USA as a Study Destination

Capital - Washington D. C

Language - English, Spanish

Official Currency - U S  Dollar (USD)

Climate - Varies from place to place, 4 distinct seasons. While summers can rise to 35° C, winters can range from 4 ° C to 15 ° C.

Time Difference – Washington- 9 hrs 30 min behind.

US Education:

The United States is home to the largest number of institutions of higher learning than any other country in the world and hence U.S. educational institutions are known worldwide for the quality of their research –quality, facilities, resources, and excellent faculty-support. The U.S. education system is unrivalled worldwide in terms of the choice it offers, types of institutions, academic and social environments, entry requirements, degree programs and subjects in which one can specialize.


As a sure-shot investment for future, a U.S. degree surely offers excellent value for money for thousands of Indian students. The US also has a very stringent accreditation system in place to ensure high teaching standards. Studying in the U.S.A, will not only provide you the opportunity to meet and even study with the leading scholars but will also give you exposure to some of the most up-to-date developments in technology in your chosen field.

Colleges, Universities, and Institutes: The difference 

US is such a country which grants degree-awarding capacity to all the educational institutions, be it a college or a university or an institute. Colleges and institutes in the states are considered to be at par with universities. Commonly speaking, the only difference that makes a ‘US college’ different from a US university is that colleges are generally smaller and usually offer only undergraduate degrees, while a university also offers graduate degrees. In US, an ‘institute’ usually specializes indegree programs in a group of directly related subject areas, so students take up degree programs offered at institutes of technology, institutes of fashion, institutes of art and design, and so on.

Each college or university is further divided into different ‘schools’, such as the school of arts and sciences or the school of management. Each school is responsible for thedegree programs offered by the college or university in that area of study. 

State Universities

State Universities are founded and subsidized by respective state governments with an aim of providing low-cost education to residents of that particular state. These universities are also called public universities. These State or public universities are generally large in size and their students enrollments may be to the tune of 25,000 or higher.

The cost of studies in State universities is lower than the private universities and the residents of the particular state have to pay lower tuition fees than those from other states or the International students, who are treated as non-residents. Also, international students might be required to meet other eligibility criteria such as higher admission requirements in comparison with the residents.

Private Universities

Private universities are generally funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees, research grants, besides gifts from their alumni. Tuition fees tend to be higher at private universities than at state universities, but there is no distinction made between state and non-state residents. Colleges with a religious affiliation and single-sex colleges are private. In general, private universities have enrollments of fewer than 20,000 students, and private colleges may have 2,000 or fewer students on their campuses. 

 

Community Colleges:-

Community colleges provide two-year associate degree programs, usually called the Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees. They also provide excellent technical and vocational programs. Community colleges are community-based institutions with close links to secondary schools, community groups and employers. Many U.S. students live close to campus with their families. Community colleges can be public or private institutions and are sometimes called junior colleges or two-year colleges. Increasingly,international students are looking at community colleges as their gateway to academic advancement. Like their American classmates, they are discovering that many of these unique schools have outstanding programs, transferable credits, reasonable fees, and supportive environments. These factors are so attractive that over 40 percent of the U.S. undergraduate population can be found in the classrooms of America's two-year colleges. The number ofinternational students at community colleges has been rising rapidly in recent years. With high-quality courses, simplified application procedures, low costs, extensive student support systems, committed teachers, and smaller classes, community colleges offer a unique way to access many aspects of U.S. higher education - from technical and vocational education to continuing education to full degree programs. For many international students, the quest for a U.S. bachelor's degree will begin at a community college.

Technical and Vocational Colleges:-

Technical and vocational colleges are the ones which specialize in training students for entry into the real world of work. They offer certificate and other short-term programs that train students in the theory behind a specific vocation or technology and the related know-how of working with the technology or the profession. These programs usually last for two years or less. There are several thousand technical and vocational colleges in both the public and the private sectors, spread across the US.