Study Overseas

Understand It Before You Choose An Educational Experience!

Overall, American higher education has a very good reputation, but with more than 3,600 institutions of higher learning to choose from there are many things to consider before you make your final choice of undergraduate schooling. When looking at an undergraduate education in America, bear in mind that the U.S. system of higher education is fairly complex and that each different segment of the system offers distinct advantages and pitfalls.

The variety of educational opportunities offered by the American system of higher education includes: Vocational/ Technical Schools (now sometimes called Technical Colleges to increase their prestige in the community); two year Community, or junior Colleges (more and more often referred to simply as Colleges); four year traditional baccalaureate degree producing institutions, both Colleges and Universities; and graduate degree producing institutions at Universities (also called Graduate Colleges). The potential confusion, with such similarly titled choices available, is obvious! Worse, not all of these schools are of equal quality and some of this multitude of schools are not even accredited by reputable regional accreditation associations (degrees and coursework from a non accredited school are not usually acceptable for transfer to other institutions of higher learning).

How does one seeking an education in the United States work their way through this morass and figure out the perfect school for them and their future?

Some basic "rules" might help one make the right selection.

1. Two-year schools feed into four-year schools. If you are interested in moving onto graduate schools or simply in achieving a Baccalaureate degree then ensure that the College you investigate is a four-year institution. Two-year colleges may claim to "advance you towards a Baccalaureate degree," but to actually achieve such a degree requires one to transfer to a four-year college or a university. Further, transferring from a two-year to a four-year institution often results in wasted time and money, because the four-year institutions do not always accept the coursework from the two-year school. So, the first question to ask is whether a college is a two-year or a four-year institution. While noting the above, two-year colleges do have the advantage of being less expensive to attend and of allowing a less proficient student the time to acclimatize to American higher education.



2. Technical Colleges are intended to teach skills for professions. These professions include such work as plumbing, electrical, clerical, and basic computer programming. They are not normally associated with acquiring a baccalaureate or advanced educational degree. Some of these schools do have special arrangements for transfer of credit to regular four-year colleges or universities, but these are the exception to the rule. Again, while not offering a direct route to a Baccalaureate degree, these schools are less expensive to attend and aloe a less proficient student time to acclimatize to American higher education.
   
   
3. At the undergraduate level, four-level colleges and universities offer similar curricula. The difference between a college and a university is that the university combines an undergraduate college with graduate colleges, while a four-year college offers only an undergraduate degree. By definition, universities are normally larger than colleges. Size has advantages and disadvantages. Typically, the university can offer more different individual course options than a college, but once a course of study is selected either the college or the university experience offers similar opportunities. At the same time, the smaller size of the college allows students more personal attention and direct collaboration with faculty members, and potentially a more intense educational experience.

The Essential Components of a Baccalaureate Degree Producing Education.

Even once you recognize that a four year Baccalaureate degree is your goal, decisions are still somewhat complicated. There are other things to understand about deciding on whether to attend a four year college or a university. These include: the general education system that is part of most higher learning curricula in America; the differences between public and private institutions, and recognized accreditation.

1. General education programs broaden the educational experience through exploration.
   While in many international school systems, students are driven to choose their professional calling as early as age 16, the American higher education system allows time for its students to explore different academic and professional callings during the first year of the undergraduate experience. This concept of exploration is labelled as "general education" and is largely foreign to schools outside of the United States. Some international students, entering American institutions of higher learning, are heard to comment that they don't see a need for taking these courses. What they don't understand is that the general education programs are geared to producing well-rounded graduates who are competent beyond only their chosen field of study.
   
   Further, more and more businesses around the world are demanding that broader competence outside of their professional fields - basically these employers want people who can "think out of the box." A further positive of this system of education is that it allows a student more time and maturity before selecting their life's work or profession.



2. Public versus private education.
   Until recently, few countries outside of American and the United Kingdom had significant numbers of private colleges and universities. As a rule, private education is more expensive than public educations. Why is this?
   
   Typically, private institutions are smaller and tend to be more responsive to the needs of individual students. Classes are also smaller (sometimes significantly so) and students have direct contact with their professors. In many situations, students at private schools (colleges and universities) have more research and study opportunities than those attending public institutions.
   
   In today's environment, students, who attend private institutions, will often graduate within just four years, while the norm at many public institutions is now five or more years because of scheduling difficulties and large student bodies. Often you hear private school administrator say, "you get what you pay for," suggesting that the higher sticker price at private institutions is due to higher quality and better response to students needs.



3. Accreditation is essential to future graduate study.
   If you have made the decision to attend a four-year college or university in America, then ensure that your chosen institution is accredited by recognized regional accreditation association. A national accreditation is unique to the United States. In America, institutional accreditation is accomplished by a small number of regional accrediting associations that inspect each school under their purview every ten years for quality and breadth of programs. This accreditation process is an important fixture of American higher education.A number of "American" institutions located abroad carry very impressive "credentials" and "accreditations," but check them out because their accrediting associations are often not recognized in the United States. If one plans to continue one's education into graduate school or plans to work in international business institutional accreditation is a vital question. Firmly established reputable educational agencies or a visit to the US Embassy in your home country can help you separate the "wheat from the chaff."