Getting an Education in the USA

Education is important to many people in the United States, and since the middle of the 1800's we have had free public education for those who live in our country. This public education is funded and administered through taxes at the state and local level, but it is federally mandated.

Taking classes and furthering your education can be an important part of increasing your skills, knowledge, and marketability in the work arena. And in the United States, our public education system offers plenty of excellent opportunities for both your children and you, and our private, community, and state colleges and Universities offer a broad variety of choices for advanced education.

About Our Educational System

In the United States, all children are legally required to attend school from the age of 6 until they are age 16 (or up to age 18 in some states) or they are considered truant. All communities will have some form of public education that is subsidized by local taxes. There is no tuition or cost to attend, and textbooks are provided, but parents are expected to provide notebooks, pencils, crayons, and other items that the child will use during the school year. Children in our country usually begin attending school at age 5 by going to Kindergarten. Many schools have half-day programs for kindergarten or allow the children this age to go home earlier than the older students.

Elementary school is grades one through five or six in most communities. The children then go to middle school (junior high) for grades 6-8 or 7-9 (this will vary from community to community). Senior high school is grades 9-12 or 10-12 depending on the school.

The curriculum in the public school system is determined by either a state committee that is funded through state funds, or by local school officials. Most school districts will have courses that include reading, writing, English grammar, literature, math, science, history and social studies, geography, economics, civics (or government), computers and keyboarding, and physical education. Students are also allowed to choose electives, such as art, drama, computer science, home economics or other classes that they are interested in.

ESL Programs

If a child does not speak English as their native language, and the language barrier is great enough to make school difficult, they will be placed in an ESL (English as a Second Language) program with teachers who are specialists in helping the child adjust to their new culture and language. This can help ease the transition for many children. There is such a large number of immigrants in some areas, that bilingual schools have also been set up to help meet the needs of the students.

Vocational and College Prep Programs

Many high schools have special vocational programs that will allow the older student to begin studying for and practicing a career choice if they do not plan to go on to college after graduation from high school. Students who plan to go to college will often take college preparatory courses which will include advanced math, advanced English, Science, or in some schools, Advanced Placement classes. Most middle schools and high schools also offer enrichment classes such as music, art, drama, or an athletics program for the students.

Private Schools

There are usually private schools available in most communities. About 10 percent of the students in the United States attend a form of private school. These are not subsidized by tax dollars; instead the parents pay yearly tuition for their children. Private schools may be either accredited or non- accredited by different certifying organizations, so it's important to check whether the teachers are accredited. Some private schools are "college prep" (preparatory) academies, and almost all of the students that graduate go on to college. About 80% of all private schools will also have some affiliation with a religious denomination and will include some form of religious instruction as part of their curriculum. Others are military schools, and include some form of military training in their curriculum.

Home Schooling

A small number of parents choose to teach their children at home. In order to do this, you must be using an accredited program, and supervised by an accredited teacher. Some school districts in very large cities have home school programs that oversee local parent who home school.

Adult and Community Education

Many school systems have community education programs that are very inexpensive or even free to local residents. These programs are usually sponsored through the local school district, and can include classes such as art, crafts, the Internet, sports, or ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for adults. They may also have special classes for children during the summer, or enrichment camps.

Preparation for College: The SAT and GRE Tests

Before entering college, students here take a special test called the SAT (Standardized Achievement Test) which shows how well they score in subjects such as English reading and comprehension, vocabulary, and math. Colleges often look closely at these scores, as well as the student's overall grade point average in high school, to determine whether they will accept them. You can find out more about SATs and how to apply for them at the College Board Online at http://www.collegeboard.com/.

Students often apply the fall or spring of their senior year to different colleges, sending in a copy of their school transcripts and their SAT scores with the application, and wait to see which ones will accept them.

If you want to go to graduate school, you should take a special test first called the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). This is an extensive test of your math and verbal skills, as well as reasoning skills in the general test. There are special subject areas that may be tested (such as biochemistry, computer science, or English literature) in the GRE subject tests. If you want a post-graduate education, your GRE scores, along with your college transcripts, will be used to help determine your suitability for a college and its graduate program.

Many people study for their GREs by taking special study classes, and/or buying practice books. You can find out more about GREs at http://www.gre.org/.

Finding a College or University

Some job fields require a University degree, such as law, medicine, engineering, or education; other fields give preferred advancement to individuals with a degree, making a college education a valuable asset. In the United States, a large number of those who want to enter professional disciplines choose to go to college or to a University, and our country has one of the highest rates of college students in its population in the industrialized world.

Normally, a college is a smaller four-year school that will award a degree in a special discipline. For example, a liberal arts college might offer classes in Literature, Languages, Art, and Philosophy while a business college would offer classes in finance, accounting, administration, and other business degree related courses.

Universities are four-year institutions that may include several colleges within itself and one or more graduate schools. But most Americans use the term "college" interchangeably with "University". Each state also has a state University, and many, such as California, have a network of state Universities such as UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), UCSD (U. of Cal. San Diego); UCSF (U. of Cal. San Francisco) and others.

There are several excellent sites online that will allow you to look up information about individual colleges and Universities. One is at Yahoo! at http://education.yahoo.com/. If you enter the name of the college you want to know more about, their search engine will look it up for you. You can also go directly to http://www.petersons.com/ (Petersons online) and look up information about colleges and graduate programs in the United States. Just click on their "search" function, fill in the name of the school you are investigating, and it will tell you what you are looking for.

Often the more prestigious the University or college, and the more rigorous the academic requirements, the better the chance of having offers in your chosen field of employment after graduation. Some schools are known for being excellent in a certain area (such as NYU in writing and liberal arts, or Wharton Business School for business), and will increase the graduate's prospects in their chosen field after graduation.

You can learn how various colleges and Universities are ranked by asking different people within a profession, talking to teachers and friends, and researching yourself.

Choosing a Major

Once you are enrolled in a college or University, you will be asked to select a major. A major is a focus of study meant to prepare you to enter a certain field or discipline. For instance, a graphic design major would first take lower level courses that are required for any degree: some math, English, and language credits, as well as science, to meet graduation requirements. They would also take courses related to their degree, such as design, computer science, adobe illustrator, and others.

In order to graduate, the student must complete all of the basic requirements, and obtain a certain number of credits with a passing grade in their chosen major (for instance, the student may need to have a total of 126 credit hours to graduate at some Universities). Some students choose to also have a minor (a certain number of hours in a secondary field of study). For instance, chemistry major may decide to minor in French, and must pass a certain number of French courses to obtain the minor.

When a student graduates from a four-year college or University, they may receive a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, or a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree, dependent on the major that they choose.

Community Colleges

You may be interested in taking classes locally. Most communities have small two-year colleges which award an associate's degree (two year degree) to those who finish their course outlines for a subject. Most community colleges are less expensive than four-year colleges and Universities, and students often study their first two years at a community college, then transfer to a four-year University. If you plan to do this, it is important to check whether you will get credit at the four-year University that you plan to attend for the classes you take at the community college, since some courses may not transfer credit.

Financial Aid

College can be quite expensive, and you may need help with paying for the courses (tuition), books, and living expenses. There are several excellent sites online that can help with information on financial aid and how to get it. One of the better ones is Petersons ( www.petersons.com).

One program, which the federal government has for those who need financial aid for college, is known as FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which has an online site at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. This program, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, has opened the way for many to go to college who could not otherwise. You must fill out an application and mail it in (or fill it out online, using a PIN or Personal Identification Number). The application form is fairly extensive, and will ask about your finances, debts, and tax history in order to determine whether you meet their guidelines.

You must apply for the FAFSA to receive any type of federal student aid, and also to apply for many state student aid programs.

You can also find out information about financial aid for college by going to the Department of Education site online at http://www.ed.gov/studentaid/student.html or by calling the Federal Student Aid Information center between 8 a.m. and midnight Eastern Time at 1-800-4FED-AID (1-800-433-3243).

Scholarships are also available to qualified students who meet the requirements. Often academic ability, certain talents or abilities, and/or demonstrated need are all considered when deciding who will receive a scholarship. Most high schools and colleges have financial aid offices that can also help you with finding out information about financial aid once you are accepted to their institution. Many of these have work-study programs that will allow you to work part-time and help pay for some of your expenses while you are in college.