VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONALSTUDIES

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GROUP PRESENTATIONSubject: Introduction to American and British Studies

Group: 5 (Class 12E21)

Group members:

1. Nguyễn Thị Luyến

2. Phan Thị Hà My

3. Vũ Ngọc Phượng

4. Phạm Minh Tuấn

Hanoi, 2014

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Course: An Introduction to British and American Studies

Presentation date: 4 December, 2014

Group: 5 (Class 12E21)

Team members:

1. Nguyễn Thị Luyến

2. Phan Thị Hà My

3. Vũ Ngọc Phượng

4. Phạm Minh Tuấn

Topic: Universities and colleges in the US

I. Introduction

II. Development

1. Overall view and Statistics

Total number of universities and colleges: 4,140

Public 4-year institutions 629

Private 4-year institutions: 1,845

Public 2-year institutions: 1,070

Private 2-year institutions: 596

2. Types of colleges and universities

a. Public universities

State-funded institutions

Large in size

Foreign students: out-of-state tuition > in-

state students

Tuition fees - less expense

b. Private universities

Supported by tuition fees & private donations

Smaller student body => close-knit campus

community

More expensive (better campus facilities, more

international students scholarships)

c. Four-year universities

Offer BA or BSc

Include core required courses, a major &

subject electives

d. Junior/ Community college (two-year college)

Offer AA, AS, AAS degrees – 2 types:

Prepare students for the workforce

(vocational/technical education)

Prepare students to pursue bachelor's degree

(2+2 arrangement)

Low-cost option, less competitive admission

requirements

e. Other types of universities

The liberal arts college:

Promotes a well-rounded academic education

Develops the student's verbal, written and reasoning

skills

Specialist institutions: specialise in providing

degrees in a certain field (MIT, CalTech, Juilliard,

Berklee, SCAD, RISDI…)

Land-grant University: an institution of higher

education designated by a state to receive the

benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890

3. Attending procedure

a. Choices

> 4,000 American universities available

Should have a visit to the university/ contact

the admissions tutors (via university websites)

b. Application

Common Application (CA) provides applications

(500 university members)

Most universities have supplementary

applications (set essay-style questions)

c. Fees

Tuition fees: $15400 - $30000/year

(undergraduate degree) + living costs must be factored

Costs can vary significantly (Havard, Princeton

University)

Application fee: £30-£60

Financial aid is available (merit based

scholarships, needs-based financial aids, scholarships

covering the entire cost, sports scholarships)

d. Entrance exams

Most institutions: SAT/alternative ACT exams

The most competitive institutions : SAT + 2 or 3

subject-specific exams.

III. Conclusion

I. Overview and statistics

Statistic Verification

Source: National Center for Education Statistics,

Digest of Education Statistics

Research Date: 4.28.2013

Number of U.S. Colleges

and Universities

Number Enrollmen

t

Public 4-year

institutions

629 6,837,605

Private 4-year

institutions

1,845 4,161,815

Public 2-year

institutions

1,070 6,184,229

Private 2-year

institutions

596 303,826

Total 4,140 17,487,47

5

II. Types of universities and colleges

1. Public (State-funded) universities

Public universities are state-funded institutions and

are usually large in size. Foreign students pay out-

of-state tuition, which is often higher than that paid

by in-state residents. However, tuition fees at public

universities are generally less expense than private

universities.

2. Private universities

Private universities are supported by tuition fees and

private donations. They typically have a smaller

student body, close-knit campus community and are more

expensive to attend. However, private universities

often have better campus facilities on offer and more

funding set aside for international students,

especially need-based scholarships.

3. Four-year universities

Four-year universities offer Bachelor of Arts (BA) or

Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees, which are usually

four years in length. Bachelor’s degrees in the US

follow the liberal arts philosophy described below and

generally include core required courses, a major and

subject electives.

4. Two-year colleges (Community or Junior Colleges)

Community or Junior Colleges offer associate of Arts

(AA), associate of Science (AS) or associate of

Applied Science (AAS) degrees. There are two types of

associates degree. Some associates degrees focus on

vocational or technical education to prepare students

for the workforce. Others prepare students to pursue a

bachelor's degree by transferring to a four-year

university in a 2+2 arrangement. Community colleges

are often a low-cost option and have less competitive

admission requirements than a four year university.

See our page on bachelor's degrees for more

information.

5. Other types of universities

a. The liberal arts college promotes a well-rounded

academic education that develops the student's verbal,

written and reasoning skills. Students begin their

degree study by taking classes in a wide variety of

courses in the arts, humanities, languages and the

social and physical sciences before specialising

(majoring) in a particular field.

b. Specialist institutions are universities and

institutes that specialise in providing degrees in a

certain field. Common examples are MIT and CalTech,

which focus on scientific and technological research;

Juilliard, which is a centre for performing arts;

Berklee, specialising in music; and SCAD and RISDI,

which focus in visual and applied arts.

c. Land-grant University (also called land-grant

College or land-grant institution) is an institution

of higher education in the  designated by a state to

receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and

1890.The original mission of these institutions, as

set forth in the first Morrill Act, is to focus on the

teaching of agriculture, military tactics, and the

mechanic arts as well as classical studies so that

members of the working classes could obtain a liberal,

practical education.

Some institutions are predominantly occupied with

research and therefore classified as research

universities. A group of sixty American and two

Canadian research universities, private as well as

public, have founded the so called with the intention

of "maintaining a strong system of academic research

and education". Their goal is to standardize the

American doctoral programs.

III. Attending procedure

1. Choices

There are 4,000-plus American universities available,

ranging from public, to private, to specialist

institution, to liberal arts colleges so it is

necessary for prospective students to consider

geography, the size of the student body and what they

want from a university – whether they prefer smaller,

intimate environments or the buzz of the city.

The extra-curricular activities or the school’s

specialties are also the big concerns.

For the majority, who are not clear in their minds

about the future-studied university should have a

visit to the university or even contact the admissions

tutors through the university websites for more

information.

2. Application

University and College application process in the US

is simple:

- About 500 universities are members of the “Common

Application”, a not-for-profit membership organization

which serves students, member institutions, and

secondary schools. CA provides applications that

students may submit to any of those 500 universities.

- Most universities have supplementary applications

which set essay-style questions.

3. Fee

- US universities charge tuition fees of between

$15400 - $30000 per year for an undergraduate degree

and living costs must be factored in (room and board,

books and supplies, transport, visas and personal

expenses). However, costs can vary significantly. For

instance:

+ Tuition fee of Harvard University is much higher

than average ($43,938 in 2014-2015) and total bill and

total billed and unbilled costs are more than $68,000.

+ Princeton University also has tuition fee of around

$41,820, but it was the first university to offer a

"no loan" policy to financially needy students, giving

grants instead of loans to accepted students who need

help paying tuition.

- Universities also charge an application fee of

around £30-£60 per institution.

- Financial aid is available. Merit based scholarships

are usually given for strong academic achievement and

needs-based financial aid is assessed on your family’s

income and ability to support students’ costs.

- Some universities offer scholarships covering the

entire cost. The Harvard Financial Aid initiative, for

example, will provide full funding without loans to a

student whose family income is below $60,000, though

it is very competitive.

- Sports scholarships follow their own timeline. Each

sport scholarship in particular university got its own

requirements.

4. Entrance exams

All students who wish to study in the US are expected

to sit an entrance exam. Most institutions require

students to take either the SAT or the alternative ACT

exam with multiple choice style.

The most competitive institutions ask for the main SAT

aptitude paper – a standard reasoning test – plus two

or three subject-specific exams.

Here are some popular kinds of examination tests to

U.S universities and colleges:

+ SAT – formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test.

+ ACT – formerly American College Testing Program or

American College Test.

+ THEA – Texas Higher Education Assessment.

+ GED – High School Diploma Equivalent.

+ PERT – Replaced Accuplacer as the standard college

placement test in Florida.

+ MCAT – Medical College Admission Test.

+ LSAT – Law School Admission Test.

+ GRE – Graduate Record Examination

However, some American universities and many colleges

have rejected these standardized tests. Instead, they

evaluate prospective students solely through other

means, such as an original essay or the marks the

student received in a previous school. Others make the

test optional.

IV. Conclusion