The Facts

hsi

Web site: www.hsi.edu

Location: headquarters located in Silver Spring, Maryland, but you can study from anywhere

Undergraduate enrollment: 618 college students 2,550 total in all levels

Cost: $200 per semester hour

School year: classes begin and end whenever you wish

Call for more information: 301-680-6570

Fax: 301-680-5157

Nearest Taco Bell: as near as the one nearest you (you can even study there)

HSI is the only distance-education entity in the world offering programs from preschool through college.

You don't even have to leave the comfort of your bedroom to get a college degree. But you do have to study.

When I turned 6, my mother decided I was too hyper to enter a normal first-grade classroom. But I still needed to learn my ABCs, so she signed me up for first grade with Home Study International (HSI).

I spent my days at home, coloring pictures, learning how to sound out words, memorizing Bible verses, and practicing my handwriting. I loved it because I had lots of time left over for recess.

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Home Study International

You don't even have to leave the comfort of your bedroom to get a college degree. But you do have to study.

When I turned 6, my mother decided I was too hyper to enter a normal first-grade classroom. But I still needed to learn my ABCs, so she signed me up for first grade with Home Study International (HSI).

I spent my days at home, coloring pictures, learning how to sound out words, memorizing Bible verses, and practicing my handwriting. I loved it because I had lots of time left over for recess.

My hyperactivity disappeared, and I started church school two years later. Then, after graduating from eighth grade, I decided to get started on high school during the summer. My mom called HIS again, and soon I was lying in the warm sun reading about accounting. I learned about debits and credits and balance sheets without ever walking into a classroom.

Finally, two years ago I decided to skip one of my last semesters in college to spend six months in Russia as a student missionray. Unfortunately, I was going to miss an important religion class that I need to take before graduation. Does Home Study even send lessons to Russia? I wondered.

They did. I took all the study materials in my suitcase, and Home Study sent the exams to a Russian pastor, who supervised each test. He mailed back them to HSI when I finished them, and amazingly nothing ever got lost in the mail. Later I transferred the credits to my college and graduated right on time.

Can you tell them I'm a big fan of HSI? Whether you want to make up for missing high school credits, get a head start on college, or take a class just for fun, they can help. Their college division is affiliated with Columbia Union College in Maryland, and it's fully accredited. All kinds of people take their classes, including missionaries, military and embassy workers, ministers, and even students who skip out on college to go to Russia.

Here's how it works: when you sign up, they send you supplies, books, and a study guide for each class. You do your assignments and send each lesson to an instructor at HIS. When you're ready for an exam, it's sent to a nearby school or pastor. After they supervise your test, they send it back to HIS. And you're not all alone, because you can always call or write your teacher to ask for help.

With HIS your classroom can be a hot beach, a jolting train, a fancy ski resort, or your bedroom. The quality of the cafeteria depends on your own (or Mom's) cooking. Homework schedules are up to you. Best of all, classes never have to start at 7:30 in the morning, unless you want them to.