Higher education in the USA
Finishing school is the beginning of an independent life for millions
of school graduates. Many roads are open before them. But it is not an easy
thing to choose a profession out of more than the 2000 existing in the world.
Out of the more than three million students who graduate from high school each
year, about one million go on for “higher education”. Simply by being admitted
into one of the most respected universities in the United States, a high school
graduate achieves a degree of success. A college at a leading university might
receive applications from two percent of these high school graduates, and then
accept only one out of every ten who apply. Successful applicants at such
colleges are usually chosen on the basis of :
a) high school records;
b) recommendations from high school teachers;
c) the impression they make during interviews at the university;
d) their scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT);
The system of higher education in the United States is complex. It comprises
four categories of institution:
1. The university, which may contain:
- several colleges for undergraduate students seeking a bachelor’s four-year
degree;
- one or more graduate schools for those continuing in specialized studies
beyond the bachelor’s degree to obtain a master’s or a doctoral degree;
2. The four-year undergraduate institution – the college – most of which are not
part of a university;
3. The technical training institution, at which high school graduates may take
courses ranging from six months to four years in duration, and learn a wide
variety of technical skills, from hair styling through business accounting to
computer programming;
4. The two-year, or community college, from which students may enter many
professions or may go to four-year colleges or universities.
Any of these institutions, in any category, might be either public or private,
depending on the source of its funding. There is no clear or inevitable
distinction in terms of quality of education offered between the institutions,
which are publicly or privately funded. However, this is not to say that all
institutions enjoy equal prestige, nor that there are no material differences
among them.
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