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Studying in the US: Getting a Military Education

December 3rd, 2009 at 12:21pm Under Education report

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week in our Foreign Student Series, we talk about military education programs in the United States. There are public and private colleges and universities that offer military educations. But international students can also attend the nation’s five service academies.

Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point celebrate graduation as Army officers on May 23

Three of these come under the Defense Department. The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, prepares officers for the Army. The Air Force Academy is located at Colorado Springs, Colorado. And the Naval Academy is in Annapolis, Maryland; it prepares officers for the Navy and the Marine Corps.

Nominees for these academies must be seventeen to twenty-three years old, unmarried and with no children. Candidates are usually nominated by members of Congress. International candidates are nominated by their home governments, which pay for their education.

Each government has its own requirements for military service after students graduate. Americans who attend these four-year colleges must serve at least five years of active duty.

The Defense Department chooses more than one hundred countries every year and invites them to nominate students to the academies. As many as sixty foreign students may attend each school at any one time.

For example, the next class at the Naval Academy will include eighteen foreign students, four of them female. This will bring the total number of foreign students at the Naval Academy to fifty- three.

Tim Disher, head of international programs, says those interested should contact the agency that includes their own naval department. Plus, all of the academies have admissions information on their Web sites.

International students can also attend the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, and the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. The Coast Guard Academy can have thirty-five international students at any one time; the Merchant Marine Academy, thirty.

These schools have their own entrance requirements. The Coast Guard Academy says interested students should contact the defense attache at their local United States embassy. Foreign students interested in the Merchant Marine Academy must request application forms directly from the admissions office.

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

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Foreign Student Series: Getting a US Education From Home

June 20th, 2009 at 01:11pm Under Education report

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week in our Foreign Student Series, we talk about getting an American education online. A student named Hendra has written to us from Indonesia asking about a good online university.

Finding the right online program requires research, just like a traditional education. Talking to advisers and recruiters can help. Keep in mind, though, that they might have a financial interest to direct you to certain programs.

Avoid a diploma mill. We talked about this last week. Diploma mills, also known as degree mills, are nothing more than businesses. The education is poor quality, if they even require any class work to get a degree.

The Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognizes a group in Washington, D.C., to accredit schools that offer distance learning. One hundred ten programs in the United States and six other countries are accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council.

We asked the executive director, Michael Lambert, for advice on choosing a distance learning program. He says the first thing is to go on the CHEA Web site to find if a school is accredited. The address is c-h-e-a dot o-r-g.

Next, make sure the school offers what you need. Do you need a degree, or will a certificate or license be enough?

Another consideration is cost. Often the published price does not include all the costs — like books. Technology requirements can also add to the costs. Will you need to get new software or a high-speed Internet connection or even a new computer to take the classes you want?

Also, consider the level of interaction that an online program offers. You might never meet the teacher or other students in person. You need to be able to work without the supervision that you might find in a traditional class.

Finally, and this is our own advice, find out what others say. You might search on the Internet for comments or ratings or news stories about schools that interest you. Just remember that what people say is not always fair or true.

So now we have talked about getting an American education online. Next week, we begin explaining the steps to getting an American education in the United States.

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty.

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