All You Need To Know About US Education System

If you have dreams of pursuing your higher education aspirations in America then you need to be armed with all knowledge pertaining to the US education system. In this post I am going to give a brief outline here. We shall discuss the levels of university/college course now-

First Level Undergraduate

It normally takes about four years to earn a bachelor’s degree. You can either commence your studies with a bachelor’s degree at a community college or a four-year university/college. In the first two years of study you will normally be needed to take numerous classes in diverse subjects (prerequisite courses): arts, literature, science, social sciences, history, etc. This increases your general knowledge, and gives you a foundation prior to focusing on a particular subject field.

Many students prefer to study at a community college and complete the first two years of prerequisite courses. Later they earn an Associate of Arts (AA) transfer degree and next transfer to a four-year university/college. You must choose your major (specific field of study) at the beginning of your third year of school. You will need to take a definite number of courses in this field so as to satisfy the degree requirements of your major. You can switch your major during your under-graduation if you desire so. 

Second Level: Pursuit of a Master’s Degree

Presently, a university graduate with a bachelor’s degree may want to seriously think about graduate study in order to advance their career. This degree is typically obligatory for higher-level positions in fields of library science, engineering, etc. To gain admittance, you have to take the GRE (graduate record examination). Certain master’s programs stipulate precise tests, like LSAT for law school, and MCAT for medical school, GRE/GMAT for business school. You should inquire about the credentials needed to get a job in your country before you apply to a postgraduate university in the USA.

The majority of a master’s course duration is spent in classrooms and a student must prepare a long research paper called a “master’s thesis” or complete a “master’s project.”

Third Level: Pursuit of a Doctorate Degree

The attainment of a master’s degree can be deemed as the first step towards receiving a PhD. However, at some schools, students can plan directly for a doctorate without earning a master’s degree. For international students, it may take as long as five or six years to earn a doctorate. 

For the first two years most doctoral candidates have to register for classes and seminars. Then another year is spent performing actual research and writing a thesis. A doctoral thesis is a dialogue and précis of the current scholarship on a specified topic. Most U.S. universities require their applicants to have a reading knowledge of at least two foreign languages, to spend a mandatory amount of time “in residence,” to qualify in exams that formally admits applicants to the PhD program, and to qualify in an oral exam on the similar topic as the thesis. 

The US education system is regarded to be one of the best in the world and it will be beneficial for your career to pursue higher education there. 

What You Need To Know Before Pursuing Medicine In USA

Do you dream of studying medicine in the United States? Well, you certainly have set your eyes on the best. However, you should know that it is exceptionally demanding for international students to pursue medicine in US. Only if you are willing to put your heart and soul and are passionate, then you can realise your dreams.

The application process is a bit time consuming, hence before applying, you must be sure that you have a four year bachelor degree. Each school lays down its own requirements of the subjects, but majority of them allow a science degree in biology, organic chemistry or chemistry. Therefore, it is imperative to decide the school while pursuing your under graduation to be prepared beforehand.

You will also have to appear for the MCAT test to determine your critical thinking abilities. Comprehensible writing, problem solving is assessed along with your knowledge of diverse scientific concepts pertaining to biology and chemistry.

With a suitable bachelor’s degree and a fine MCAT score, you are good to start the application process. However, as an international student you will be at disadvantage compared to native students as most of the public schools are obligated to utilize all or most of the funding received on students who are inhabitants of the institutions state. However, a student can successfully apply to a private university, but this is highly expensive compared to the state sponsored institutions. So, you should cautiously appraise the pros and cons of the each school that you will apply to and settle on which school is best suited for you.

A medical school normally takes 4 years completion with 3 - 7 year residency to undergo painstaking practical training in the chosen field. You can pursue a sub specialisation shifting from 1 to 3 years after which a fellowship can be studied for.

You will have to undergo intensive education and full-time participation is necessary. Usually first year will have broad memorisation, with the subjects- anatomy, pathology and biochemistry. The classes are divided between classroom and labs which gives theoretical and practical knowledge. You will also be going through clinical rotations while you study. This gives a firsthand experience on how to mingle with the patients and enables a student to diagnose a disease and its probable cause. Before you get the medical degree, you have to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination test which is considered as board exam. The test will be in three parts which a student takes during his degree. You need to pass in all the three stages in order to gain entry in a residency programme.

Due to the amount of time, costs involved and the effort it requires this may not be for everyone. If you are really passionate about medicine and possess the mental ability to conquer the adversities then only should you decide to take this challenge. However, once you complete it then you will be counted amongst the best which makes it worth it.

Why a College Education is Important

The world today is fast paced with technological advances and the job market has become very competitive. It is not surprising that employers want college educated candidates. A college education may be the finest investments of time and money for your career. While workers with a high school education may well secure jobs with good remuneration, it is the college grads that usually fare better by landing higher-level jobs with larger salaries. Also college grads are expected to obtain promotions, receive raises and develop interpretation and communication skillfulness that can be related to their jobs.

Better avenues and Higher Salaries
As technology advances, higher-paying jobs that were previously accessible to high school grads now entail some form of higher education. If you have college degree then several avenues are opened up to you than having a high school diploma does. Those who don’t have educational degrees are more liable to be restricted to basic jobs in service, construction and manufacturing sectors.

While the manufacturing sector used to be at the center of our employment market, the trend today is changing to jobs in further sectors which want more definite proficiency. As a result employers are more likely to select candidates with better training and education from the vast number of available candidates. The U.S. Census Bureau released a 2011 report of American Community Survey (ACS) which stated that people with a bachelor's degree were expected to earn a 40-year lifetime salary of around $2.4 million on an average, while high school grads could only expect a lifetime salary of about $1.4 million (www.census.gov). On average, those who had master's degrees received $2.8 million and those with professional degrees could anticipate life span earnings in surplus of $4 million.

Salaries by Major
The opening salaries of college grads normally surpass those of people who only possess a high school education, even though the subject a student majors in also controls his/her salary prospective. On an average basis a person with college education makes almost twice as much money as a graduate of high school. As per 2011 American Community Survey, people with an engineering bachelor's degree who found work in management could look forward to a lifetime salary of $4.1 million, which was approximately $3 million higher than the regular for those who majored in education and were in public services sector.

Better Life Skills
When attending their classes, college students regularly develop the reasoning dexterity required to make important life decisions, like purchasing a home to helping their kids choose their own college. In reality, college grads are highly likely to have kids who also go to college/university for higher education Other benefits of educational degrees may comprise of better self-discipline, study routine and supportive behaviors which make them successful in their career projects and responsibilities.

It has been evident in the past few years that job market has more opportunities for you if you have college education. You don’t need to look beyond the above facts to conclude that pursuing higher education in colleges in USA is the way to a better life.

Factors influencing Choice of College Major

We all know that there are several factors at play when an undergraduate student chooses his/her major: interest, aptitude and plans, etc. However, one major factor is the income level of the student’s parents. If parents have less money, students are more prone to go for “useful” majors, such as computer science, while those from more affluent families frequently found to take up subjects like history, languages and the arts for their college major.

This is the conclusion of researchers who assessed data from the National Center for Education Statistics for a latest Atlantic article by Joe Pinsker, “Rich Kids Study English”. After reading this article I found that I was in agreement with the conclusion which had been drawn. In my career of teaching I have seen that the children who hail from small income group families normally sign up for “useful” subjects like computers, math or medicine when they apply to universities in USA.

As per the article, the quantity of money a college student's parents make draws a parallel with what that student studies in college because occasionally students with high-income background don't feel the similar monetary pressure to decide a practical field of study. Furthermore, Kim Weeden, Cornell University sociologist who conducted the study concludes that on completing their college education, prosperous students might have the advantage of a safety net if they aren’t able to land a job or are underemployed. Poor kids refrain from majoring in performing arts or humanities as these are riskier in terms of job opportunities.

Now, I don’t think it is particularly hard to arrive at this conclusion as poorer kids tend to make this decision out of necessity as they know that they have to make money on their own instead of waiting for inheritance like the affluent students. They gravitate towards landing jobs which enable them to make money quickly. The Georgetown University study analyzed the income level of 137 college majors and it concluded that STEM and business grads make the highest amount of money after completing college.

I found out that doctors and surgeons usually hail from low-income families. Fact check for instance, the preliminary salaries for health majors are around $41,000, whilst humanities and liberal arts majors earn an average of $29,000 per annum in entry-level jobs. The top degree programs (as per the study conducted) as per the lifetime earnings are:

1.Medicine or dentistry with $ 5.25 million for men and $2.12 million for women.

2.Business graduate degree with $2.91 million for men and $1.89 million for women.

3.Law graduate degree with $2.9 million for men and $1.77 million for women.

No wonder students from not so affiliated background choose education courses which offer them the best job opportunities.  Jobs which require professional degrees actually gain higher economic returns in the open market which isn’t surprising. I find this quite disconcerting as students should not be forced to make decisions just because of their financial background. Each child should be able to make the choice based purely on their interests and not under pressure.