A Military Education, Though Not Necessarily for a Military Life

We look at two military colleges in the American South.

MP3 - Download Audio
Listen to MP3
Listen in RealAudio

Our Foreign Student Series continues this week with two examples of military colleges in the United States.

One is the Virginia Military Institute. V.M.I. is a public, four-year military college in Lexington, Virginia. It accepts women as well as men. Its 1,300 students are called cadets.

Older cadets teach new arrivals about the honor system at V.M.I. Cadets risk expulsion if they lie, cheat or steal -- or accept lying, cheating or stealing by any other cadet. V.M.I. officials say an important part of a college education is learning self-control.

Lieutenant Colonel Stewart MacInnis is associate director of communications and marketing at the Virginia Military Institute. He says V.M.I. this year has 23 cadets from countries including Britain, Egypt, Poland, Russia and Thailand. Most of them are studying engineering.

The cost for one year at V.M.I. for someone from outside Virginia is about thirty thousand dollars. Graduates are not required to go into the military, but Colonel MacInnis says about fifty percent do. And twenty percent make it a career.

Another public military college in the South is The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. It also accepts both men and women for its four-year program.

The Citadel says it offers a traditional military education to its more than 2,000 students. 38% of its graduates choose to enter the military.

This year, The Citadel has 49 students from 24 countries outside the United States. They are mainly studying business and engineering. The Citadel costs about 27,000 dollars for the first year. After that, it drops to about 24,000.

You can find links to the V.M.I. and Citadel Web sites at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and audio files of our Foreign Student Series. Next week, learn about the United States Military Academy at West Point.

We began our series on studying in the United States in September. So far we have dealt with the application process, college admissions tests, English language testing, financial aid and other subjects. In the weeks to come we will talk more about individual schools and programs. If you have a suggestion for our series, write to special@voanews.com. And please include your name and country.

Studying in the US - Rules About Alcohol

Download Audio - MP3

Listen to Download Audio

Listen in RealAudio

The legal age for drinking alcohol in the United States is 21. Underage drinking is a crime but also a common part of college social life. This week in our Foreign Student Series, we look at alcohol policies at American colleges and universities.

These policies differ from school to school, as do enforcement efforts. But many schools have been moving to strengthen their rules.

The United States has more than 17,000,000 students in higher education. Each year, 1,700 of them age eighteen to twenty-four die from alcohol-related road crashes and other injuries.
600,000 more are injured while under the influence of alcohol. And almost 700,000 are attacked by another student who has been drinking.

These numbers, from a 2005 report, are on a government Web site: collegedrinkingprevention.gov.

One behavior that college officials are trying to prevent is binge drinking, having four or five drinks or more in a short period of time. Some researchers have found that students who think binge drinking is normal often overestimate how much other students really drink. A person can die of alcohol poisoning.

For example, the University of Oklahoma implemented new policies after a nineteen-year-old student died in 2004. He had been drinking heavily at a fraternity party.

Now alcohol is banned from all fraternity and sorority houses and university housing. Student organizations can serve alcohol at events but only on Friday and Saturday nights. And they must provide for transportation to and from off-campus parties. Other new requirements include an alcohol education program that first-year students take online.

At the University of Oklahoma , these policies govern behavior on campus and off. With a first violation, students pay $75 and their parents are told. They must also take an alcohol education class. For a second "strike," they have to pay $150. A third strike means a suspension for at least one semester.

Since January of 2005, 633 students have had a first strike. 30 have had a second strike -- and one has been suspended. An official at Oklahoma tells us the aim is not just to punish but to change behavior and the culture at the university.

Choose Your Degree at an American College or University

International students may attend an American university to earn a degree, including a BS, BA or MBA.

MP3 - Download Audio
Listen to MP3
Listen in RealAudio

Today, we answer a question from Martin in Mexico City. He asks about the kinds of degrees that students can earn at an American college or university.

American higher education offers degrees in many areas of study. A community college student earns an associate degree after two years of general study. The student may then continue at a college or university for another two years to earn a bachelor’s degree.

An undergraduate student at a four-year school earns a bachelor's degree. Students majoring in an area of science receive the bachelor of science, also known by the letters B.S. Arts or humanities students get the bachelor of arts degree, or B.A.

Students who continue in school may earn a master’s degree after two or three more years of study. Many Americans earn master’s degrees at night or on the weekends while they are working. One example of this is the M.B.A., a master's degree in business administration. Students learn to deal with all kinds of business situations. They develop skills needed by many companies.

M.B.A. programs teach about economics, finance and marketing. They also teach about the structure of organizations and other subjects. Business is a popular subject for students who come to the United States. To be admitted to an M.B.A. program, a foreign student must have a bachelor’s degree and a good score on the TOEFL. Most students also take the Graduate Management Admission Test. Most of the one thousand eight hundred M.B.A. programs around the world use these test scores.

The Graduate Management Admission Council says that foreign students should find out what different schools could do to help them find a job after they receive their degree. Representatives from many companies visit colleges to hire students. You should ask how many companies are willing to hire international students. The council says even the best schools may have fewer job placements for international graduates than for others.

Our Foreign Student Series continues next week with a report about the highest degree a student can earn at an American university -- the doctorate.

Helping Foreign Students in the US Feel at Home

A college's international student office is a good place to start getting to know the country.

Download Audio - MP3

Listen in RealAudio

A college is more than just classrooms and laboratories. It represents a working community with a population that can be greater than that of many towns. And college communities have to deal with many of the same issues and problems as the general society around them.

All this can be a little scary, especially if a student is new not only to a college but also to the country. This week in our Foreign Student Series, the subject is college support services for students who come to the United States.

The school we have chosen for our example this week is Indiana University in Bloomington (pictured to the right). About ten percent of its almost 40,000 students are from other countries.
The Office of International Services at Indiana University provides assistance to foreign students and scholars. For example, the office organizes a special week-long conference for new foreign students before the start of each semester.

The conference is called the New International Student Orientation. It provides information about classes, social clubs and health services. New foreign students also take placement examinations and a required English language test.

Also, the office of international student services organizes programs to help foreign students feel more at home in the United States. For example, the office works with a group called Bloomington Worldwide Friendship. This group helps international students at the university meet and get to know people who live in Bloomington.

The university also has advisers who explain the rules of student life and try to help international students feel at ease.

Most American colleges and universities have a similar office for students from other countries. These offices can help guide students through the steps to come to the United States. Later, they can provide support so the students become involved in school life and make American friends.

The job is not always easy when students want to spend their free time with friends from their own country or group. But an international student office is one of the best places to start getting to know a new country and its people.