Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In the USA, college is where people "discover themselves". You waste two years taking general education classes and then graduate with a $30,000 loan. Most likely have minimal experience just a paper that says you passed some exams.
In European nations, people mature at an earlier age. By the time they are 16, they have a general idea what they want to do. Most people go into trade schools so they are an actual benefit to the society.
There are people who are terrified of being shunted into tradeschool due to poor achievement in the lower grades, though. More people would like to go to uni, but the system in some countries at least is (or was, I don't know about the situation in the 21st century) set up to sort people between uni and trade schools. Others sometimes make a choice very early in life that they later regret, but find that it's too late to switch from the trade school track to a university-bound track.
I understand what people mean by calling a place like Oxford a college town, but it is still quite different from a US college town.
A US college town really is in 'bumblefuk' or in the boondocks. In many of the colleges I've visited, there really isn't much of a town to speak of, and there is no industry's in most of these places. A few farms here and there, rest of the "townies" have a few grocery stores and what not. These towns really are nothing more than just places to field a single college (not even multiple).
I guess you've visited the wrong towns. Try Berkeley, California. Stanford, CA. Eugene, Oregon. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ithaca, NY.
1) Totally depends on the university. Turku and Linz have universities with what I'd call a campus. I bet there are a couple more...
The campus being the Student Village? The people living there are everything from college students to families with children. And for what I know, there's not a "campus community" around there.
BTW, it has been for years one of the areas with the lowest rates of crime in Turku.
Going to a community college is WAY different than going to a university here in the states. It's just like "the rest of the world" according to the posters here. There is no housing, no sports, not much school spirit, and a tuition of $2300 for 18 credit hours! $1300 for me cause I got a scholarship from I don't know where! People just don't really hang out at college, but there is a community and there are a number of clubs.
But even going to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where I'm going, is a lot different than the University of Colorado at Boulder. CO springs, unlike Boulder, isn't really a party school or athletics school although they do have some. It's mostly commuters, and the tuition at CO springs is about 1/4 that of boulder, about $7000 full time 18 hrs.
In the USA, college is where people "discover themselves". You waste two years taking general education classes and then graduate with a $30,000 loan. Most likely have minimal experience just a paper that says you passed some exams.
In European nations, people mature at an earlier age. By the time they are 16, they have a general idea what they want to do. Most people go into trade schools so they are an actual benefit to the society.
A little judgemental don't you think?
Some people might see it a different way. While many Americans go away to college and "let loose", the simply experience of living away from family does teach one to be self-reliant, living in a new town around people you don't know gives you some unique life experiences.
Now the issue with loans, trade schools being a better option for some, these things you have a major point that needs to be addressed in the US. However, "growing up" entails many different things, and one can argue that in Europe, people not living away from their parents ever until 30 is not exactly maturing earlier.
Going to a community college is WAY different than going to a university here in the states. It's just like "the rest of the world" according to the posters here. There is no housing, no sports, not much school spirit, and a tuition of $2300 for 18 credit hours! $1300 for me cause I got a scholarship from I don't know where! People just don't really hang out at college, but there is a community and there are a number of clubs.
But even going to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where I'm going, is a lot different than the University of Colorado at Boulder. CO springs, unlike Boulder, isn't really a party school or athletics school although they do have some. It's mostly commuters, and the tuition at CO springs is about 1/4 that of boulder, about $7000 full time 18 hrs.
There are people who are terrified of being shunted into tradeschool due to poor achievement in the lower grades, though. More people would like to go to uni, but the system in some countries at least is (or was, I don't know about the situation in the 21st century) set up to sort people between uni and trade schools. Others sometimes make a choice very early in life that they later regret, but find that it's too late to switch from the trade school track to a university-bound track.
Honestly, looking back if I wanted to make big bucks I probably shouldn't have bothered going to uni, gone to TAFE, got an apprenticeship or just headed straight for the mines, raking in $200,000 a year instead of $60,000 year as a planning officer.
I understand what people mean by calling a place like Oxford a college town, but it is still quite different from a US college town.
A US college town really is in 'bumblefuk' or in the boondocks. In many of the colleges I've visited, there really isn't much of a town to speak of, and there is no industry's in most of these places. A few farms here and there, rest of the "townies" have a few grocery stores and what not. These towns really are nothing more than just places to field a single college (not even multiple).
I think it really depends on what campus or what university you are talking about.
St. Peter, MN (Gustavus Adolphus College) or Morris, MN (University of Minnesota - Morris) probably fit your description quite well.
On the other hand, there are some cities that would not be exactly the same without a university yet still hold up well. Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin, main campus) and Duluth, MN (U of M Duluth) are good examples.
I had only one professor who insisted that we use Dr. Lastname, when speaking with her. The others were pretty fine with using first names, or at least with "Mr. Smith," or similar.
Of course, such familiarity gave rise to a few misunderstandings:
"Chevy, give me a cigarette."
"Sorry, Professor Susan, I'm out. Gotta buy more."
"No, you're not. Gimme a smoke."
"Seriously, I'm out."
"You want to be docked grades?"
"Susan? You don't really mean that."
"No, I guess not. Who do you know who might have some smokes?"
I still passed the course.
I agree. I avoid any awkwardness by simply directly addressing them.
Some feel that is the privilege of a PhD to be called "Professor", and considering the work that goes into earning a PhD, I don't blame them. Some, on the other hand, want you to call them by their first names.
American universities are less structured than most universities in Europe, from admissions onwards. The top-tier universities, in addition to looking at your SAT/ACT score (two completely different standardized college entrance exams accepted by most universities) and grade point average, peer into the volunteering and extracurricular history of every applicant, as well as their racial/income background (minority and poor students have an edge). To be accepted into these universities, one must join many clubs and/or sports in high school, have a record of volunteering, etc.
Europeans seem to focus more on test scores for admissions. Numerus clausus doesn't really exist in the U.S. either.
Students in American universities must take "liberal arts" or "gen-ed" classes. My school actually had 8 or 9 categories of these, and you had to do all of them. For example, you had to take one history course, one religion course, etc. The only specific courses that I was forced to take, however, were English Composition, Communications (basically public speaking), and a first-year seminar specific to my college.
They also have more freedom in choosing exactly what classes they will take. For example, if I am a junior (3rd year student) wanting to major in Women's and Gender Studies, and my university is offering six classes in WGS this semester, I can choose "Post-Colonial Feminism", "Transgender History", "The Subversive Pageantry of Drag Shows", and a full liberal arts course (e.g. a foreign language or Freshman (first-year) Composition), while never taking "Women's Literature" or "The History of the Phallus: A Deconstruction of Patriarchy". Most majors have only so many credits you must take in that major, and it's common to switch majors half-way through or to even dual-major in something, even while graduating in the standard four years. For example, I could have double-majored in my major and Applied Economics and graduated in four years, if I would have only chosen my classes more carefully.
Majors also often have volunteer and/or extracurricular requirements. For example, you might be asked to attend four speeches by famous authors that are held on campus, and write a page about each, for submission with your "portfolio" before graduation. Fortunately for me, although this requirement was written down, it was not enforced.
Are courses usually taught in lecture halls in Europe? Seems like that's all I've seen on TV. Europeans may get this impression of Americans from TV and movies, but more specialized classes are often very small, sometimes fewer than ten students. Even in my macroeconomics class- which you would expect to be large - there were only ten or so other students.
Overall, I'd say comparing a European university (or high school) with an American university (or high school) is like comparing a major chain store, such as Walmart or Carrefour, with a gigantic bazaar - perhaps the Djemaa al'Fna in Marrakesh or the Boqueria in Barcelona.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And for what I know, there's not a "campus community" around there.
