International College, Beirut, Lebanon, is a private co-educational preparatory school to the American University of Beirut mainly, as well as American Ivy League universities. Its students come from all over Lebanon, as well as the Middle-East and around the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development, among others, considers International College one of the finest educational institutions in the world. The International College was founded in İzmir, Turkey in 1891, by Alexander MacLachlan, a Canadian educator, as the American Boys’ School. The first class of five students graduated in 1895, and it was renamed the American Collegiate Institute for Boys. In 1913, IC opened an elementary school, and added the French language Section Secondaire in 1926. In 1936, Dr. Bayard Dodge of the American University of Beirut invited IC to come to Beirut and affiliate with AUB as its preparatory school. As a result, IC was known for many years as "The Prep." During its first year in Beirut, IC welcomed 901 students from 37 countries representing 16 religious sects. IC welcomed students from all over the Middle East, who came as boarders living in Thomson and Sage Halls.