Radio Wuda 第二学期第五次听力文字材料

EDUCATION REPORT

HOW TO APPLY TO AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

This week, we are starting a series of EDUCATION REPORTS about how people from foreign countries can attend college in the United States.

Foreign students who want to study in the United States have many questions. Some of these include: How do I find out about American colleges? How do I choose the right one for me? What tests must I take? What kinds of official documents will I need? How much will it cost? We will answer these kinds of questions in our reports.

We will discuss the American system of higher education. We will tell about financial aid. We will describe rules concerning foreign students who want to work while studying. We will explain the English language requirement. We will discuss required tests. We will tell how to prepare for them. And we will tell you where to find help in your own country.

Some of the programs will tell about a few of the three-thousand colleges and universities in the United States. These reports will discuss study programs that may interest you. We will tell about living at an American college. We also will explain about ways to use a computer to study at an American university without leaving home. And we will discuss how the terrorist attacks last year have changed some of the rules for foreign students in the United States.

To prepare these reports, we talked to government officials, foreign students and university officials in different parts of the country. Most students say planning ahead helped make their American educational experience successful. That is the purpose of this series - to help you plan. Our reports about attending college in the United States begin next week.

EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series #2 >First Steps

This is the VOA Special English EDUCATION REPORT.

This week, we start a series of reports about how people from foreign countries can attend a college or university in the United States. Copies of these reports can be found on the Special English Web site at w-w-w dot voa specialenglish dot com.

Experts say you must plan early if you want to study in the United States. They say to begin at least two years before you want to start your studies.

The first step is to visit an American educational advising center. There are more than four-hundred such offices around the world. You can find the one closest to your home by using a computer. Go to this Education Report on the Special English Web site and click on the link to the State Department Education Foreign Student Web page.

Or ask the Public Affairs Office at the United States Embassy in your country to tell you where the nearest American educational advising center is. Educational advising centers have information about American colleges. They have computers so you can do a search to find the best school for you.

Colleges and universities in the United States offer different kinds of degrees that require one or more years of study. For example, some schools offer certificate programs. These programs offer one year of training in subjects like office work, computer programming or car repair.

You may also choose a two-year junior college or community college. Such programs lead to an associate degree. For example, some two-year programs prepare students for skilled jobs in electronics. Studying at a community college costs much less than at a four-year college. Many colleges and universities accept community college work as the first two years toward a four-year bachelor's degree. To get a bachelor's degree, you study general subjects like English, history, mathematics, and science during the first two years. During the last two years you take classes in your major area of study.

If you already have a college degree, you may want to get an advanced degree at an American graduate school. A master's degree usually takes two or three more years of full-time study in one subject. You must attend graduate school if you want to be a college professor, medical doctor or lawyer. These special degree programs require between three and six years of additional study.

EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series #3 >College or University?

This is the VOA Special English EDUCATION REPORT.

This week, we continue our reports about how people from around the world can attend a college or university in the United States. We tell the difference between a college and a university in the United States. A copy of this report can be found on the Special English web page at w-w-w dot voa special english dot c-o-m.

People attend a college or university to continue their education after high school. This prepares them for work. It also provides them with a greater understanding of the world and its past. And, it helps them value the arts and sciences.

Students usually attend a college for four years to complete a program of study. Those who are successful receive a bachelor's degree. Colleges generally do not offer additional study programs or support research projects. Universities often are much larger than colleges. Universities carry out research. They also offer several programs in many areas of study. Universities offer bachelor's degrees after four years of study. They also offer graduate degrees that require additional years of study.

Modern universities developed from those of Europe's Middle Ages. They took their name from the Latin word "universitas." It meant a group of people organized for one purpose.

The first European colleges were groups of students who came together because of the same interests. In England, colleges were formed to provide students with living places. Usually each group was studying the same thing, so the word "college" came to mean one area of study.

Today, most American colleges offer an area of study called liberal arts. The liberal arts are subjects first developed and taught in ancient Greece. They trained a person's mind. They were considered different from subjects that were useful in life.

The word "college" also means a part of a university that teaches one area of study. That is because the first American universities divided their studies into many areas and called each one a college. For example, the University of Texas at Austin has fourteen different colleges. It also has the most students of any single university in the country. This year, more than fifty-two-thousand men and women are studying there.