesia Santa Teresita, 200m. este, 150m. sur,
Esquina sureste del Parque Francia
Edificio blanco de tres pisos, 2º piso
San José, Costa Rica
*ICDS will not be responsible for any payments due or for costs incurred for damages to packages sent to any of its international students at ICDS’s address.
International students at ICDS are required to have their own health insurance with international coverage when coming to Costa Rica. Students in all of ICDS programs have access to both physical and mental health care. Participants in ICDS’s programs may use ULatina’s Health Center, as well as its counseling facilities. This is for a nominal fee. In case of illness, ULatina will provide access to basic medical services –general medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology, and counseling for a small fee.
For specific medical needs and at the students’ request, ICDS will make the necessary arrangements so that they may consult a physician in the area required at a private clinic. When needed, ICDS and ULatina will help students obtain doctor’s appointments at Costa Rican private hospitals and will give assistance in case of problems to communicate with the doctor in Spanish.
In all cases, the student will be responsible to cover her/his medical expenses, saving the bills to get reimbursements through her/his home country insurance upon her/his return. In cases of extreme medical emergencies, the home university may authorize ICDS to cover the expenses and pass the bill to them later.
ICDS makes sure beforehand that the places where students are going to go on program field trips are suitable and safe. The places visited should have some means of communication (phone, radio) so that the group could be contacted in case of any emergency, and they should be equipped with emergency medical aids (medicines, thermometers, blood pressure gauges, stretchers, etc.). An experienced paramedic and wilderness guide is available for emergencies on ICDS field trips, including the hikes and treks.
Students have access to the computer labs at the ULatina for internet access, use of lab computers, and printing. Students may have to pay a fee to print from the ULatina, and should check with the Office for International Cooperation regarding printing procedures. Students who bring their own laptops can have them configured by the ULatina computing staff in order to be able to access wireless internet on the ULatina campus.
Also, internet cafes are numerous and inexpensive in Costa Rica. Many offer international calling services in addition to printing, fax, and other services.
Professors will leave their course readers in the Photocopy Center at the ULatina. During the first week of classes, students should stop by the Copy Center to pick up and pay for course anthologies.
At their request, ICDS will assist students staying over six months in obtaining a savings account in the local currency (Costa Rican colones ¢) at any Costa Rican bank, if the student wishes to do so. With a savings account in colones students will get a debit card, which will make purchases and cash withdrawals easier. Having an account number at a Costa Rican bank will also facilitate the process of receiving money from home through an electronic transfer, when needed.
