Recommended · Columbia, SC · Est. 1989
Agape English Language Institute for Internationals
A faith-inflected, budget-friendly intensive English program with dual South Carolina campuses, founded in 1989 by a former international student.
About
Founded in 1989 by Dr. Rajarathnam Aluri, an Indian-born engineer who arrived in South Carolina as an international student in 1976, Agape English Language Institute grew out of a partnership with Limestone College in Gaffney and has since consolidated into two campuses in Columbia and Greenville. The name Agape signals its ethos: a quietly Christian, community-oriented posture that prizes hospitality over gloss. Tuition is deliberately kept below regional university IEP rates, and the institute has been authorized to issue I-20 forms for F-1 students since 2004.
Instruction is delivered by TESOL-certified faculty holding advanced degrees, working from what the school describes as a professionally designed intensive curriculum. Beyond the classroom, Agape leans on the small-town Southern advantages of its host cities: homestay placements with local families, weekly Conversation Table sessions, and articulation pathways with partner colleges and universities across the Carolinas. It is the kind of school students choose when they want personal attention and an affordable runway into US higher education rather than a metropolitan English mill.
The website is functional but dated in places, and specifics such as class size, weekly hours, and current tuition are not published on the public pages. Prospective students are steered toward direct contact with the Columbia or Greenville office to confirm rates and start dates.
Programs offered
- Intensive English Program (ESL)
- Conversation Table sessions
- Homestay program
- College and university pathway placement
Languages & delivery
Languages taught
- English
Delivery
- 👥 F-1 international students seeking an affordable intensive English program with pathways to US colleges and universities, particularly those who value a small, personal, faith-friendly Southern setting
Accreditations & certifications
- ✓ ACCET
- ✓ SEVP-certified (F-1 I-20 authorization since 2004)
- ✓ NAFSA member
What stands out
- Founded and led by a former international student, giving the institute an insider perspective on the F-1 journey
- Dual campuses in Columbia and Greenville with identical weekday hours
- Homestay placements with local South Carolina families
- Weekly Conversation Table sessions for informal speaking practice
- Formal partner-college pipeline for university transfer
- Deliberately affordable tuition compared to nearby university IEPs
- Quietly Christian, hospitality-forward ethos reflected in the name Agape
- TESOL-certified faculty, all holding advanced degrees
Recent Google reviews
Can I get more information about this place about the times please
Good place to learn English.
Will be there and joining with you soon.
I need to know if the course is free or if there's a fee, and if so, how much. Thank you.
Based on 11 Google reviews · average 4.3