{"id":4152,"date":"2021-02-26T12:18:49","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T17:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/?page_id=4152"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:47:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:47:56","slug":"education-options","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/resources\/education-options\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Options"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Au pairs should complete 6 credits, 7.2 CEUs, or 72 hours.<\/p>\r\n<p>Educare Companions should complete 12 credits, 14.4 CEUs or 144 hours.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Online classes<\/strong>: You should first look for in-person or hybrid (a combination of in-person and online) courses for your education requirement. \u00a0If you cannot find any on-person or hybrid classes that work for you, you may take one online class at a time. The class must be through an accredited U.S.-based college or university. If you are unsure about whether a class will be accepted, check with your community counselor BEFORE registering.<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uclaextension.edu\/humanities-social-sciences\/course\/american-studies-educ-x-470\">The APIA Advantage UCLA Course<\/a> was the first State Department-approved online class. It gives all 6 credits for $500 and can be completed over a course of 3-4 months, working on your own schedule. It&#8217;s a great option for those who have interest in American culture, need flexibility, have transportation issues or just want to do one course for their total requirement.<\/p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/resources\/education-options\/au-pair-education-requirement-explained\/\">An Explanation of the Au Pair Education Requirement<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p>Credit and non-credit classes are both acceptable as long as they are through an accredited U.S.-based college or university. \u00a0If you want to take a class at a school not listed here on this page, please check with your counselor first to make sure it is accredited. Otherwise, it would not count toward your education requirement.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Credit Classes<\/strong> at all the local colleges require a placement test before you can enroll. The score of this test lets you know which courses you may take based on your level of English.<\/p>\r\n<p><b>Non-Credit Classes<\/b>\u00a0are called that because they do not count toward a degree in the U.S. However, any classes through an accredited U.S. college or university count for your education requirement. This includes non-credit classes. Non-credit classes are usually more affordable than credit classes.<\/p>\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #1fb5b5;\"><strong>ESL = English as a Second Language Classes<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<h2>Local Community Colleges<\/h2>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a title=\"The main option, if you live in Anne Arundel County. Non-credit courses are the most affordable option.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aacc.edu\/\">Anne Arundel Community College (AACC)<\/a>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aacc.edu\/course-search\/\">AACC Course Search<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aacc.edu\/resources\/academic-services\/english-language-learning\/interactive-english--special-topics\/\">AACC Interactive ESL for Au Pairs<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aacc.edu\/programs-and-courses\/personal-enrichment\/\">AACC Personal Enrichment Classes<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aacc.edu\/about\/schools-of-study\/continuing-education\/\">AACC Workforce Development &amp; Continuing Education<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.howardcc.edu\/programs-courses\/continuing-education\/english-language-center\/elc-registration\/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0uwbB-3D1Z-C16oX96tZ3ZrXbApS1XrMSkapS0woIkfOl24zjZNEj4Aus\">Howard Community College ESL<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a title=\"The main option for au pairs in Montgomery County. You may take credit or non-credit classes affordably if you follow the registration instructions I gave you.\" href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerycollege.edu\/\">Montgomery College (MC)<\/a>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerycollege.edu\/admissions-registration\/search-the-class-schedule.html#CourseBlock\">MC Course Search &#8211; Credit Classes<\/a>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1DZiiVG-DFvToWzNruoaBivOIpRpGfwCY8_Q8VYHGMuI\/edit?fbclid=IwAR3t3HClCvcGlFa37DIPkdRg5CptI6Byu61fiyanZcTCik1GveXWH9SsZcU\">Registration Process for MC Credit Classes<\/a> (to pay the resident tuition rate)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerycollege.edu\/workforce-development-continuing-education\/course-offering-schedule\/index.html\">MC Course Search &#8211; Workforce Development &amp; Continuing Education Classes<\/a><br \/>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerycollege.edu\/_documents\/workforce-development-continuing-education\/wdce-brochures\/wdce-schedule-summer-2026.pdf\">MC Workforce Development Catalog Summer 2026<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li>\u2665 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerycollege.edu\/workforce-development-continuing-education\/english-language-skills\/esl\/index.html\">MC Non-Credit ESL<\/a> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">(Registration open now, classes begin June)<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li><a title=\"The main option for au pairs in Prince George\u2019s County. You may take credit or non-credit classes affordably if you follow the registration instructions I gave you.\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pgcc.edu\/\">Prince George&#8217;s Community College (PGCC)<\/a>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgcc.edu\/enrollmentsteps\/international-students\/\">PGCC International Student Advising<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/selfservice.pgcc.edu\/Student\/Courses\">PGCC Course Search &#8211; Credit Classes<\/a>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1guLFz3SC_4PTbwcKL0RqOqeVyByol4azgBp2iKkYVfE\/edit?fbclid=IwAR2nzXaSddSq_czckfELYyxhjTJly_QkE-cm4nAH6olpcbfV-DvKAWJz8Ho\">Registration Process for PGCC Credit Courses<\/a> (to pay the resident tuition rate)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgcc.edu\/student-life-support-services\/support-services\/testing-center\/workforce-development-and-continuing-education-testing\/\">PGCC Workforce Development &amp; Continuing Education<\/a>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/11OJgSNaeAB2Un8Hr1aOOgqh-JrWhOjQJJWrHh8TTnLc\/edit?usp=sharing\">PGCC Childhood Education Courses Summer 2026<\/a> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">(Registration open now, classes begin in May)<\/span><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgcc.edu\/go\/transitionesl\/\">PGCC Transition Low-Cost ESL <\/a>\u00a0(Transition ESL classes are typically 60 hours)<\/li>\r\n<li>\u2665\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgcc.edu\/media\/wwwpgccedu\/content-assets\/programs-and-courses\/academic-divisions\/professional-studies-and-community-education\/esl\/transition-esl\/Transition-ESOL-Summer-I-Schedule-2026.pdf\">PGCC Transition Low-Cost ESL Summer 2026<\/a> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">(Sign up now for Required Registration Zoom Meetings on May 5 or 7, classes start May 12)<\/span><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgcc.edu\/media\/wwwpgccedu\/content-assets\/programs-and-courses\/continuing-education-offerings\/Continuing-Education-Schedule--Summer-2026.pdf\">PGCC Workforce Development Catalog Summer 2026<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\u2665 This symbol shows the most popular ESL (English as a second language) classes with au pairs in our cluster.<\/p>\r\n<h2>Language Schools<\/h2>\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #1fb5b5;\"><strong>ESL = English as a Second Language Classes<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a title=\"An option for au pairs with access to the Metro (usually in Montgomery or Prince George\u2019s County.)\" href=\"https:\/\/scs.georgetown.edu\/programs\/478\/evening-and-weekend-english\/\">Georgetown University Continuing Education ESL<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a title=\"An option for au pairs with access to the metro (usually those in Montgomery or Prince George\u2019s County.) Offering English classes and a TOEIC testing location. \" href=\"https:\/\/idc.edu\">Inlingua English Center<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.icls.edu\">International Center for Language Studies DC<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li>\u2665 <a href=\"https:\/\/ilidc.com\">International Language Institute DC<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li>\u2665 <a title=\"An option for au pairs with access to the Metro (usually in Montgomery or Prince George\u2019s County.)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lado.edu\/\">LADO College<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Weekend Classes &amp; Alternatives to Local Community College<\/h2>\r\n<p>These schools offer in-person travel classes in major cities all over the U.S. (even to Hawaii, Alaska &amp; Puerto Rico). They also offer online classes.<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"xoxo blogroll\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aupairclasses.org\">Au Pair Weekend<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmccaupair.com\">BMCC<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learningacrossamerica.net\">Learning Across America <\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/classroomaupair.org\">Classroom Au Pair<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Local Weekend Class Option &#8211;<\/strong> All four of the schools above offer classes in Washington, DC. That would be perfect if you are looking for a weekend class experience, but don&#8217;t want the additional expense of travel and hotel.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Au pairs should complete 6 credits, 7.2 CEUs, or 72 hours. Educare Companions should complete 12 credits, 14.4 CEUs or 144 hours. Online classes: You should first look for in-person or hybrid (a combination of in-person and online) courses for your education requirement. \u00a0If you cannot find any on-person or hybrid classes that work for  <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/resources\/education-options\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":3291,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4152","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Education Options - Au Pair Chatter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Education Options - Au Pair Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Au pairs should complete 6 credits, 7.2 CEUs, or 72 hours. 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