Английский язык. Higher education

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HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE USA

Out of more than three million students who graduate from high school each year, about one million go on for "higher education". It is not easy to enter a college at a leading university in the United States. Such a college may accept only one out of every ten who apply. At present there are over 3,300 different institutions of higher education in the USA with more than 12 million students.

Successful applicants at colleges of higher education are usually chosen on the basis of (a) their high school records which include their class rank, the list of all the courses taken and all the grades received in high school, test results; (b) recommendations from their high school teachers; (c) the impression they make during interviews at the university, which is in fact a serious examination; and (d) their scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs). The SAT is a test in mathematics and English language which was introduced in 1947. The SAT is taken in the 11th grade 'of high school (over 1,5 million high school students take it yearly). If a student gets 1600 scores it is considered as a good result, if he or she gets 400 scores such a result is considered to be poor. A SAT can be taken two or three times, so that the student can improve the results if he or she wishes to do so.

The system of higher education includes 4 categories of institutions:

(1) the two-year, or community college, which is financed by the local authorities and which is intended to satisfy the needs of the local community in different professions. Tuition fees are low in these colleges, that is why about 40 percent of all American students of higher education study at these colleges. On graduation from such colleges American students can start to work or may transfer to four-year colleges or universities;

(2) the technical training institution, at which high school graduates may take courses ranging from six months to three — four years, and learn different technical skills, which may include design, business, computer programming, accounting, etc.,

(3) the four-year college which is not part of a university. The graduates receive the degree of bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BS),

(4) the university, which may contain (a) several colleges for students who want to receive a bachelor's degree after four years of study; and (b) one or more graduate schools for those who want to continue their studies after college for about two years to receive a master's degree (Master of Arts (MA) or of Science (MS) or a doctoral degree (Ph. D.— Doctor of Philosophy, in some science). There are 156 universities in the USA.

Any of these institutions of higher education may be either public or private. The public institutions are financed by the state. Of the four-year institutions 28 percent are public, and 72 percent are private, but most of the students, about 80 percent, study at public institutions of higher education, because tuition fees here are much lower. If at the end of the 1980s tuition fees at private institutions were 12 thousand dollars a year and even higher, at public institutions they were 2–5 thousand dollars a year.

Many students need financial aid to attend college. When a family applies for aid, an analysis is made of the parents' income. The aid may be given in the form of a grant, or stipend which the student doesn't need to pay back. It may be given as a loan, which the student must pay back after college. The third type of aid may be given in the form of some kind of work, which the student has to do at the university or college, for which he gets some money. Most students work, especially during the summer vacation.

The academic year is usually nine months, or two semesters of 4 and a half months each. Studies usually begin in September and end in July. There are summer classes for those who want to improve the grades or take up additional courses. Students who study at a university or four-year college are known as undergraduates. Those who have received a degree after 4 years of studies are known as graduates. They may continue with their studies and research work for another 2 years as graduates in order to get a higher degree. The undergraduate students who study for four years are called as follows: (a) the first-year student is called a freshman; (b) the second-year student is called a sophomore; (c) the student of the third year is known as a junior; and (d) the fourth-year student — a senior.