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College or University?
Americans love to have variety in their personal lives and always like to have choices. This is reflected in the wide variety
of institutions of higher learning existing in the U.S. The most prominent types are:
University: the broadest type of educational institution, comprising both undergraduate and graduate schools.Universities often have several colleges, schools, or faculties (e.g. School of Engineering, College of Business, College
of Liberal Arts, Faculty of Arts & Science) and offer several levels of academic degrees (B.A./B.S., M.A./M.S., M.B.A.,M.D., J.D., Ph.D.)
College: generally a four-year undergraduate academic institution (that's less complex and often smaller than a
university.) Colleges primarily offer Bachelor's degree programs and sometimes a limited number of Master's-level
programs. (Colleges do not usually offer Doctoral programs.) Sometimes the term "college" is used for a specialized
kind of degree-granting institution, such as a teacher's college or a technical college.
The oldest U.S. colleges are generally liberal-arts colleges, meaning that they provide a broad education in a variety of
Arts & Sciences subjects, rather than specific technical or vocationally-oriented programs.
Professional school: is a graduate program where people study for specific professions, such as: lawyer, (law
school), doctor (medical school), veterinarian (veterinary school), dentist (dental school) or business person (business
school). Usually professional schools function as part of a larger university, but some are "free-standing" and function on
their own.
In the U.S., people generally attend professional schools only after completing an undergraduate program. (Some
universities offer programs where students can attend a professional school at the same time as an accelerated college
program.)
It is important for the international student to understand that the U.S. education system is highly decentralized. Unlike
most other countries, the United States does not have a Ministry of Education in Washington, D.C. which standardizes
education across the country. There is a cabinet-level post of Secretary of Education, but it is a position with very little
authority over day-to-day functioning of universities and their programs. The Secretary of Education cannot dictate
uniform educational curriculum across the country.
Each of the fifty states in the United States is autonomous regarding policies of its own colleges and universities. Each
state and each school operates independently of the others. Therefore, there are various systems in place, which are
often quite different from state to state. All states make some form of public--i.e. partially government-funded--college
and university education available, but these systems are all organized differently. Colleges and universities are
accredited by voluntary, self-governing, regional associations (for example the Middle States Association of Colleges and
Universities, the New England Association of Colleges and Universities, etc.) and not by governmental agencies. This
accreditation is very important however, since since many educational programs will only recognize other accredited
programs.
Types of U.S. Colleges & Universities
There are many types of colleges and universities in the U.S., and several different ways in which Americans classify
them. Classification can be based on whether a school is financially supported by a state or not, the history of a school,
how and when it was first established, or how the school primarily functions now.
International students--coming from quite different educational educational systems--may be unfamiliar with the ways schools are sometimes classified in
the U.S., so here's some more information:
"Public" Universities: These are state-affiliated institutions that are
publicly-supported (financed by public taxes) and they're usually large in size. They normally offer all levels of degrees and many different fields of study. Public
colleges and universities are relatively inexpensive for residents of the state where the schools are located (since they're
funded in large part by state tax revenues). Foreign students pay "out-of-state" tuition, which is higher, often significantly
so.
International students may find it hard to gain admission to these schools at the undergraduate level, because
preference is often given to state residents. This is especially true in the fields of engineering, business, and computer
science. Many state university systems have a number of different campuses situated all around the state. Sometimes
one campus will be be the preeminent one in terms of research and graduate study--this school is sometimes referred to
as the "flagship" campus of the system. There are many, many notable public universities across the
country--just a few examples: Pennsylvania State University, Ohio State University, the University of California, the University of North
Carolina, and the University of Texas.
Small Liberal Arts Colleges: There are hundreds of small liberal arts colleges throughout the United States
enrolling anywhere from fewer than 1,000 students to several thousand. They are usually dedicated primarily to the
undergraduate study of the traditional arts and sciences disciplines: humanities, sciences, and social
sciences.
Strictly liberal arts colleges are often quite old (by U.S. standards, anyway!) and are usually private schools (meaning
they're supported by tuition fees, private donations, and grants). Many of these colleges were traditionally single-sex
(all-men or all-women) but that's only true these days in a handful of cases, usually exclusively women's colleges.
Sometimes these schools were founded with a religious affiliation, but the overwhelming majority of them don't take this
into account any more in terms of admissions or day-to-day student life.
These colleges are usually highly-rated institutions because they stress small classes, individual attention for their
students, and a close relationship between the faculty and students. Many of them also generally have stringent
admissions standards. Among these schools are: Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Smith, Mount Holyoke,
Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Oberlin, Grinnell, and Pomona College. Where's the Ivy League, you ask? Read on...
The Ivy League: Although these schools are among the oldest and most famous in the country, the Ivy League
itself was not officially formed until the 1950s--as an athletic conference! Members of the Ivy League are: Harvard, Yale,
Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania (a private college, not to be
confused with Penn State University). All these schools are in the Northeastern U.S. Ivy League colleges stress
undergraduate liberal arts education, but they also have noted graduate and professional schools. Tuition at these private
schools is among the highest in the country, and admission is generally highly competitive.
Sometimes you'll find the term "Ivy League" also applied, somewhat inaccurately, to any top-notch private liberal arts
college. And despite the cachet of the term "Ivy League," there are many other colleges and universities, both private
and public, that are just as highly rated and as difficult to get into--Stanford being just one
example.
Denominational or Religiously-Affiliated Schools: There are a large number of colleges and universities in
the United States that were formed by religious groups and organizations and which continue this active affiliation. They
are not limited in admission, however, to members of that religious group, however. They are,
however, administered by members of their religious group and are often run in line with their religious precepts. Among well-known schools in this
category are: Notre Dame and Georgetown (both Catholic), Brandeis and Yeshiva (Jewish), Brigham Young (Mormon),
Southern Methodist University, (Methodist) and Earlham (Quaker).
Technical Institutes: These are schools specializing primarily in engineering and science and particularly noted for
their research and graduate programs. Most international students who attend these schools are admitted at the
graduate degree level.
The undergraduate colleges of these schools also offer a variety of liberal arts courses along with their technical
subjects. Undergraduates admitted to these schools usually have especially strong backgrounds in math and sciences,
as witnessed by grades and standardized test scores (e.g. SAT or GRE). M.I.T. (the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology), Cal Poly (California Polytechnic Institute), Georgia Tech (Georgia Institute of Technology), and W.P.I.
(Worcester Polytechnic Institute) are a few of the noted schools in this category.
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