My friend's tourist visa expires on Jan 2009. Currently my friend is in New York. Can someone suggest what is the best possible way to convert tourist (B2) visa to student (F1) visa? My friend went to some colleges like La Guardia in Queens and they told that it is difficult to convert tourist visa to F1 visa. Also some folks have suggested to enroll in English Language Center and they will give I-20 and help to convert to F1 visa. Since my friend already speaks excellent english, I am trying to find out if anyone has directly enrolled in college or university with tourist visa successfully? Please suggest.

Thank you.