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American education system often feels confusing, especially to new International students. Procedure and structure of this system is quite different from for example, the British model. America does not have a curriculum that is country level.  There are no public schools operated by the Federal Government. Department of education in every state is independent and are regulated by their own guidelines.

There are variations in university policies. Admission to students depend on GPA or Grade Point Average in high school, high school course of study, written essay, ACT or SAT scores and a personal interview. Students usually take the ACT or SAT during their final high school year. In order to gain admission into a university, a student must score minimum marks.

SAT tests test student’s writing skills, mathematics and critical reading. ACT test on the other hand tests a student’s reading, mathematics, science and English skills. As a part of the process of application, students have to write an essay the content and length of which depends on each office.

Undergraduates are those pursuing a Bachelor’s degree. Students studying for a Doctoral degree or Master’s degree are called graduate students. Education system itself is quite liberal. Before students can specialize in a major field, it is necessary for them to take several different courses. Professional courses such as law and medicine are specialized.

Courses at the University are of one semester duration. There is certain number of credit hours a student has to complete per course. The time spent by the student in class determines the credit hours. Normal number of credits per course is three. Certain courses may be lesser and certain courses may extend beyond three credits. In order to graduate, a student must complete a minimum number of credit hours. There is no necessity for a student in America to write a thesis in order to complete most of the Bachelor’s degree programs.

For a master’s program however, it is mandatory for students to complete and submit a final thesis. After taking courses to earn enough credits, doctoral students write qualifying exams which includes both oral and written exams. The next step for students who pass their qualifying exams is to advance to candidacy. They now have to write their dissertation. In front of the faculty committee of the candidate, the student has to orally defend the dissertation before he or she is awarded the degree.

International students who are looking for admissions into American Universities have to be aware of the system in order to effectively adapt and adjust. They can choose universities depending on rankings provided byAcademic Ranking of World Universities and US News and World Report. Rankings are also provided by certain top research universities in America based on admission selectivity, brand recognition, volume of research by faculty and alumni donors. 

A few liberal arts colleges also referred to as “Little Ivies” are known to provide top quality academic training. Public Ivies are public universities which have an outstanding scholarship record. A lot of International students apply for these prestigious universities and a very few of them succeed in getting admission.