| There are many types of colleges and universities in the United States, and several different ways in which Americans identify them. Classification can be based on whether a school is financially supported by a state or not, the history of a school, how and when it was first established, or how the school primarily functions now. International students - coming from quite different educational educational systems - may be unfamiliar with the ways schools are sometimes classified in America, so here's some more information: "Public" Universities
These are state-affiliated institutions that are publicly supported (financed by public taxes) and they're usually large in size. They normally offer all levels of degrees and many different fields of study. Public colleges and universities are relatively inexpensive for residents of the state where the schools are located (since they're funded in large part by state tax revenues). Foreign students pay "out-of-state" tuition, which is higher, often significantly so. International students may find it hard to gain admission to these schools at the undergraduate level, because preference is often given to state residents. This is especially true in the fields of engineering, business, and computer science. Many state university systems have a number of different campuses situated all around the state. Sometimes one campus will be the preeminent one in terms of research and graduate study - this school is sometimes referred to as the "flagship" campus of the system. There are many notable public universities across the country. Here are just a few examples: - Purdue University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Ohio State University
- University of California
- University of North Carolina
- University of Texas
Small Liberal Arts Colleges
There are hundreds of small liberal arts colleges throughout the United States, enrolling anywhere from fewer than 1,000 students to several thousand. They are usually dedicated primarily to the undergraduate study of the traditional arts and sciences disciplines: Humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Strictly liberal arts colleges are often quite old (by U.S. standards, anyway!) and are usually private schools (meaning they're supported by tuition fees, private donations, and grants). Many of these colleges were traditionally single-sex (all-men or all-women), but that's only true these days in a handful of cases, usually exclusively women's colleges. Sometimes these schools were founded with a religious affiliation, but the overwhelming majority of them don't take this into account anymore in terms of admissions or day-to-day student life. These colleges are usually highly rated institutions because they stress small classes, individual attention for their students, and a close relationship between the faculty and students. Many of them also generally have stringent admissions standards. Among these schools are: | 