Higher Education in the USA.

Finishing school is the beginning of anindependent life for millions of school graduates. Many roads are open beforethem. But it is not an easy thing to choose a profession out of more than the2000 existing in the world.
Out of the more than three million studentswho graduate from high school each year, about one million go on for “highereducation”. Simply by being admitted into one of the most respecteduniversities in the United States, a high school graduate achieves adegree of success. A college at a leading university might receive applicationsfrom two percent of these high school graduates, and then accept only one outof every ten who apply. Successful applicants at such colleges are usuallychosen on the basis of :
a) high school records;
b) recommendations from highschool teachers;
c) the impression they makeduring interviews at the university;
d) their scores on theScholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT);
The system of higher education in the United Statesis complex. It comprises four categories of institution:
1. The university, which maycontain:
- several colleges forundergraduate students seeking a bachelor’s four-yeardegree;
- one or more graduate schoolsfor those continuing in specialized studies beyond the bachelor’s degree toobtain a master’s or a doctoral degree;
2. The four-year undergraduateinstitution – the college – most of which are not part of auniversity;
3. The technical traininginstitution, at which high school graduates may take courses ranging from sixmonths to four years in duration, and learn a wide variety of technical skills, from hair styling through business accounting to computer programming;
4. The two-year, or communitycollege, from which students may enter many professions or may go to four-year colleges or universities.
Any of these institutions, in any category, might be either public or private, depending on the source of its funding. There is no clear or inevitable distinction in terms of quality of educationoffered between the institutions, which are publicly or privately funded. However, this is not to say that all institutions enjoy equal prestige, northat there are no material differences among them.
Many universities and colleges, both publicand private, have gained reputations for offering particularly challengingcourses, and for providing their students with a higher quality of education. The great majority are generally regarded as quite satisfactory. A few otherinstitutions, conversely, provide only adequate education, and students attendclasses, pass examinations and graduate as merely competent, but notoutstanding, scholars and professionals. The factors determining whether aninstitution is one of the best, or one of lower prestige, are: quality ofteaching faculty, quality of research facilities, amount of funding availablefor libraries, special programs, etc., and the competence and number ofapplicants for admission, i. e. how selective the institution can be in choosingits students. All of these factors reinforce one another. In the United Statesit is generally recognized that there are more and less desirable institutionsin which to study and from which to graduate. The more desirable institutionsare generally – but not always – more costly to attend, and having graduatedfrom one of them may bring distinct advantages as an individual seeks employmento...