College or University

[Emily]

I am senior 2 student studying IBDP. Most of my classmates have the idea of studying in america. it said that UNIVERSITY and COLLEGE are quite different. I would like to know which one is better~

Tell me your opinions.

[spaceisland]

Well for starters, university is easier to spell. =D

I know in Canada, the main difference is the courses you can take at each. Typically colleges are geared towards the trades, and technology, or degrees like nursing, etc. Au contraire, universities deal with things like med school, education degrees, commerce, business, law, etc.

[Forester]

Liberal arts colleges are smaller and you can only get a BA degree.

Universities are much bigger and you can get BSc, BEng, BA and a lot more.

[Tyro]

I never heard of a difference . . . I thought it was just a name and did not matter. Some schools aren't even called colleges or universities. For example, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

[__inthemaking]

In Canada, colleges are generally considered to be easier to get to (not a lot of pre-requisites required, perhaps only grade 12 English) because they are for trades and the admission averages are lower. Universities lead you to a degree and have higher admission averages.

Of course, this is just a generalization, but everyone at my school in IB only apply to universities because most people want to go into business, sciences or engineering.

[IBStuck]

i have a feeling in the US ther isn't a difference. ther might pf used to be, but not anymore. prolly just has to do with size at htis point.

[~Lc~]

college in the Uk means "6th form" which is where you go to do you IB/Alevels or what ever the hell else you're planning on studying (basically last 2 years of education before Uni)

in the states college is usually referring to community college, some US students go to CC for a year because they can get University credits for a cheaper price, so would save some money.

a university degree is by far much more recognized internationally. For example a college degree would not be recognized as a higher education degree in Jordan (or something of the sort, but sometimes that doesn't matter if you find a job in the private sector). so go to Uni my friend

[IBStuck]

community college doesn't just refer to community college in the US

[Tyro]

A few more things to add about USA colleges-

I heared 2 variants:

1) Universities are for graduate study & colleges are for undergraduate study

2) Universities are 4 years & colleges are two years

I may be wrong, or right, or both - can someone tell us the truth?

First, these ^ are both false for the US. You can study grad at many colleges and undergrad at many unis. Also, you can usually study at both for 4 or 2 years.

Next, community and college do not go hand and hand in the USA. Some colleges are community colleges, but not all colleges are community colleges.

Like I said before, and I think someone else mentioned, there is no difference in America. It's just whatever they chose to call themselves.

[Emily]

Sorry for spelling wrong....

So the only difference between the two is just the difference is size?

[Ruan Chun Xian]

Haha don't worry about spelling. deissi just has a weird compulsion to correct spelling in thread titles

Actually it doesn't have to a different in anything. "College" is a general term in the US to refer to tertiary education. When you say "I'm going to college" that just means university in general (as opposed to in the UK where "college" is more secondary education).

[Forester]

Since she's international student, I assumed she followed the USnews rankings, and they have separate rankings for unis and colleges.

Those colleges are referring to Liberal Arts Colleges.

[Bandev]

In Australia, colleges are residential halls amalgamated to a University, and you have to get into the university in order to get into the college. I am pretty sure that you don't care about Australia though, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents.

[ezex]

Yeah there really is no difference. You should be seeking out 4-year colleges/universities as opposed to 2 year colleges-universities in the USA.

Yale university is smaller than Harvard College which is smaller than University of California Los Angeles

And they are all 4-year colleges/universities

Look it might be true, but as far as our CAP advisor has told us since the beginning of our Junior year, a college is ONLY for undergrad studies. What you are referring to that some universities have undergrad is not exactly as you say: a university, such as MIT, may offer undergrad and therefore be mistaken for a college. What most people don't know is that most UNIVERSITIES have colleges in them, like MIT. So no matter were you plan to go, ALL seniors go through college first and then go to the University.

[rushinn]

In the U.S., there is a pretty significant difference between universities and colleges. At a university, you can get a bachelor's or master's degree, as well as a Ph.D. In a college, however, you can only get a bachelor's degree. Some universities consist of several specific colleges.

As for liberal arts colleges, they're a completely different story. Liberal arts schools believe in providing a solid educational foundation for their students. Unlike most institutes and universities, liberal arts schools give students the opportunity to explore a variety of different pathways before declaring a major. These schools often offer a significantly vast variety of majoring opportunities, including a "design a major" program.

Numerically, universities tend to be larger because they consist of a college and graduate schools. The common conception of universities is that they're large and, in many cases, graduate students working for their master's degree teach classes instead of professors. Most colleges provide a more intimate settings, with extremely small student to faculty ratios and class sizes. Many of America's oldest and most prestigious schools are liberal arts, for example Bowdoin College, Amherst College, Vassar College, etc.

Edited May 18, 2008 by rushinn

[rushinn]

Yeah there really is no difference. You should be seeking out 4-year colleges/universities as opposed to 2 year colleges-universities in the USA.

Yale university is smaller than Harvard College which is smaller than University of California Los Angeles

And they are all 4-year colleges/universities

Actually, Harvard is a university, and although Yale, Harvard and University of California all contain a 4-year college, they also offer graduate programs.