Essentials of College in the US and Tips to Find the Best Colleges Worldwide   

If you are looking for information to find the best colleges in the world, including the United States, or searching for general information on different types of college in different environmental areas keep reading this article.

The term college is generally used in English-speaking Canada to refer to all post-secondary education schools. In the United States, it is used to designate a short higher education, as opposed to universities. The systems and methods used can be different from one country to another, from one college to another.

College in Canada

In Quebec, Canada, a college may be a private secondary school. However, it is more common to use the term to refer to post-secondary institutions. Public colleges are officially designated as “general and vocational colleges”, whose acronym CEGEP (Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel, known in English as a general and vocational college) has become a common word, and is used incorrectly to designate all institutions that provide a diploma of collegial studies.

College in UK

In the United Kingdom, the term is used for many types of institutions, ranging from secondary schools to universities:

• Sixth form colleges –  students aged 16 to 18, and complete high school
• Some private schools – some schools in the UK such as Eton College or Winchester College use the term College in their name.
• Elite Institutions – Some professional associations such as the Royal College of Organists or the Royal College of Surgeons and other Royal Colleges.
• Association of Independent Institutions – Certain Independent institutions that make up certain universities
• University colleges – certain higher education institutions that issue their own degrees but do not have university status.

College in the US

Colleges In the US can be private or community (public). a community college is an educational institution that offers post-secondary courses for periods of two, three years, or 4 years, depending on the school or program. Some of the courses offered may be recognized by universities. Technical post-secondary education is also provided by community colleges. Young people are trained to enter the labor market.

Not All Colleges Are the Same

Schools are not only different by their architecture or date of building, more or less recent, or their construction but also the pedagogy. If the educational programs are the same, the atmosphere and working conditions can be radically different. The size of the classrooms and the location of the schools have a great influence on the education of the school. For instance, a small rural school with 100 students cannot have the teaching environment as a giant college which has more than 3,000 regular students.

Colleges in downtown, rural, or difficult zone

Depending on its location, each type of these locations has its advantages and disadvantages.

• Colleges in Downtown. Due to its central location, the institution is easily accessible. Management and school staff and teachers generally have more seniority than the average. They are therefore more experienced … but also more obsessed with their habits or a more traditional teaching. The academic level, according to the results obtained from the college diploma, is often high … but the requirements of teachers are also high: repetition rates may be higher than those of less privileged colleges… certain student difficulties or problems tend to be neglected. In addition, spaces are smaller, often older premises. As most of these centers do not have a gymnasium or a sports field, students must leave the school for physical education and sports.

• Colleges in Rural areas. One of the number one advantages of rural colleges is the available space. More ventilated buildings associated with many green areas make rural colleges ideal for students who want to learn not only from the classrooms but also in nature. Being far from the city, a small town college has reduced risks of too much concentration of students and defuse of tensions. On the other hand, geographical isolation can be detrimental; too often even good colleges in small town can be synonymous with cultural isolation.

• Colleges in Difficult zones. Colleges In “difficult zone” are mainly concentrated in the suburbs. Thanks to the measures of priority education, the classes of these institutions are less busy and benefit from more extensive teaching methods. These schools, although some of them are very good colleges, located in economically deserted areas, tend to experience many social and sometimes security problems. More and more parents whose home is in the area of ​​a college of this type ask for exemptions to enroll their children in institution with a higher success rate and considered safer.