Universities in the USA

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 480.

Unit VI

In their last year of high school, students often apply to more than one college or university. Each college or university in the USA has its own re­quirements for admission. Most colleges and universities require applicants to take a standard entrance exam: the American Collegic Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). SAT must be taken in your senior year in high school. It is given on a certain day in December or January at a local college. The test takes a whole day. There are three parts: Math, English and Logic. Every student gets a book with questions. The book is divided into sections, with about 70 questions each. Each of the three subjects has a max­imum of 800 points. The lowest score for getting into university is 550.

The system of higher education in the USA consists of four categories of institutions: universities, four-year colleges, technical training institutions and two-year community colleges.

Depending on the source of financing higher education institutions may be either public (state-supported) or private. At a private college the tuition is higher. Overall they are much the same as state universities. The subjects are divided into compulsory and optional. The sub­ject the student specializes in is called a "major". Optional subjects are called "electives". Every student is assigned an "academic adviser" or a "faculty adviser" who will help the student decide on a plan of study based on his/her goals and the requirements for a degree.

Four years of undergraduate study at a university's "undergraduate schools" or colleges lead to a Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) or Bachelor of Science (B. S.) degree. "Graduate schools", which are part of a university or are separate in­stitutions, offer advanced programs which lead to a master's (M. A. or M. S.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) or Doctor of Education (Ed. D.) degree.

Junior colleges, technical colleges, and community colleges are two-year institutions, usually public, offering technical training and a basic academic program.

Some junior and community colleges award only an Associate of Arts (A. A.) degree without specifying a major. Other junior, technical and com­munity colleges award A. A. degrees to liberal arts students and A. S. (Asso­ciate in Science) or A. A. S. (Associate in Applied Science) degrees to stu­dents who major in science or practical technology. After receiving an A. A., A. S. or A. A. S. degree, many students transfer to four-year colleges or uni­versities to complete the requirements for a bachelor's degree.