Understanding The U.S.

College System
College is any education that happens after high school. Sometimes it is called
post-secondary education.

TYPES OF COLLEGES IN THE U.S.

1. The community college offers up to two-year degrees. Students can

spends two years at a community college taking most general education
requirements (“gen ed” or “core classes”) and transfer them to a four-year
college. That's usually called a 2+2 program and it's very common.
2. The four-year college includes large state universities and small private
colleges. They offer the bachelor's degrees.

Degree is an official document that is given to someone who has successfully

completed a series of classes at a college or university.

TYPES OF COLLEGES DEGREES

1. Undergraduate
 Bachelor's Degrees (4 years): Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of
Science (B.S.).
 Associate's Degrees (2 years): Associate of Science (A.S.) and Associate of
Arts (A.A.) degrees are designed to prepare a student for transfer to a 4-
year college to get their bachelor's degree. Associate of Applied Science
(A.A.S.) degree is "career" programs which prepare students for
employment.

2. Graduate (professional degrees you can earn after you finish undergraduate
system)
 Master's degrese (2 years): Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Science
(M.S.)
 Doctoral degrees (4+ years): Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) and Medical
Doctorate (M.D.)

CORE CLASSES

If you want to get an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree, you need to take a wide
variety of classes in different subjects, commonly known as general education
requirements or Academic Core classes. This is so you achieve a general
knowledge, a foundation, of a variety of subjects before focusing on a specific
field of study.
 English: ENGL 93/99/101 English Composition)
 Quantitative reasoning (MATH)

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  Social Science: PSYC& 100 General Psychology, PSYC& 200 Lifespan
Psychology, SOC& 101 Introduction to Sociology
 Humanities: CMST& 210 Interpersonal Communication, CMST& 220
Introduction to Public Speaking

ACADEMIC YEAR
The school calendar usually begins in September and continues through June.
LWTech divides the year into the 4 quarters (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer).
Summer session is optional. A quarter is 10 weeks of classes plus 1 week of final
exams.

CREDITS
Each course is worth a certain number of credits or credit hours. This number is
roughly the same as the number of hours a student spends in class for that
course each week. A course is typically worth three to five credits.
A full-time program at most schools is 12 or 15 credit hours.

GRADING SYSTEM
In the U.S. “grades” and “grade point average” (GPA) are measurements of your
academic achievement. Courses are commonly graded using points, which are
converted into letter grades.

% Points Letter

98.0-100.0 4.0 A Excellent performance

97.99-92.0 3.9 - 3.7 A-

91.99-84.0 3.6 - 3.3 B+

Above-average performance
83.99-80.0 3.2 - 3.0 B

79.99-77.0 2.9 - 2.7 B-

76.99-73.0 2.6 - 2.3 C+

Average performance
72.99 -70.0 2.2 - 2.0 C

69.99 -67.0 1.9 - 1.7 C-

66.99 -63.0 1.6 - 1.3 D+

Minimum performance
62.99-60.0 1.2 - 1.0 D

59.99-57.0 0.9 - 0.7 D-

56.99 and below 0.6 - 0.0 F Unsatisfactory performance

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Grade points are calculated by multiplying the number of credits by the
numeric value of the grade for each course. GPA is calculated by dividing the
grade points by the number of credits of the courses.

Example:
Course Credits Grade

ENGL 099 5 3.7

PSYC& 100 5 4.0

5 credits x 3.7 = 18.5 grade points.

5 credits x 4.0 = 20 grade points.

Total grade points: 18.5 + 20 = 38.5.

Total credits taken for a decimal grade: 5 + 5 = 10.

GPA: 38.5 grade points divided by 10 credits = 3.85.

A “major” is the specific field of study in which your degree is focused. For
example, if someone’s major is journalism, they will earn a Bachelor of Arts in
Journalism.
A very unique characteristic of the American higher education system is
that you can change your major multiple times if you choose. It is extremely
common for American students to switch majors at some point in their
undergraduate studies. Often, students discover a different field that they enjoy.
The American education system is very flexible. Keep in mind though that
switching majors may result in more time and money.

Classroom Environment
Classes range from large lectures with several hundred students to
smaller classes and seminars (discussion classes) with only a few students. The
American university and college classroom atmosphere is very dynamic. You will
be expected to share your opinion, participate in class discussions and give
presentations.
Each week professors usually assign textbook and other readings. You
will be expected to keep up-to-date with the required readings and homework so
you can participate in class discussions and understand the lectures.

Adapted from: https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/58/understanding-the-

american-education-system