Higher Education in Britain and the USA

1. What are the admission requirements to the colleges and universities in the USA/Britain?

the USA: American high school students who want to study at a college or university have to take a standardized test, e.g. SAT or the ACT. Non-native speakers of the English language must take the TOEFL. Students also have to write an essay, to send a transcript and letters of reference.

Britain: entrance to British universities is via a strict selection process based on an interview. After the interview a potential student is offered a place on the basis of exam results. If the student does not get the grades specified in the offer, a place cannot be taken up. Some universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, have an entrance exam before the interview stage.

2. What are the three types of schools in higher education?

college, university, public institution

3. What degrees are offered by schools of higher learning in the USA/Britain? What are the requirements for these degrees?

the Associates’ degree (Am.E) is usually awarded at a community or junior college upon completion of 2 years of study

the Bachelor’s degree (the first degree that you get when you study at a university, it normally requires 3-4 years of academic study beyond the high school diploma): the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Science, the Bachelor of Education, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the Bachelor of Divinity.

The Master’s degree (a higher degree in British and US universities, usually requiring 1 or 2 years of advanced study. It is between a bachelor’s degree and doctorate. Frequently a thesis is required or a final oral or written examination. Master’s degrees include: the Master of Arts, the Master of Science, the Master of Business and Administration). 

Doctorate (the Doctor’s degree) usually the Doctor of Philosophy the highest academic degree, it requires a minimum of 2 years of course work beyond the Master’s degree level, success in qualifying examination, proficiency in one or two foreign languages and completion of doctorate dissertation.

4. What is a credit in the US system of higher education? How many credits must an undergraduate student earn to receive a bachelor’s degree? How can they be earned?

American degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, are earned on the basis of the number of courses successfully taken. Each course earns “credits” or “units”, which are known as credit hours, semester hours (for schools on the semester system), quarter hours (for schools on the quarter system) or merely hours or credits. The number of credits earned by each course relates to the number of hours of classroom work involved, but does not necessarily correspond exactly. For instance, a course meeting three times a week for an hour (actually 50 minutes) each time may be expected to give a student three hours credit for the semester or term. On the other hand, an intensive seminar may meet once a week for two hours and also be a three-credit course. Two or three laboratory periods are usually considered to be equivalent to one class “hour”. The undergraduate student program, known as an “academic load”, is normally 15-17 units a semester, or 12 to 15 units a quarter. The graduate student’s normal load is 9-12 units.

The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree is awarded on successful completion of a specified number of courses or units and the full degree requirement is usually stated as being 120 credits (about 4O courses) for institutions operating on a semester system, and 180 credits for a quarterly calendar.

5. What steps do students have to take to enroll in a college/university for admission? Speak about the exams they take – PSAT, SAT, ACT.

PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test) – an examination that high school students take, mostly to practice for SAT examination.

SAT – can be taken two or three times (in the 11th and 12th grades), generally proceeded by PSAT (preliminary), a test to give students a warm-up exercise for the SAT and indicate their probable SAT scoring range.

ACT (the American College Testing program) – similar to SAT but scores social studies and natural studies. The ACT is taken when required by certain colleges or universities.

Both tests are widely used in the admission process of US colleges and universities. Their results are sent to the colleges or universities to which the students have applied. ACT is meant to be taken only once.

6. What financial assistance are applicants eligible for? What is college scholarship, grants, loan? Explain and bring out the essence of student financial aid.

Students whose families cannot afford to pay the full amount apply for financial aid. Many students receive a financial aid package which may be a combination of grants from the government, a scholarship, a student loan, and work-study.

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further his or her education. Scholarships are awarded based upon various criteria, which usually reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award. Scholarship money is not required to be repaid.

Grants are often called “gift aid” because they are free money—financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. Grants are often need-based. Grants can come from the federal government, state government, college or career school, or a private or nonprofit organization.

A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education. It also differs in many countries in the strict laws regulating renegotiating and bankruptcy. 

7. What is a GPA (Grade Point Average)?

A grade point average is a numerical calculation, weighted by student contact hours for TAFE programs and credit points for higher education programs, of the mean of the grades received over a defined study period (e.g. semester/term), program or career.

The GPA has a number of uses, including:

• being a measure used to select students for prizes and scholarships

• providing the basis for eligibility for awarding degrees with honours and pass with distinction

• setting minimum entry levels for students articulating from TAFE to higher education programs

• providing a basis for eligibility for selection into research programs

• as a selection criterion or ranking tool for selection into undergraduate and postgraduate programs at other Australian universities.

8. What is the role of a student’s counselor? Specify the function of career development and job placement within a university.

Student counselors, also called guidance counselors, are professionals who help students at the high school or college level. Depending on your career goals and the setting you want to work in, an advanced degree might be needed to hold one of these positions.

9. What are the sources of funding for universities and colleges (both public and private)?

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. This is in contrast to public universities and national universities. Some universities are non-profit and some are for-profit means as business organization.

10. What is an undergraduate student? A graduate student?

An undergraduate student is one who is pursing either an associate's or bachelor's degree. A graduate student (also, grad student or grad in American English, or postgraduate student in British English) is an individual who has completed a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S./B.Sc., or another flavor) and is pursuing further higher education, with the goal of achieving a master's degree (M.A., M.S./M.Sc., M.Ed., etc.) or doctorate (Ph.D., Ed.D., D.A., D.Sc., D.M.A., Th.D., etc.).

11. Are you for written or oral examinations? Which ones are more objective?

I prefer written exam and I think that it is very objective while oral one depends on many factors which may vary from the sdudent’s nervous tension to the teacher’s mood.

12. What examinations (oral or written) are more popular with Russian students? Describe the psychological types of students of your group. 

Written examinations are more popular.

14 Would you like to study in the USA or Great Britain? Why? Why not? What are the requirements for foreign students to study in the USA or Great Britain?

I would like to study in the USA. First thing you should do is decide what are you going to study, where, and in which university/school?When choosing the school you must make sure that it is on the SEVP (student and exchange visitor program) approved list of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

15. What aspects of American or British higher education system would you like to introduce into our system?

I think it is convenient to choose a list of subjects, the student is interested in, to specialize in them.