Higher Education in Britain and the USA

1. What are the admission requirements to the colleges and universities in the USA/Britain?

In the USA common criteria includes ACT or SAT scores, some extracurricular activities; In the UK entrance to universities is via a strict selection process based on an interview. Some universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, have an entrance exam before the interview stage.

2. What are the three types of schools in higher education?

There are institutions, universities and colleges.

3. What degrees are offered by schools of higher learning in the USA/Britain? What are the requirements for these degrees?

UK: BA(Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (Bachelor of Science); a master’s degree or a doctorate.

USA: bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree

The highest grade is A; the lowest is F, which means that the student has failed the course and will not get credit for taking it. To check a student’s overall progress, the university calculates a grade point average (GPA).

4. What is a credit in the US system of higher education? How many credits must an undergraduate student earn to receive a bachelor’s degree? How can they be earned?

Students are given grades at the end of each course. The highest grade is A; the lowest is F, which means that the student has failed the course and will not get credit for taking it. To check a stu­dent’s overall progress, the university calculates a grade point average (GPA).

5. What steps do students have to take to enroll in a college/university for admission? Speak about the exams they take – PSAT, SAT, ACT.

American high school students who want to study at a college or university have to take a standardized test, e.g. the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Test). Students from countries outside the US who are not native speakers of English must also take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Each college or university decides on the minimum score it will accept, though test scores are never the only factor taken into account.

6. What financial assistance are applicants eligible for? What is college scholarship, grants, loan? Explain and bring out the essence of student financial aid.

Students in Britain formerly had their tuition fees paid by the state and received a government grant to help pay their living expenses. Now, they receive only a loan towards their expenses, and from 1999 most will also have to pay £1 000 a year towards tuition fees. The new arrangements have caused a great deal of concern both among students and among members of the public who believe that education should be free.

7. What is a GPA (Grade Point Average)?

To check a student’s overall progress, the university calculates a grade point average (GPA). he highest grade A receives 4 points, В is 3, С is 2, D is 1 and F is 0.

8. What is the role of a student’s counselor? Specify the function of career development and job placement within a university.

They are professionals who help students at the high school or college level. Students don’t usually have a job during term time because the lessons, called lectures, seminars, classes or tutorials (small groups), are full lime. Many students now have to work in the evenings to supplement their grants.

9. What are the sources of funding for universities and colleges (both public and private)?

Most universities receive some money from the state.

10. What is an undergraduate student? A graduate student?

Graduate (infml. grad) – a person who has completed a university degree course. Undergraduate (undergrad) – a student who is doing a university course for a Bachelor's degree.

11. Are you for written or oral examinations? Which ones are more objective?

I’m for oral form of exam (students may show their creative abilities) This form is more objective.

12. What examinations (oral or written) are more popular with Russian students? Describe the psychological types of students of your group.

The form of the exam depends on the faculty. Written form is more convenient for exact sciences such as maths, physics and chemistry. Oral form is appropriate for Arts: history, psychology, philosophy. We are in panic, as we are afraid of our examiner, always.

14 Would you like to study in the USA or Great Britain? Why? Why not? What are the requirements for foreign students to study in the USA or Great Britain?

I wanna study in the USA, it gives me a lot of opportunities in my life. Students from countries outside the US who are not native speakers of English must also take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

15. What aspects of American or British higher education system would you like to introduce into our system?

It’s good that students may choose subjects for studying.