At present in order to get a professional job, a college or university graduate with a bachelor’s degree may want to consider graduate education.

 In some countries, international students are only permitted to study at a graduate level. This is because different countries have different requirements, and a student should inquire about the credentials he or she will need to get a job in their country before applying to a postgraduate course in university.

 Usually, international students are able to qualify for the jobs they want after they complete their master’s degree. A post graduate dgree is usually required in fields such as library science, engineering, or social work. Nowadays, M.B.A has become an extremely popular degree that usually takes two years. Some Master’s programs, such as journalism, takes just one year to complete.

An academic master’s program include fields like history and philosophy. These degrees are considered stepping-stones towards a doctorate.

A major chunk of time spent within a master’s program goes in to classroom study only. A master’s degree candidate usually must prepare a long research paper called a “master’s thesis.”

Tej Kohli on the Doctorate (Ph.D.) Degree in America.

Many graduate schools consider the attainment of a master’s degree the first step towards earning a Ph.D. (doctorate). However, some other schools allow students to prepare directly for a doctorate without earning a master’s degree. It may take three years or more to earn a Ph.D. degree. For international students, this time may be as long as five or six years.

During the first two years, most doctoral candidates enroll in classes and seminars. For at least another year, students will conduct firsthand research and write a thesis or dissertation. This paper must contain views, designs, or research that have not been previously published.

A doctoral dissertation is a discussion and summary of the current scholarship on a given topic. Most U.S. universities awarding doctorates also require their candidates to have a reading knowledge of two foreign languages, to spend some required length of time “in residence” attending class regularly, to pass a qualifying examination that officially admits candidates to the Ph.D. program, and to pass an oral examination on the same topic as the dissertation.

Tej Kohli himself is a graduate from the prestigious IIT, Kanpur. Tej Kohli blog is a place to find all the information on education in the US.  For more information keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

Course of study

U.S. students normally learn a vast range of subjects when in college. A lot of students do not specialize exclusively in one field until the graduate school.

The initial two years of college are called the “freshman” and “sophomore” years respectively. A certain schools need freshmen and sophomores to take courses in different areas of learning such as literature, science, the social sciences, the arts, history, and so forth. Bot of them are collectively called “underclassmen”.

The “junior” and “senior”, or third and fourth years, are known as the “upper classes”,while the students are known as juniors” and “seniors”- “upperclassmen.”Upon entering the junior year, students must choose a “major” field of study and take a specific number of courses in this department, or field. Some schools also allow students to choose a “minor” field. The students usually have time to choose several other “elective” (extra) courses in other subjects.

Every student is assigned a “faculty advisor” who teaches courses in the student’s major field. This advisor also helps the student select a program of study.

Each international student will also have an “International Student Advisor”, who helps them adjust to U.S. life, takes care of their visa and other paperwork problems, and conducts activities for them.

 Classroom learning

Classes may vary from large lectures for several hundred students to smaller classes and seminars with only a few students. Students who enroll for lecture courses are often segregated into smaller groups, or “sections”. The sections meet separately to discuss the lecture topics and other material.

Professors typically assign a textbook and other readings every week. They also need several written reports each term. A student will be expected to keep up to date with the required readings in order to join in class discussions and to understand the lectures. Science students must also spend time in the lab.

Academic year

The school usually begins around August or September and continues through May or June. International students are advised to enter U.S. universities in autumn since majority of new students enter at this time, they can adjust together. Furthermore, a lot of courses are designed so students will take them one after another, starting in autumn and continuing through the year.

The academic year at many schools comprises of two terms or semesters. Some schools also use a three-term calendar known as the “trimester” system. Still others divide the year into the “quarter” system of four terms, inclusive of a summer session which is optional.

Credits

All courses are worth a number of “credits” or “credit hours.” This number is approximately the same as the number of hours a student spends in class for that course over the weeks. A course is normally worth three to five credits.

A full program at most schools is twelve or fifteen credit-hours. International students should enroll to a full program during each term.

Transfers

If a student takes admission in a new university before finishing a degree, most credits earned at the first school can be used to complete a degree at the new university. Hence, a student can transfer to another university and still graduate within the usual time.

Marks

Professors give each student a mark or “grade” for each course. The marks are based upon:

• Classroom participation – Discussion, questions, conversation; Students are expected to participate in class discussions, especially in seminar classes. This is often a very important factor in determining a student’s grade.
•  Midterm examination – Usually given during class time.
•  Research or term papers, or laboratory reports.
•  Possible short exams or “quizzes” – Sometimes the professor will give an unannounced “surprise quiz.” This doesn’t count heavily toward the grade but is intended to inspire students to keep up with their assignments and attendance.
•  Final examination – Held some time after the final class meeting.

 Advanced placement

Certain colleges and universities award college credit to students for work they have done in high school. A few other schools also give advanced standing to students who prove that they have achieved college level proficiency in a certain subject.

This implies that a freshman, can take courses normally only open to sophomores.

The school may probably require the students to take a test to prove that he or she can do sophomore-level work, or the school will give advanced placement to a student who has scored exceptionally high on college admission exams. Students who have completed “A” levels at home often receive advanced placement standing.

In the next post on the series of Education System in America, Tej Kohli will talk about the Post Graduate education system. Tej Kohli is an expert career advisor and guide, who’s helped many students attain their goals. For more education tips from Tej Kohli, keep reading this blog.

State Schools

A state school is run and managed by a local or state government. All the 50 states in the US have at least one state university and probably several state colleges.

Private College or University

These schools are run and supported privately and are independent of government control. The fee is usually higher than that of the state schools and are often smaller in size than state schools.

Two Year College

High school graduates can take admission in a two-year college and earn an Associate’s degree. Some of these colleges are supported by state, or are public with others held privately. Before joining a two year college a student should first find out whether an associate’s degree will quality him or her for a job in their country. In some countries, students should have a bachelor’s degree to get a good job. Such students usually transfer to four year universities, where they complete their bachelor’s degree in another 2 years.

Community College

A community college is a 2 year state or public college and usually serve a particular community be it s city or a county. Many of the students live at their homes and commute to the college everyday. Others are evening students who wok during the day. International students are often welcome at community colleges. Community colleges also offer special services like free tutoring, ESL programs, housing and advising services etc.

Professional School

In a professional school a student is trained in diverse fields like art, music, engineering, business etc. some colleges are part of universities, while others are separate entities.

Institute of Technology

These colleges have a minimum of four years courses in the fields of science and technology. Some institutes have graduate programs too.

Technical Institute

Tej Kohli says that a technical institute is one that trains students in fields such as industrial engineering or medical technology. Although the program may prepare you for the career you want, the degree may not be at par with a college or university degree.

Church-related School

A lot of US colleges and universities were founded by religious groups. And most often than not these schools prefer to admit students who are members of the sponsoring religious group.

This post is a part of the Tej Kohli Education blog’s series of education system in America. For more informative posts on this topic keep reading Tej Kohli‘s blog.

The US education system presents students with a wide spectrum of choices. Whether you are an international students, or an American student, the country has plenty of institutions, programs and locations to suits everyone’s needs. The choices are so enormous that an average student will likely be overwhelmed. Hence, to make the whole process of choosing a college easier on you, Tej Kohli blog has complied some useful tips for students. To begin with, a student must carefully observe how each location and program are pivotal in attaining their academic goals. To make an informed choice, Tej Kohli suggests students to first understand how the US education system works.

So lets start by understanding the basic education hierarchy.

Like most other nations, students in US also complete 12 years of primary and secondary education. After earning a diploma or certificate from the secondary school also known as high school, a student is eligible to take admission in college, university, vocational (job training) school, secretarial school, and other professional schools.

Primary and Secondary School

Primary and Secondary Education: It usually begins at the age of 6 for American children. After attending 6 years of primary school, they move on to the secondary school where they can undertake either 2 three programs or a three year program and a four year program. This phase comes under the purview of middle school/junior high school and. Senior high school respectively. In US, these 12 years of primary and secondary education from first through twelfth are referred as grades.

Higher Education

Once a student completes his twelfth grade, they can them move on to college or university level education. This is known as the higher education and before undertaking such course in the US, you must first confirm which level of education in your country corresponds to the 12th grade in the USA. Seek guidance from your educational advisor whether you must spend some extra years preparing for admission in US.

Study at a college or university leading to the Bachelor’s Degree is known as “undergraduate” education. Study beyond the Bachelor’s Degree is known as “graduate” school, or “postgraduate” education. Advanced or graduate degrees include law, medicine, the M.B.A., and the Ph.D. (doctorate).

Keep reading for more informative articles by Tej Kohli.

A homestead is an opportunity to experience the US culture and lifestyle by living with an American family. Every year a number of US families allow visitors from all over the world to come and stay at their homes. These home stays are usually organized by universities, or colleges. A homestay is a great way for a student to learn and experience the lifestyle of a foreign land, while improve their English skills with a local family. There is no age bar in homestays. While some students come alone, others come in large groups. In fact, sometimes an entire family comes to stay including husband, wife and children.

What that makes homestays an enriching experience is the fact that you can closely monitor the lives of the US natives. The everyday experience of living with the hosts takes you closer to their culture and helps you have a better grasp on their life-style. Most hosts involves guests in their day-to-day activities, and introduce them to their neighbors and relatives. Besides this, the guests are also included in various family functions like summertime barbeques, holiday parties, and visits to famous local places.

The homestays can be of various types, it can be a short-term, semester or year long stay, depending on your choice. Then, there are some programs, where students live in the dormitory during the weekdays and spend weekends and holidays with their assigned families.

It has been mostly seen that international students or visitors prefer to stay with families having members of same ages or share similar interests. Homestays are also a great way to foster close bonds, so much so that at times hosts have been seen traveling to their student’s home counties to meet their families and friends.

Some universities run a host family program, where students residing in dormitories are adopted by families. These families become their American families and often invites students to come for a meal, or a family activity. Some families also provide transportation to students.

Tej Kohli believes that an Effective Homestay program help ease homesickness for international students, who find in their hosts a second family who cares for them.

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The type of errors international students make while speaking English, depends on the structure of their native language. For example, Japanese students often have difficulty with articles – “a, an and the” because these are largely missing in Japanese. While some Japanese students omit articles entirely, others try to make up by inducing too many.

Avoid the usage of double negation, because the resulting interpretation may be the opposite of what you mean to say. Also, it is difficult to understand and creates confusion. It’s better to be direct.

Some very common type of errors made by international students are given below:

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In the US, class sizes are generally smaller as compared to other countries. Although, freshers may see a few large classes, majority of classes are small with 15 to 25 students. Large lectures often have small recitation sections administered by teachers or teaching assistants. The aim of recitation sections is to review the study material given in the main lecture, improvise it with extra inputs, and give a chance to ask questions.

Your grades will be determined by how well you score on the tests, quizzes and assignments. So, your active participation in a recitation section can drastically improve your grades. Be sure to remain in the good books of your teachers and teaching assistants…and why? The better they know you, the better they will be able to track your progress.

Unless instructed to make groups with fellow students, you should do all of the assignments yourself. While studying in groups is acceptable, completing individual assignment in groups is considered cheating. Similarly, quoting a text work without properly attributing its source is considered plagiarism, which may result into failing a class or even expulsion from the university.

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English usage among the US populace often differs from the grammar we learn in school. You will also notice significant dialectal variations throughout the nation. Besides, you will find many Americans, who do not follow some of the prescriptive rules of grammar they were taught in elementary school. Rules that disallow split infinitives and ending a sentence with a preposition are often overlooked. Unlike the UK English, American English is continually evolving as Americans interact with people from all over the world.

The usual response to ‘thank you’ is ‘you’re welcome’, but the same phrase has a different meaning in British English.
So, if you’re considering an education in the US, keeping a small pocket dictionary would be useful. You can also refer to any free American English Dictionary and thesaurus on the web. For example, you can use command define:school to find the definition of school.

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The American calender is tagged with many holidays. Listed below are some of the more popular holidays observed in the U.S. Most of the government and private offices, banks and post offices are closed on these days, except fire stations, ambulance and police.

New Year’s Day – January 1
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – Third Monday in January
Ground Hog Day – February 2
Valentine’s Day – February 14
President’s Day – Third Monday in February
St. Patrick’s Day – March 17
April Fool’s Day – April 1
Patriots Day – Third Monday in April
Good Friday – Friday before Easter Sunday
Mother’s Day – Second Sunday in May
Memorial Day – Last Monday in May
Flag Day – June 14
Father’s Day – Third Sunday in June
Independence Day – July 4
Labor Day – First Monday in September
Columbus Day – Second Monday in October
Halloween – October 31
Election Day – Tuesday after the first Monday in November Federal holiday in years divisible by 4
Veterans Day – November 11
Thanksgiving – Fourth Thursday in November
Christmas Day – December 25

Besides this, it is important to recognize the holidays observed by the people of other religious beliefs. Like, some important Jewish holidays including Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkoth, Chanukah, and Passover.

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Tej Kohli picks out some common spelling differences :

In usual Parlance                      In America

centre, metre…                                 center, meter…
cheque                                                  check
colour, flavour…                               color, flavor…
grey                                                        gray
dialogue                                               dialog
judgement                                           judgment
maths                                                    math
plough                                                  plow
storey                                                   story (of a building)
aluminium                                          aluminum
traveller                                               traveler

Complied by Tej Kohli