The United World College Costa Rica (UWC Costa Rica) (Spanish - Colegio del Mundo Unido Costa Rica), located in the Santa Ana suburb of San José, is the 11th United World College and the first to offer instruction in both English and Spanish. The College, formerly the "Colegio Internacional SOS Hermann Gmeiner," opened in August 2006 and graduated its first UWC-admitted applicants in 2008. At the moment it contains 149 international students from more than 60 different countries. Students are selected based on an extensive scholarship programme, meaning that they are selected on the basis of merit and regardless of their social or economic status. Given its historic connection with SOS Children's Villages, UWC Costa Rica aims to ensure that students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds are admitted to the school each year. Depending on their academic needs, students may apply for a three-year programme with a preparatory pre-IB year before enrolling in the regular IB programme.