Higher Education

Higher Education in the US

The College Landscape

In the US, the term “college,” “university” and sometimes “school” are used interchangeably to refer to places of higher education. Typically in the US, a bachelors degree is earned in 4-years, hence universities (colleges) offering bachelors degrees are also referred to as “4-year colleges.” Typically college students in the US study a broad spectrum of subjects in the first one or two years and only specialize and eventually choose a major in the last two. Students take classes for “credits” and are eligible to graduate once they have accumulated the required number of credits to graduate as determined by the college or university.

Although many colleges ask applicants to indicate an intended major, it is typically not binding and students have the flexibility to change their mind once they are attending the college. Exceptions to this are majors that are particularly popular, and therefore competitive, such as computer science and engineering. Many schools offering these programs nowadays require interested students to apply directly to those programs.

Size

There are 2600 four-year colleges in US. That huge number encompasses small liberal arts colleges and large research universities, some public and some private, spread over all 50 states, which makes for a dizzying diversity of choice.

A vast majority of colleges are small by other countries standards, in fact 75% of them have 5000 students or less¹. Many of the smaller colleges are categorized as “liberal arts colleges.” These, mostly private, colleges focus on undergraduate degrees, critical-thinking skills and have smaller discussion-based classes. By contrast, the larger universities, which can be public or private, can have upwards of of 30,000 students. These institutions may have a broader choice of courses, large lecture-style classes, and are focused on graduate as well as undergraduate research and degrees.

Cost

Public colleges are funded by government, which means their tuition fees are much lower than private colleges, who rely on funding from their tuition fees and endowments. In 2024 the average yearly cost of attending a public college as an in-state student was $30,000³ (the cost is higher if you are an out-of-state student.) For a student attending a private college it was almost $60,000³. Families will need to find ways to fund their students’ education by paying out of pocket, applying for government grants, school scholarships or taking out loans. Some American families begin saving to pay for college very early in their child’s life by enrolling in tax-advantaged plans such as a 529 or ESA⁴ (Educational Saving’s account.) All families are encouraged to fill out a FAFSA⁵ (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form to determine their eligibility to receive federal aid, scholarships or grants.

Campus Life

The range in size and geographical location of US colleges means there is a huge diversity of campus styles to choose from. From small rural campuses, with ivy clad stone buildings, to cosmopolitan modern buildings in a city downtown, there is a vibe for everyone. Most students live on campus in their first year in university housing, called “dorms” (in some schools students will live in dorms for the first three years) and commonly eat at large cafeteria style “dining halls.” Outside of classes there is a wide choice of clubs and societies of every conceivable interest to join. College Sports, either playing or watching, are big here and are played at three different levels⁶. Varsity, the highest level, is funded by the college and represents elite athletes, often recruited by the college, who play against other college teams in national tournaments. Club sports are student funded and are for athletes who enjoy competing in their sport against other college club teams, but at a less intense level than varsity. Intramural are student run teams that compete in friendly games against other teams within the college. Varsity sports are huge at the big state schools and even some smaller well known private schools. Massive American football stadiums, rivaling the largest stadiums in the world, dominate campus and host the college teams and the tens of thousands of fans all wearing the school colors. Attending a football or basketball game at a ‘Big Ten⁸” school you’d be forgiven for thinking you were at a professional game with cheerleaders, marching bands and jumbo screens.

It’s worth remembering that the legal drinking age in the US is 21, which, whether you drink or not, impacts the social culture at college. Entry to bars, pubs and clubs is strictly prohibited to under 21’s and photo ID’s are checked at the door. Although illegal, many US students obtain fake ID’s to gain entry to these places. There are varying degree’s of strictness in college towns policing the drinking age, from refusing entry and confiscating fake ID’s to police bar raids and issuing of tickets. Another uniquely US college phenomenon is ‘greek life,’ a term used to describe fraternities (for men) and sororities (for women.) These are social clubs on campus to which students gain membership through a process known as “rushing,” where prospective members attend a number of rounds of social events to meet the current members (referred to as “brothers” or “sisters”) who then vote on who should get a “bid” or offer of membership. Members then pay annual dues to the fraternity or sorority. Fraternities have large houses on campus and often host parties on weekends (Sororities also have a large houses, but typically do not throw parties at their house.) Fraternities and sororities have varying degrees of impact on the social scene depending on the college. At some colleges the greek membership can be upward of 60% of the student population⁷. At others it is practically non-existent.

Applying to College

Although you can apply to each college directly, half of the universities and colleges in the US allow applications through a centralized, online system called the Common App⁹. Notable exceptions include the Californian public universities, which have their own application system called Cal State Apply¹⁰, and some well known colleges such as Georgetown and MIT.

American colleges take a holistic approach to evaluating applicants, taking into account not only their high school GPA (grade point average), the difficulty of the classes they took at high school and scores on standardized tests, but also their extra curricular interests and accomplishments. In addition to submitting their grades and test scores, students are required to write a personal statement and often supplemental essays describing why they are interested in applying to a particular college. Although applicants are asked to indicate which subject major they are interested in pursuing, they are not obligated to stick with their choice and it is fairly common for students to switch majors once they are at college.

The sheer number of colleges to choose from can be overwhelming, and there are a variety of resources available to applicants to help zoom in on the colleges best suited to them. The “US News & World Report¹¹” publishes an online yearly ranking of colleges based on factors such as graduation rates, salary after graduation, number of grants awarded and peer review. “Forbes¹²” and the “Times Higher Education¹³” also publish rankings. For those that prefer an old-fashioned paper format, The “Fiske Guide to Colleges” describes in alphabetical order 320 of the “best and most interesting” colleges across the US, describing both the academic and social climate of each. All the above resources indicate the GPA and standardized test score range the colleges accept.

With the number of college applicants soaring in the last few years and the number of college places staying roughly the same, the acceptance rate, by default, has fallen at the most popular and well known colleges to single digits. As a result of this students are advised to craft a list of colleges to apply to that includes what are termed ‘likely’, ‘target’ and ‘reach’ schools based on their academic performance. The Common App limits the number of colleges to which you can apply to 20. Most college application experts recommend applying to 8-12 schools. Guidance counsellors at high school can provide advice throughout the college application process as can private college advisors.

Higher Education