B – very well – очень хорошо

C – satisfactory – удовлетворительно

D – poor – плохо

F – unsatisfactory – неудовлетворительно

 

US SCHOOL SYSTEM

Name of school	grade	Age of students	subjects
nursery	K	3-4	Games, creative playing, songs
kindergarten	K	5-6	Games, drawing, crafts, beginning reading and writing
elementary		6-7	Reading, writing, spelling, adding, drawing, music
		7-8	English, subtraction, spelling, drawing, music
		8-9	English, music, social studies, multiplication
		9-10	English, social studies, division
		10-11	English, social studies, fraction
		11-12	English, social studies, decimals, science
junior high or middle school		12-13	English, social studies (history), science, math, foreign language, home economics
		13-14
high school freshman or ninth grader		14-15	Core Courses: English, algebra, geometry, social studies (history), biology, foreign language; Electives: music, art, typing, bookkeeping, technical education, home economics, computer science
sophomore or tenth grader		15-16	Core Courses: English, geometry, social studies (history), chemistry foreign language; Electives: music, art, economics, typing, technical education, home economics, computer science, drama
junior or eleventh grader		16-17	Core Courses: English, physics, trigonometry, social studies (history), foreign language; Electives: music, art, typing, bookkeeping, technical education, home economics, computer science
senior or twelfth grader		17-18	Core Courses: English, calculus, social studies (history), foreign language; Electives: music, art, typing, bookkeeping, technical education, home economics, computer science

Higher Education

There is no national system of higher education in the USA. Instead there are about 3,300 separate institutions ranging from two-year “junior” colleges and technical institutes to universities. They may be small or large,rural or urban, private or public, religious or secular; highly selective or open to all.

Basically American higher education developed its own pattern by the adaptation of two traditions: the collegiate tradition of England and the university tradition of the continent.

The private universities are still very important. Of the nation’s nearly 1,900 four-year institutions of higher learning, 1,200 are privately controlled.

All higher educational establishments charge fees. It costs a lot of money to study there. Most people simply can’t afford it. A college education is getting more and more expensive every year. Grants are rare, that’s why two out of three college students take part-time jobs during the school year, during summer vacations, or both to pay for their studies.

Obviously, with a total of 156 universities and more than 2,000 colleges, there must be great differences in quality and reputation among them. The main universities are California University, Catholic University of America, Cornell University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, Columbia University, Stanford University and Chicago University. The best-known of all is Harvard, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1636. There is much in common between Harvard and Yale, Connecticut and together they occupy a position in American university life rather like Oxbridge in England.

The methods of instruction in the universities are lectures, discussions, and work in laboratory. The academic year is usually of nine months duration, or two terms of four and a half months each.

Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. A peculiar feature of American college and university life is numerous students’ unions, fraternities and sororities. The Greek alphabet is generally used in their names. These organizations, Greek letter societies, are descendants of the 18^th century literary and social clubs which flourished in the early American colleges. It has become quite the practice for students of a particular fraternity toreside together during their college course in one house.

A great deal of cultural and recreational life at a university is created by different kinds of students’ clubs.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE USA

Higher education in the United States is an optional final stage of formal learning following secondary education. Higher education, also referred to as post-secondary education, third stage, third level, or tertiary education occurs most commonly at one of the 4,599 title IV degree-granting institutions, either colleges or universities in the country.

These may be public universities, private universities, liberal arts colleges, or community colleges. High visibility issues include greater use of the Internet, such as massive open online courses, competency-based education, cutbacks in state spending, rapidly rising tuition and increasing student loans.

Strong research and funding have helped make United States colleges and universities among the world's most prestigious, making them particularly attractive to international students, professors and researchers in the pursuit of academic excellence. More than 30 of the highest-ranked 45 institutions are in the US as measured by awards and research output.

Statistics

As of 2011, the latest figures available in 2014, the US has a total of 4,599 Title IV-eligible, degree-granting institutions: 2,870 4-year institutions and 1,729 2-year institutions. The US had 21 million students in higher education, roughly 5.7% of the total population. About 13 million of these students were enrolled full-time which was 81,000 students lower than 2010.

In 2009, 21.3 percent of the adult population above 18 years had attended college, but had no degree, 7.5 percent held an associate's degree, 17.6 percent held a bachelor's degree, and 10.3 percent held a graduate or professional degree. The historical gender gap had practically vanished. New England and Colorado had the highest proportion of college graduates, and the South Central states the lowest.

A US Department of Education longitudinal survey of 15,000 high school students in 2002, and again in 2012 at age 27, found that 84% of the 27-year-olds had some college education, but only 34% achieved a bachelor's degree or higher; 79% owe some money for college and 55% owe more than $10,000; college dropouts were three times more likely to be unemployed than those who finished college; 40% spent some time unemployed and 23% were unemployed for six months or more; and 79% earned less than $40,000 per year.

Types of colleges and universities

Colleges and universities in the U.S. vary in terms of goals: some may emphasize a vocational, business, engineering, or technical curriculum (like polytechnic universities) while others may emphasize a liberal arts curriculum. Many combine some or all of the above, being a comprehensive university.

In the US, the term "college" refers to either one of three types of education institutions: stand-alone higher level education institutions that are not components of a university, including 1) community colleges, 2) liberal arts colleges, or 3) a college within a university, mostly the undergraduate institution of a university. Unlike colleges versus universities in other portions of the world, a stand-alone college is truly stand-alone and is not part of a university, and is also not affiliated with an affiliating university.

The majority of both liberal arts colleges and public universities are coeducational; the number of women's colleges and men's colleges has dwindled in past years and nearly all remaining single-sex institutions are private liberal arts colleges. There are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), both private (such as Morehouse College) and public (such as Florida A&M).

American universities developed independent accreditation organizations to vouch for the quality of their degree. The accreditation agencies rate universities and colleges on criteria such as academic quality, the quality of their libraries, the publishing records of their faculty, and the degrees which their faculty holds. No accredited institutions are perceived as lacking in quality and rigor, and may be termed diploma mills.

Community colleges

Community colleges are often (though not always) two-year colleges. They have open admissions, with generally lower tuition than other state or private schools. Graduates receive the associate's degree such as an Associate of Arts (A.A.). Many students earn an associate's degree at a two-year institution before transferring to a four-year institution for another two years to earn a bachelor's degree.

Four-year colleges usually have a larger number of students, offer a greater range of studies, and provide the bachelor's degree, mostly the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.). They are either primarily undergraduate institutions (i.e. Liberal Arts Colleges) or the undergraduate institution of a university (such as Harvard College and Yale College).

Liberal arts colleges

Four-year institutions in the U.S. emphasizing the liberal arts are liberal arts colleges, entirely undergraduate institutions and stand-alone. They traditionally emphasize interactive instruction although research is still a component. They are known for being residential and for having smaller enrollment, class size, and higher teacher-student ratios than universities. These colleges encourage a high level of teacher-student interaction at the center of which are classes taught by full-time faculty rather than graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), who teach classes at some Research I universities and other universities. Most are private, although there are public liberal arts colleges. Some offer experimental curricula, such as Hampshire College, Beloit College, Bard College at Simon's Rock, Pitzer College, Sarah Lawrence College, Grinnell College, Bennington College, New College of Florida, and Reed College.

Universities

Universities are research-oriented educational institutions which provide both undergraduate and graduate programs. However, for historical reasons, some universities (such as Boston College, Dartmouth College, and The College of William & Mary) have retained the term "college" as their name. Graduate programs grant a variety of master's degrees (like the Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) or Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)) in addition to doctorates such as the Ph.D. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education distinguishes among institutions on the basis of the prevalence of degrees they grant and considers the granting of master's degrees necessary, though not sufficient, for an institution to be classified as a university.

Some universities have professional schools. Examples include journalism school, business school, medical schools (which award either the M.D. or D.O.), law schools (J.D.), veterinary schools (D.V.M.), pharmacy schools (Pharm.D.), and dental schools. A common practice is to refer to different units within universities as colleges or schools (what is referred to in other countries as faculties). Some colleges may be divided into departments, including an anthropology department within a college of liberal arts and sciences within a larger university. Yet, few universities adopt the term "college" as names of academic organizations. For example, Purdue University is composed of multiple colleges – among others, the College of Agriculture and the College of Engineering. Of these Purdue breaks the College of Agriculture down into departments, such as the Department of Agronomy or the Department of Entomology, whereas Purdue breaks down the College of Engineering into schools, such as the School of Electrical Engineering, which enrolls more students than some of its colleges do. As is common in this scheme, Purdue categorizes both its undergraduate students (and faculty and programs) and its post-graduate students (and faculty and programs) via this scheme of decomposition, being a topical decomposition that focuses on an academic sector of directly related academic disciplines.

The American university system is largely decentralized. Public universities are administered by the individual states and territories, usually as part of a state university system. Except for the United States service academies and staff colleges, the federal government does not directly regulate universities, although it can give federal grants to them and any institution that receives federal funds as a condition must certify that it has adopted and implemented a drug prevention program that meets regulations.

Each state supports at least one state university and several support many more. California, for example, has three public higher education systems: the 10-campus University of California, the 23-campus California State University, and the 112-campus California Community Colleges System. Public universities often have a large student body, with introductory classes numbering in the hundreds and some undergraduate classes taught by graduate students. Tribal Colleges operated on Indian reservations by some federally recognized tribes are also public institutions.

Many private universities also exist. Among these, some are secular while others are involved in religious education. Some are non-denominational and some are affiliated with a certain sect or church, such as Roman Catholicism (with different institutions often sponsored by particular religious institutes such as the Jesuits) or religions such as Lutheranism or Mormonism. Seminaries are private institutions for those preparing to become members of the clergy. Most private schools (like all public schools) are non-profit, although some are for-profit.

Tuition

Tuition is charged at most American universities, and public universities generally offer lower tuition rates for in-state students than out-of-state students. In 2002, the average in-state tuition was $4,081 and $18,273 for those who paid out-of-state rates. There are two exceptions under which tuition is not needed: 1) the five federally sponsored service academies, in which students attend free and with a stipend in exchange for a service commitment in the US armed forces after graduation; 2) a few institutions where offering tuition-free education is part of the school's mission, among them Cooper Union, Berea College, Olin College and Webb Institute. Public universities often have much lower tuition than private universities because funds are provided by state governments, and residents of the state that supports the university typically pay lower tuition than non-residents. Students often use scholarships, student loans, or grants, rather than paying all tuition out-of-pocket. Several states offer scholarships that allow students to attend free of tuition or at lower cost; examples include HOPE in Georgia and Bright Futures in Florida.

Most universities, public and private, have endowments. A 2007 report by the National Association of College and University Business Officers revealed that the top 765 U.S. colleges and universities had a combined $340 billion in endowment assets as of 2006. As of 2011, seventy-three additional colleges and universities had endowments worth over $1 billion. The largest endowment is that of Harvard University, at $29 billion.

History

Religious denominations established most early colleges in order to train ministers. They were modeled after Oxford and Cambridge universities. Harvard College was founded by the colonial legislature in 1636, and named after an early benefactor. Most of the funding came from the colony, but the college early began to collect endowment. Harvard at first focused on training young men for the ministry, and won general support from the Puritan colonies. The College of William & Mary was founded by Virginia government in 1693, with 20,000 acres (81 km²) of land for an endowment, and a penny tax on every pound of tobacco, together with an annual appropriation. James Blair, the leading Church of England minister in the colony, was president for 50 years, and the college won the broad support of the Virginia gentry, most of whom were members of the Established Church, and trained many of the lawyers, politicians, and leading planters. Students headed for the ministry were given free or in tuition. Yale College was founded in 1701, and in 1716 was relocated to New Haven, Connecticut. The conservative Puritan ministers of Connecticut had grown dissatisfied with the more liberal theology of Harvard, and wanted their own school to train orthodox ministers. New Light Presbyterians in 1747 set up the College of New Jersey, in the town of Princeton; much later it was renamed Princeton University. Rhode Island College was begun by the Baptists in 1764, and in 1804 it was renamed Brown University in honor of a benefactor. Brown was especially liberal in welcoming young men from other denominations. In New York City, the Church of England set up King's College by royal charter in 1746, with its president Doctor Samuel Johnson the only teacher. It closed during the American Revolution, and reopened in 1784 under the name of Columbia College; it is now Columbia University. The Academy of Pennsylvania was created in 1749 by Benjamin Franklin and other civic minded leaders in Philadelphia, and unlike the others was not oriented toward the training of ministers. It was renamed the University of Pennsylvania in 1791. The Dutch Reformed Church in 1766 set up Queen's College in New Jersey, which later became Rutgers University. Dartmouth College, chartered in 1769, was originally meant to educate Native Americans, and was soon moved to its present site in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1770.

All of the schools were small, with a limited undergraduate curriculum based on the liberal arts. Students were drilled in Greek, Latin, geometry, ancient history, logic, ethics and rhetoric, with few discussions and no lab sessions. Originality and creativity were not prized, but exact repetition was rewarded. The college president typically enforced strict discipline, and the upperclassman enjoyed hazing the freshman. Many students were younger than 17, and most of the colleges also operated a preparatory school. There were no organized sports, or Greek-letter fraternities, but literary societies were active. Tuition was very low and scholarships were few. Many of their students were sons of clergymen; most planned professional careers as ministers, lawyers or teachers.

Funding

Financial assistance for both private and public higher education comes in two primary forms: Grant programs and loan programs. Grant programs consist of money the student receives to pay for higher education that does not need to be paid back, while loan programs consist of money the student receives to pay for higher education that must be paid back. Public higher education institutions (which are partially funded through state government appropriation) and private higher education institutions (which are funded exclusively through tuition and private donations) offer both grant and loan financial assistance programs. Grants to attend public schools are distributed through federal and state governments, as well as through the schools themselves; grants to attend private schools are distributed through the school itself (independent organizations, such as charities or corporations also offer grants that can be applied to both public and private higher education institutions). Loans can be obtained publicly through government sponsored loan programs or privately through independent lending institutions.

Admission process

Students can apply to some colleges using the Common Application. There is no limit to the number of colleges or universities to which a student may apply, though an application must be submitted for each. With a few exceptions, most undergraduate colleges and universities maintain the policy that students are to be admitted to (or rejected from) the entire college, not to a particular department or major. (This is unlike college admissions in many European countries, as well as graduate admissions.) Some students, rather than being rejected, are "wait-listed" for a particular college and may be admitted if another student who was admitted decides not to attend the college or university. The five major parts of admission are ACT/SAT scores, GPA, College Application, Essay, and Letters of Recommendation. Not all colleges require essays or letters of recommendation, though they are often proven to increase chances of acceptance.

In 2007-8, American students numbering 262,416 studied outside the country with more than 140,000 of these studying in Europe.

The US is the most popular country in the world in terms of attracting students from other countries, according to UNESCO, with 16% of all international students going to the US (the next highest is the UK with 11%). 671,616 foreign students enrolled in American colleges in 2008-9. This figure rose to 723,277 in 2010–2011. The largest number, 157,558, came from China. According to Uni in the USA, despite "exorbitant" costs of US universities, higher education in America remains attractive to international students due to "generous subsidies and financial aid packages that enable students from even the most disadvantaged backgrounds to attend the college of their dreams".