Where is the West Point located?

West Point is a college for future Army officers. It has more than four thousand military students. The school is located about eighty kilometers north of New York City. West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. General George Washington built a fort there during the Revolutionary War to protect the Hudson River from the British. He moved his headquarters to West Point in 1779 in the middle of the war. (12) In 1802 President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation to establish the military academy. The education centered on civil engineering. West Point graduates designed many roads, bridges, harbors and railways for the young nation. Today, math and science are still a large part of the education. But military students can choose from almost fifty areas of study. If military students major in the humanities, they must have engineering minor. Not all the young men and women at West Point are American. This year, fifty-eight are from other countries. Up to sixty military students can be international students. (13) International students are nominated by their governments. They must satisfy physical and educational requirements and do well on the Test of English as a Foreign Language. After graduation, they return home to serve in their nation’s armed forces. Other services besides the Army also accept foreign students at their academies.