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HIGHER EDUCATION IN AMERICA
"Higher Education"
is the term that is used in the United States of America to describe any
schooling after secondary or high school education. Higher education can
take the form of a university, college, technical school, vocational school,
or professional school. There are over 3100 accredited colleges and universities
in America.
Getting admission
in the right school is the major hurdle that most students must face in
pursuing a degree program in America. It takes careful planning, research
and counseling. First a word about language, Americans generally use the
words "college", "university" and "school" interchangeably, particularly
in speech. US institutions offer a wide variety of subjects (or majors,
as they are called) to study, everything from the fine and liberal arts
to practical, career-oriented fields such as engineering and marketing.
The USA also presents a wide variety
of types of institutions to choose from: large, comprehensive land-grant
institutions of 40,000 students to small traditional liberal arts colleges
of less than a 1000 students. Distinctions among these academic institutions
are in size, level and competitiveness of education offered, social/residential
atmosphere and the time required to complete a degree. Because the United
States is a large country with a variety of climatic and living conditions,
schools vary greatly due to their location. Since academic levels and quality
of instruction are comparable at most accredited institutions at the undergraduate
(bachelor's degree) level, students' personal preferences as to size, climate
and location, play a key role in what school they choose. Students often
begin study at one institution, then transfer after two years to complete
their degree at another institution. One needs good GPA (Grade Point Average)
to transfer. At the graduate (master's, doctoral degree) level, more importance
must be paid to the reputations of the faculty and department.
Admission requirements
differ greatly from one institution to another. All schools, however, require
students to submit official transcripts of courses and grades taken in
high school and other post-secondary institutions and a formal application.
Smaller schools require letters of recommendation. Most schools will require
submission of standardized tests such as the TOEFL, and SAT (Scholastic
Aptitude Test), GRE (Graduate Record Exam), GMAT (Graduate Management Admission
Test), etc. Most of these tests are presented by the Educational Testing
Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey. It is very important to begin the
admission process early because in many cases application deadlines are
far in advance of the start of the semester (sometimes as many as twelve
months). Students also need to allow time for scheduling any standardized
tests needed for admission and then having the results of these tests sent
to schools. Each college or university establishes its own unique policies
regarding admissions.
There are four levels of degrees one can study
for at an American college or university. They are:
The A.A./A.S. degree or Associate's Degree
A two-year degree given
by a two-year community or junior college. It is possible to transfer from
a two-year college to a four-year college for completing Bachelor's degree.
The B.S. (Bachelor or Arts) or B.S. (Bachelor of Science) Degree
Given after four years
of study at an undergraduate college or university. This degree usually
includes 60 credits of general education courses (Sociology, Psychology,
History, Philosophy, etc;) plus 60 credits of specialization in the major.
There are many types of Bachelor degrees- B.S.M.E. (Bachelor of Science
in Mechanical Engineering), B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts), etc.
The Master's Degree
Requires one to three
years of study after obtaining the Bachelor's degree. Time required is
dependent on the field of study. There are several types of Master's degrees:
M.A. (Master of Arts), M.S. (Master of Science), M.B.A. (Master of Business
Administration), M.Ed (Master of Education) A Master's degree requires
the writing of a thesis and /or the taking of comprehensive exams.
The Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) or Ed.D. (Doctor of Education) Degree
Usually requires 3
additional years of study after obtaining the Master's degree. It requires
original research to be conducted and written up in the form of a dissertation
and the defense of that research orally.