听力minilecture 原文

6 Study in America

This week in our Foreign Student Series, we discuss something for students interested in higher education in the United States.

Firstly, let’s learn about how to get the information you need. One place to go for advice and information about American colleges and universities is an Education USA center. More than four hundred of these educational advising centers are located around the world. The advisers at Education USA centers do not charge any money for their services.They help students find schools and get information about financial aid, admissions tests and visa requirements. The centers are supported by the State Department. You can find the nearest one on the State Department's Web site for international students.

Another place to get information is at an educational fair.Representatives of American colleges and universities present information and answer questions from students and their parents.The Institute of International Education has been organizing United States Higher Education Fairs in Asia since 1982. Last year, more than fourteen thousand students attended these fairs in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. The next higher education fairs in Asia are in October.

Secondly, we talk about applying to an American college or university. International admissions officers advise students to apply to at least three schools.You may be able to apply online and pay the application charge with a credit card, or by mail.

You should study the Web sites of schools that interest you. You can find information about how and when to apply, how much it will cost and whether any financial aid is available. And you can probably e-mail the admissions office with any questions.

In most schools, the admissions Web site has an area where people can send questions to current international students.

Wherever you apply, you should start the application process at least two years before you want to begin your studies. Completing the applications and any required admissions tests will take time.

There are two competing admissions tests at the undergraduate level: the SAT and the ACT.

The SAT involves mathematics and language and includes writing an essay.

The ACT is designed to measure what a student learned in high school. There are questions in four skill areas: math, English, reading and science.

Most American colleges and universities require applicants for a bachelor's degree to take one of the tests. Some students take both.

The ACT is advertised as "America's most widely accepted college entrance exam." The SAT is advertised as the one "most widely taken" and, combined with high school grades, "the best predictor of college success."

For graduate-level programs, applicants often have to take the Graduate Record Examinations, or GRE.The general test measures reasoning, thinking and writing skills.

Non-native English speakers will most likely have to take the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or IELTS, the International English Language Testing System.

Most American colleges and universities accept one or both of the two major tests.

The TOEFL is given in 180 countries. The competing IELTS is given in 121 countries.

One million people each year take the TOEFL, says Tom Ewing, a spokesman for the Educational Testing Service. Same with the IELTS, says Beryl Meiron, the executive director of IELTS International.

She says two thousand colleges and universities in the United States now recognize the IELTS.

The IELTS is a paper test, while the TOEFL is given on paper only in places where a computer test is unavailable.

The TOEFL paper test costs 150 dollars. It tests reading, listening and writing. A separate Test of