Higher Education in America

"Higher Education" is the term that is used in the United States of America to describe any schooling after secondary or high school education. Higher education can take the form of a university, college, technical school, vocational school, or professional school. There are over 3100 accredited colleges and universities in America. Getting admission in the right school is the major hurdle that most students must face in pursuing a degree program in America. It takes careful planning, research and counseling. First a word about language, Americans generally uses the words "college", "university" and "school" interchangeably, particularly in speech.

US institutions offer a wide variety of subjects (or majors, as they are called) to study, everything from the fine and liberal arts to practical, career-oriented fields such as engineering and marketing. The USA also presents a wide variety of types of institutions to choose from: large, comprehensive land-grant institutions of 40,000 students to small traditional liberal arts colleges of less than a 1000 students. Distinctions among these academic institutions are in size, level and competitiveness of education offered, social/residential atmosphere and the time required to complete a degree. Because the United States is a large country with a variety of climatic and living conditions, schools vary greatly due to their location. Since academic levels and quality of instruction are comparable at most accredited institutions at the undergraduate (bachelor's degree) level, students' personal preferences as to size, climate and location, play a key role in what school they choose. Students often begin study at one institution, then transfer after two years to complete their degree at another institution. One needs good GPA (Grade Point Average) to transfer. At the graduate (master's, doctoral degree) level, more importance must be paid to the reputations of the faculty and department.

Admission requirements differ greatly from one institution to another. All schools, however, require students to submit official transcripts of courses and grades taken in high school and other post-secondary institutions and a formal application. Smaller schools require letters of recommendation. Most schools will require submission of standardized tests such as the TOEFL, and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), GRE (Graduate Record Exam), GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test), etc. Most of these tests are presented by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey. It is very important to begin the admission process early because in many cases application deadlines are far in advance of the start of the semester (sometimes as many as twelve months). Students also need to allow time for scheduling any standardized tests needed for admission and then having the results of these tests sent to schools. Each college or university establishes its own unique policies regarding admissions.

There are four levels of degrees one can study for at an American college or university. They are:

The A.A./A.S. degree or Associate's Degree
The B.S. (Bachelor or Arts) or B.S. (Bachelor of Science) Degree
The Master's Degree
The Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) or Ed.D.(Doctor of Education) Degree

Types of U.S. Colleges & Universities

"Public" Universities: These are state-affiliated institutions that are publicly supported (financed by public taxes) and they're usually large in size. They normally offer all levels of degrees and many different fields of study. Public colleges and universities are relatively inexpensive for residents of the state where the schools are located (since they're funded in large part by state tax revenues). Foreign students pay "out-of-state" tuition, which is higher, often significantly so.

Small Liberal Arts Colleges: There are hundreds of small liberal arts colleges throughout the United States enrolling anywhere from fewer than 1,000 students to several thousand. They are usually dedicated primarily to the undergraduate study of the traditional arts and sciences disciplines: humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

The Ivy League: Although these schools are among the oldest and most famous in the country, the Ivy League itself was not officially formed until the 1950s--as an athletic conference! Members of the Ivy League are: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania (a private college, not to be confused with Penn State University). All these schools are in the Northeastern U.S. Ivy League colleges stress undergraduate liberal arts education, but they also have noted graduate and professional schools. Tuition at these private schools is among the highest in the country, and admission is generally highly competitive.

Denominational or Religiously-Affiliated Schools:
There are a large number of colleges and universities in the United States that were formed by religious groups and organizations and which continue this active affiliation. They are not limited in admission, however, to members of that religious group, however. They are, however, administered by members of their religious group and are often run in line with their religious precepts. Among well-known schools in this category are: Notre Dame and Georgetown (both Catholic), Brandeis and Yeshiva (Jewish), Brigham Young (Mormon), Southern Methodist University, (Methodist) and Earlham (Quaker).

Technical Institutes: These are schools specializing primarily in engineering and science and particularly noted for their research and graduate programs. Most international students who attend these schools are admitted at the graduate degree level.

College or University?

Americans love to have variety in their personal lives and always like to have choices. This is reflected in the wide variety of institutions of higher learning existing in the U.S. The most prominent types are:

University - The broadest type of educational institution, comprising both undergraduate and graduate schools. Universities often have several colleges, schools, or faculties (e.g. School of Engineering, College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, Faculty of Arts & Science) and offer several levels of academic degrees (B.A./B.S., M.A./M.S., M.B.A., M.D., J.D., Ph.D.)

College - generally a four-year undergraduate academic institution (that's less complex and often smaller than a university.) Colleges primarily offer Bachelor's degree programs and sometimes a limited number of Master's-level programs. (Colleges do not usually offer Doctoral programs.) Sometimes the term "college" is used for a specialized kind of degree-granting institution, such as a teacher's college or a technical college.
The oldest U.S. colleges are generally liberal-arts colleges, meaning that they provide a broad education in a variety of Arts & Sciences subjects, rather than specific technical or vocationally oriented programs.

Professional school - is a graduate program where people study for specific professions, such as: lawyer, (law school), doctor (medical school), veterinarian (veterinary school), dentist (dental school) or business person (business school). Usually professional schools function as part of a larger university, but some are "free-standing" and function on their own.
In the U.S., people generally attend professional schools only after completing an undergraduate program. (Some universities offer programs where students can attend a professional school at the same time as an accelerated college program.)

It is important for the international student to understand that the U.S. education system is highly decentralized. Unlike most other countries, the United States does not have a Ministry of Education in Washington, D.C., which standardizes education across the country. There is a cabinet-level post of Secretary of Education, but it is a position with very little authority over day-to-day functioning of universities and their programs. The Secretary of Education cannot dictate uniform educational curriculum across the country.

Each of the fifty states in the United States is autonomous regarding policy of its own colleges and universities. Each state and each school operates independently of the others. Therefore, there are various systems in place, which are often quite different from state to state. All states make some form of public--i.e. partially government-funded--college and university education available, but these systems are all organized differently. Colleges and universities are accredited by voluntary, self-governing, regional associations (for example the Middle States Association of Colleges and Universities, the New England Association of Colleges and Universities, etc.) and not by governmental agencies. This accreditation is very important however, since many educational programs will only recognize other accredited programs.

Admissions consulting
Approximately 500,000 international students pursue academic degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional school level at U.S. universities. Students considering attending a U.S. college or university, need to get started by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Students may also need to take the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT), if they are seeking admission to undergraduate programs. Many undergraduate institutions in the United States require both the SAT and TOEFL of international students. There are over 2,700 accredited undergraduate institutions in the United States, so selecting the correct undergraduate school can be a confusing task for anyone. Students will need to get help from a good advisor who explains the different types of programs and gives some information on how to choose wisely. Admission to many undergraduate programs is quite competitive. Students should begin the application process at least a year in advance. An increasing number of schools accept applications year round. Although September (the fall semester) is the traditional time to begin university study in the United States, at most schools students can also enter in January (the spring semester). Finally, students will need to obtain an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility in order to obtain an F-1 Student Visa to study in the United States. The school will send the I-20 document once the student has been accepted.

The right application campaign can make the difference between acceptance and rejection in an American university. Our admissions experts provide one-on-one attention as well as literature and software to guide the student through the admissions process. For many students, the college admissions process starts one or more years in advance, and doesn't let up until they get admitted. But there are many questions. What are the American universities looking for, anyway? Is it true that if the numbers aren't high enough, the application is automatically dumped in the "reject" pile? Are universities looking for people with a two-page resume of extracurricular activities? What do admissions officers "want to hear" in the essay? Can test prep really make scores go up? How does a student get admission in a guaranteed way?

Just about everyone who's applying to college asks these questions and we have all the answers. We are in a position to guarantee admission to appropriate American universities. There are literally hundreds of good universities in America and the following is a select list of highly competitive colleges and universities.

Admission Process

The students from the Indian sub-continent face several difficulties in the admission process of the American universities. Due to the varying academic practices within the educational systems of the nations of the Indian sub-continent, the American universities are not able to uniformly assess the suitability of students with reference to their philosophy and academic offerings. Further, most of the students from the Indian sub-continent are not fully aware of the American universities and the systems that they follow. The communication between American universities and the students in the Indian sub-continent is also very limited. Thus, the admission process that follows is intrinsically flawed, in that the students are forced to seek admission in American universities without being conversant with the complexity of the procedures.

Due to differences in financial practices and the associated documentation, the students find the task of evaluating the requirement of funds for study in America cumbersome. Further, the students face uncertainty even after admission is given because a significant percentage of students are refused visas by the American consulates in India. Lack of proper pre-departure personal counseling results in the arrival of inadequately prepared students on American campuses.

Students from the Indian sub-continent are unable to get comprehensive information on location, academic programs, admission, financial assistance possibilities, employment opportunities, procedures, interpretation of regulations and a host of other items of information. Some of the information provided in the American brochures and catalogs is not pertinent to the average student from the Indian sub-continent who is unfamiliar with the American way of life. The Indus Foundation takes care of all information needs of the students.

Applying for a Student Visa

To enter the United States as an F-1 student, the student must apply at a US Embassy of Consulate for an F-1 student visa. Depending on the country where the Embassy or Consulate is located, the student may be required to make an appointment. We inform the policies of the Embassy/Consulate for the student's country so that the student will not encounter unexpected delays. In some countries, students fail to obtain a visa because they were not aware of the procedures or were not prepared. We do not let this happen to the students from the Indian sub-continent. The information outlined below is designed to help the student understand the visa process.

VISA POLICIES - Law views all non-immigrants as "intending immigrants". This means that the visa officer is under the assumption that the student will be coming to the US and will remain in the US permanently. Student visas (F class) are given to students that can demonstrate to the Consul that they intend to return permanently at the conclusion of their studies.

SOME QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - How do I prove my intent to return? Excellent question. The ability to convince the Consul (either in person or through written application) may be difficult. The student may want to present documents that demonstrate ties to the student's home country that would convince the consul of the student's intent to return.
Such documents may include: