There are about 3,000 universities that offer undergraduate programs. More than 1,000 universities that offer Masters programs, and approximately 400 of these offer Doctoral and Post-Doctoral degrees (PhD). There are several types of universities in the U.S.
Public Universities
These are state-affiliated institutions and some may include the words "State University" in their title. They are relatively inexpensive when compared to the other universities nation-wide, but getting admission into these universities can be more difficult than a private institution. State universities tend to be very large with enrollments of 20,000 or more students. Also, many government-funded research projects are allocated to state universities, which provide research assistantship opportunities for highly qualified students. Most of the universities offer partial or full tuition fee waivers to teaching and research assistant students.
Private Universities
Private institutions are supported by student tuition, investment income, research contracts, and private donations. Tuition fees tend to be higher at private universities than at state universities, but they charge the same tuition to both state and out-of-state residents.
The quality of education is equal between public and private universities. The main differences are funding and fees. Public universities are funded by state governments, student tuition payments, and private donations. Since public universities are supported by state governments, they give enrollment preference and lower tuition fees to the in-state students. All international students are subjected to out-of-state tuition. However, the tuition is usually lower at most state institutions than at private institutions, even for those who are out-of-state residents.
Community Colleges
These are institutions normally run by a certain community for their own people. Many high school graduates who cannot afford to go to a university, or who simply are not ready for a four-year institution, will choose to go to community college. These institutions accept international students, but they have a fewer number of attendees, as most students are commuters from the near-by area. Although community colleges focus on undergraduate programs, some offer good graduate programs as well. These institutions will be mostly located in suburbs, and the basic advantage in these institutions is minimum academic fees.
Technical Institutes
These are institutions mainly specializing in engineering degrees, mostly at the Masters and Doctoral level. These institutions are famous for their renowned research programs and most international students are attracted to these sorts of institutions.
Admission into universities is very competitive, and decisions are made based on the student's application package, including resume, samples of previous work, and letters of recommendation. Academic fees vary from university to university and usually range $7,000-35,000 per year. An average academic fee is $10,000-12,000 per year, excluding living expenses.
University Ranking
Various organizations define U.S. university ranking by various factors, such as number of programs, acceptance percentage, and enrollment. There is no official university ranking list available to students by the government or any educational-related organization. The most commonly used ranking report is the one published by US News.
TOP 20 Ranked universities.
Rank
Institution Name
City
State
University of Southern California
Los Angeles
CA
Columbia University
New York
NY
Purdue University, Main Campus
West Lafayette
IN
New York University
New York
NY
University of Texas at Austin
Austin
TX
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign
IL
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
MI
Boston University
Boston
MA
University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles
CA
The Ohio State University, Main Campus
Columbus
OH
Texas A&M University
College Station
TX
University of Maryland College Park
College Park
MD
Indiana University at Bloomington
Bloomington
IN
Penn State University - University Park
University Park
PA
University at Buffalo - SUNY
Buffalo
NY
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
PA
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison
WI
Harvard University
Cambridge
MA
Florida International University
Miami
FL
University of Houston
Houston
TX
Vocabulary notes
Hire-нанимать
Schoolmaster-школьный учитель
plot of land-участок земли
attend-посещать
elementary and secondary school-начальная и средняя школа
curriculum-учебная программа
guidance and funding-управление и финансирование
upon completion-по завершении
enroll-включать в список
obtain-получать, достигать
be admitted-быть принятым
bachelors degree-степень бакалавра
prior to-до
graduate school- аспирантура
approximately-приблизительно
allocate-размещать, распределять
tuition fee-плата за обучение
waiver-отказ
partial-частичный
investment income
private donations-частные пожертвования
community-сообщество
suburb-пригород
application package-пакет документов
samples of previous work-образцы предыдущей работы
average-средний
excluding living expenses-исключая расходы на жизнь
