Are Colleges in America the equivalent of Sixth Forms in Britain?

Hi,
Im looking at universities in Europe and America and sometimes they only talk about programmes for 'college graduates'. I have done GCSEs and A levels and I always thought that A levels were the equivalent of 'college degrees'. Am I right or wrong? If not, then what are college degrees equivalent to? Uni degrees?

Cheers :smile:

PS I tried to find this question on the tsr, yahoo questions, ask.com but NO ONE seems the know :angry:

Reply 1

Iqbal007

Original post by umz_786

PS I tried to find this question on the tsr, yahoo questions, ask.com but NO ONE seems the know :angry:

No, colleges in america are europes university equivalent
6th form is junior and senior year of high school in america

Reply 2

Nathanielle

Original post by umz_786

PS I tried to find this question on the tsr, yahoo questions, ask.com but NO ONE seems the know :angry:

It depends largely on the quality of the college, how much the degree is worth. There is a large difference between an ordinary community college and e.g. Dartmouth College. So the assumption that colleges are the same as European universities depends on the college (or a University, which is only called college due to tradition), not on the simple name.

I wonder why you didn't try wikipedia?

Considering the negative reps:
What do you want to hear? That all colleges in the USA are stellar?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3

RedCasino

Colleges in the USA indicate University (Higher Education), whereas they are used as a term for Further Education Colleges (Sixth Form) here in the UK, as we tend to use High School to indicate up to Year 11, and University for Higher Education.

If you're looking at American websites, 'college graduates' would mean you have completed undergraduate degree. However, I'd recommend you do your Bachelors here in the UK, as it seems to be of higher quality than USA counterparts (although they have better funding for postgraduate).

Reply 4

pacificpalisades

the education standards across the u.s. differ from region to region but overall Americans know their public education is ranked lowest than all of europe. :wink:

colleges are broken up into Southern Association, Pacific NorthWest, north east etc. I would say Southern Association of Colleges are the least reputable.

then they are broken down into tiers... 1, 2, 3, vocational etc.

tier 1 schools are the best ranked schools as in Harvard, Berkeley up to the 50 mark. tier 2's are usually
state schools like university of oregon... tier 3 are like liberal arts colleges and tier 4 are probably places you have never heard of like Aquinas. then there are the community colleges... which I think probably every
fifteen year old in europe would laugh at. :smile:

tier one schools have their favorite high schools that are called "feeder schools"
the feeder schools are usually high schools in really nice areas that have the most money and best education. they count on their feeder schools to produce a certain quality student.

they dont trust some of the other schools because they may inflate GPA or just have a lower standard for academic excellence. so if you do not attend a feeder school, then you probably have to be a valedictorian, super athlete, with the highest SAT scores to get in, batman sort of figure.

but also, on the flip side, education here is an industry. universities want a certain amount of intl students, a certain amount of in state and a certain... everything. they have quotas they need to meet, so if they are short of a quota, they could be lax on entrance.

theres a breakdown for anyone who wants to know.

Reply 5

Sharri5

Original post by umz_786

PS I tried to find this question on the tsr, yahoo questions, ask.com but NO ONE seems the know :angry:

american colleges are not the equivalent of sixth forms in britain. As someone mentioned, americans consider and use the term college as interchangeable with university. College graduates in america are considered to have higher educational degrees---in britain this isn't true. If the school is talking about programs for college graduates, you're probably looking at graduate level or continued education programs.

As far as breaking down american universities in tiers, no one really looks at that. They look at the quality of each individual university and whether it's considered a liberal arts school or science and math focused, they can still be great schools. Amerian universities are consistently ranked as the best in the world.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 6

skamp

To further explain the issue of why come American higher education institutions are "colleges" and some are "universities":

In the US, a college is an undergraduate institution that gives a specific kind of degree, usually a BA or Bachelor of Arts. "Arts" in this case refers to the Liberal Arts and Sciences, not the Fine Arts.

A University is an organization of colleges in which each college is specialized in some way. For example New York University has:

College of Arts and Sciences
College of Dentistry
College of Nursing
Gallatin School in Individualized Study
Global Liberal Studies Program
Stern School of Business
Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management
Silver School of Social Work
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Tisch School of the Arts

Each of these colleges has a different set of requirements for students and operates separately, but they are all under the umbrella of NYU and a degree from any of them is an NYU degree. Universities can be public, state universities, such as Ohio State University or UCLA, or private universities, such as Harvard or Duke.

Undergraduate institutions that call themselves "colleges" are smaller (thousands of students, as opposed to tens of thousands) and don't have their classes divided into specialized institutions. But that doesn't mean they're any less good. You can get a business degree at a college that is just as good as a business degree from a business college of a university.

As with all kinds of institutions everywhere, American colleges and universities vary in quality across a spectrum what you get out of them largely depends on what you put into them. You can get a very good education from a tiny college that no one has heard of. Likewise, you can get a terrible education at Harvard if you really put your mind to it. (or don't, as the case may be)

"University" is a big long word that take a lot of time to say. You shorten it to "uni," we shorten it to "college" :smile:

Hope that helps!

PS - A "Community College" is a completely different thing that doesn't enter into this discussion. They are enormously useful for people who are interested in learning certain trades, for people who don't feel like they are ready for college, or for people who can't afford to attend a four year institution. However, if you're traveling all the way from the UK to go to college in the US, a community college is probably not what you're looking for.

Reply 7

stifa

Can't you do advanced entry to a 'real college' if you have graduated from a community college? Some community college in Washington offers that for Norwegians wanting to study abroad in the US at least...

Reply 8

Sharri5

Original post by stifa

Yes, many community colleges offer transfer programs to 4-year universities. Basically, it's set up so that yo can take the first 2 years of college at a community college and then transfer, thereby saving you lots of money.

Reply 9

LaughingBro

American English pissed me off a lot!

Reply 10

stifa

Original post by LaughingBro

American English pissed me off a lot!

What does this have to do with TS' question?

Reply 11

kikimckenzie

*6th forms in England

Reply 12

AspiringGenius

Colleges are undergraduate study mainly,

Universities are post graduate study mainly.

The eqivilant to our sixth form is senior high :smile:

Reply 13

skamp

Original post by AspiringGenius

Universities are post graduate study mainly.

This is incorrect. Universities have both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Reply 14

AspiringGenius

Original post by skamp

This is incorrect. Universities have both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

In the UK, Universities are both. In America, University is post grad, College is under grad. :smile:

Reply 15

GooseNation

6th Form in UK = Junior and Senior years of High School

University in UK = College in the USA (it's just they call it college/university/or even school)

Reply 16

chiky

In U.S.A. most peoplesay "college" instead of University since it's easier to say, ifsomeone tells you I graduated at University such and such he would sound as ashow-off. If they ask you which one, then you tell them the name of theUniversity you graduated from.If you tooka CFGS (Associate's degree) you would have to refer as JUNIOR COLLEGE (which isa two-year school that offers certificates, associate's degrees, andlower-level tertiary education ,i.e., half of an undergraduate's degree, whichcan be transferred and continued at a full, four-year college or university). On theother hand, you get a "College" or University degree after completed4 or more undergraduate studies. In U.S.A. for instance, you get a degreein..... (Political Science i.e.) and if it's an Art's degree like philosophy,arquitecture, Industrial Design, etc., you get a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in....... if it's a science major then you get a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) in.... Economics, Biology, etc. Best regards!!!m��

Reply 17

serebro

UK Sixth Form = High School (both 'graduate' at 18)
UK University = US College
UK Polytechnic/College = US Community College

BUT

A Levels = equal to a 'freshman' (1st year) course in the US

The USA also has AP Subjects (Advanced Placement) which are like A Levels for students who want to save money (by doing university credits while at school) or those want to get into top colleges.

Reply 18

vaudevillain

Both are institutions where you receive undergrad bachelor's degrees, so they will be equivalent to UK universities in terms of what you put on your CV (relative to the schools of course.) In terms of content, A Levels will heavily resemble intro level undergraduate courses in the US

Reply 19

sherri11

As said previously, this is incorrect. All universities have both undergrad and postgrad. I attended one university for both my undergrad and postgrad. I would say MOST students were undergrad, likely because a much smaller percentage actually go a postgrad degree. Please take a sec and pick a random website for a university in the US and see for yourself. I don't know whether colleges only have undergrad, but I'm guessing that probably isn't the case either.