This is a 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: This 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. 
 

Select List of Universities and Colleges in America
 

There are several  hundreds of good universities and colleges in America and the following is a select list of highly competitive colleges and universities located in the USA.

 

Abilene Christian University  Adelphi University  Agnes Scott College  University of Alabama  Albion College  Alfred University  Allegheny College  Alvemo College  American University  Amherst College  Antioch College  Appalachian State University  University of Arizona  Arizona State University  University of Arkansas  Auburn University  Babson College  Barnard College  Baylor University  Beloit College  Birmingham-Southern College  Boston College  Boston Conservatory  Boston University  Bowdoin College  Bradley University  Brandeis University  Brigham Young University  Brown University  Bryant College  Bryn Mawr College  Bucknell University  California Institute of Technology  California Institute of the Arts  California State Polytechni  California State University-Chico  California State University-Fresno  California State Univ-Fullerton  California State Univ.-Long Beach  University of California-Berkeley  University of California-Davis  University of California-Irvine  Univ. of California-Los Angeles  University of California-Riverside  University of California-San Diego  Univ.of California-Santa Barbara  Univ. of California-Santa Cruz  Calvin College  Carleton College  Carnegie Mellon University  Case Western Reserve University  The Catholic Univ. of America  Cedar Crest College  Centenary College of Louisiana  University of Cincinnati  University of Chicago  The Citadel  City University of New York  Claremont McKenna College  Clark University  Clarkson University  Clemson University  Colgate University  College of the Atlantic  College of the Holy Cross  The College of William & Mary  University of Colorado-Boulder  Colorado School of Mines  Colorado State University  Columbia University  Connecticut College  University of Connecticut  Cooper Union  Cornell University  Creighton University  University of Dallas  Dartmouth College  University of Dayton  University of Delaware  Denison University  University of Denver  DePaul University  DePauw University  Dillard University  Drew University  Drexel University  Duke University  Emory University  Fairfield University  Fisk University  University of Florida  FloridaA& MUniversity  Florida State University  Fordharn University  Franklin & Marshall College  Furman University  George Washington University   Georgetown University  University of Georgia  Georgia Institute of Technology  Gettysburg College  GMI Engg. & Mgmt. Institute  Goddard College  Gonzaga University  Grove City College  Gustavus Adolphus College

Hamline University  Hampton University  Harvard University  Harvey Mudd College  Haverford College  University of Hawaii  Hofstra University  University of Houston  Howard University  Humboldt State University  University of Idaho  University of Illinois   Illinois Institute of Technology  Illinois Wesl'eyan University  Indiana University  University of Iowa  Iowa State University  Ithaca College  James Madison University  John Brown University  Johns Hopkins University  Juilliard School  University of Kansas  Kansas State University  Kent State University  University of Kentucky  La Salle University  Lafayette College  Lawrence University  Lehigh University  LeTourneau University  Lewis and Clark College  Louisiana State University  Loyola University of Chicago  University of Maine  Marlboro College  Marquette University  Marshall University  Mary Washington College  University of Maryland  Maryland Institute College of Art  Marymount College  Mass. Institute of Technology  University of Massachusetts  University of Miami  Miami University of Ohio  University of Michigan-Ann Arbor  University of Michigan-Dearborn  Michigan State University  Millersville University  Millikin University  Milwaukee School of Engineering  Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities  University of Minnesota-Duluth  Mississippi University for Women  University of Mississippi  University of Missouri-Columbia  University of Missouri-Rolla  University of Montana  Moore College of Art and Design  Mount Holyoke College  Mount St. Mary's College  Mount Vernon College  University of Nebraska-Lincoln  Univcrsity of Nevada-Las Vegas  University of Nevada-Reno  University of New Hampshire  New Jersey Institute of Technology  New Mexico Inst.of Mining  New Mexico State University  University of New Mexico  University of New Orleans  New York University  North Carolina School of the Arts  North Carolina State University  Univ. of N. Carolina-Asheville  Univ. of N. Carolina-Chapel Hill  Univ. of N. Carolina-Charlotte  Univ. of N. Carolina-Greensboro  Univ. of N. Carolina-Wilmington  University of North Dakota  University of North Florida  Northeast Missouri State Univ.  Northeastern University  Northern Arizona University  Northwestern University  Notre Dame College of Ohio  University of Notre Dame  Oakland University  Oglethorpe University  Ohio Northern University  Ohio Wesleyan University  Ohio University  The Ohio State University  University of Oklahoma  Oklahoma Baptist University  Oklahoma State University  University of Oregon  University of the Ozarks  Pennsylvania State University  University of Pennsylvania  Pepperdine University  University of Pittsburgh  University of Portland  Pratt institute  Princeton University

Providence College  University of Puget Sound  Purdue University  Randolph-Macon College  University of Redlands  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  Rhode Island School of Design  Rhodes College  Rice University  University of Richmond  Robert Morris College  Rochester Institute of Technology  University of Rochester  Rollins College  Rose-Hulman Institute  Rowan College of New Jersey  Rutgers University  Rutgers University-Camden  Samford University  University of San Diego  University of San Francisco  School of the Art Institute  Scripps College  Seton Hall University  Smith College  University of South Carolina  South Dakota School of Mines  University of South Dakota  University of South Florida  University of Southern California  Southern Methodist University  Southwestern University  St. Bonaventure University  St. John's University  Saint Joseph's University  St. Louis University  St. Mary's College of California  St. Mary's University  St. Mary-of-the-Woods College  St. Olaf College  Stanford University  State University of New York  SUNY-Albany  SUNY-Binghamton  SUNY-Buffalo  SUNY-Cortland  SUNY-Fredonia  SUNY-Geneseo  SUNY-Oswego  SUNY-Purchase  SUNY-Stony Brook  Stetson University  Stevens Institute of Technology  Swarthmore College  Sweet Briar College  Syracuse University  Taylor University  University of Tennessee, Knoxville  Texas A&M University  University of Texas at Austin  University of Texas at El Paso  Texas Christian University  Transylvania University  Trenton State College  Trinity College (Connecticut)  Trinity College (Washington. D.C.)  Trinity College of Vermont  Trinity University  Tufts University  Tulane University  Tuskegee University  Union College  University of the South  University of Utah  Utah State University  Valparaiso University  Vassar College  University of Vermont  Villanova University  University of Virginia  Virginia Military Institute  Virginia Polytechnic Institute  Wabash College  Wake Forest University  Warren Wilson College  Washington University in St. Louis  Washington & Jefferson College  Washington & Lee University  University of Washington  Washington State University  Weber State University  Wesleyan University  West Virginia University  Westem Washington University  Wilberforce University  Willamette University  Williams College  Winthrop University  University of Wisconsin-Madison  Wittenberg University  Worcester Polytechnic Institute  University of Wyoming  Yale University  Yeshiva University

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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