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Newyork Colleges |
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The American Education System New York universities and colleges are among the top educational institutions of USA. But before applying, the non-American students should understand that the American academic system and degree programs are slightly different from those in the Commonwealth countries. There is no federal university system; but for the institutions of military services, there are no national level public universities. Each state has one or more public universities called the state university. It is a non-profit institution and is funded and operated by the state government entities. In addition, there are private universities and colleges, too, which may be either for-profit or non-profit entities. Another unique feature of the American education system is the nomenclature of degrees. After the secondary school education, the next step is under graduation and then graduation. There’s no concept of post-graduation. Under graduation is a four-year program and the completion results in awarding a bachelor degree called B.A or B.S. Some colleges award an Associate degree on completing the first two years. After Under graduation, the next step is graduation which can be either a master’s program or a doctoral program. This is called post-graduation program in the Commonwealth countries. Graduation takes around 12-24 months and a doctoral program may take 5-8 years to complete. New York Universities and Colleges ‘New York’ indicates both the state of New York, situated in the northeast region of USA, and the city of New York in that state. Though Albany is the state capital, New York City is the most well known city in the state. It is the largest city in the state and also the most densely populated city of USA. In our present article we’ll discuss the colleges and universities in the state and unless otherwise specifically mentioned New York means the state. New York is a hub of education and houses around 200 public and private colleges and universities. Its public university is called the State University of New York (SUNY). The City of New York, too, has a public university called the University of New York (CUNY). Apart from these two and the colleges under their purview, the rest are private organizations. SUNY Established in 1948 and with around 64 campuses spread across the length and breadth of the state, SUNY is the largest university in USA. The university has to its credit student enrolments of over 400,000 and faculty of over 30,000. It has in its fold all the state-supported institutions of higher education in New York excluding those in the purview of CUNY. The university website lists out all educational institutions under its authority. CUNY Established in 1961, CUNY is the largest urban university in the US. It has around 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, a law and graduate school in its purview. In 2004, nearly 46 per cent of the college students in the city enrolled into CUNY which bears testimony to its reputation. With full-time faculty of over 6,000, it comprises three varieties of educational institutions – senior colleges which grant bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees; community colleges which confer associate degrees; and graduate and professional schools. The university website gives the details of all educational institutions under its authority. Private Universities & Colleges With over 450,000 students, New York’s independent education system is the largest private sector for higher education in the world. There are over 100 for-profit and non-profit oriented private colleges and universities in New York. They are regulated by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU). Admission Process The admission process in New York universities and colleges is more or less similar to the rest of America. However, each institute has its rules for admission. One should carefully check the admission criteria, deadlines for disbursement and submission of applications, fee structure etc. All the institutes have comprehensive websites, giving all the essential details. In case of doubt, you can even write/mail to the concerned authority for clarifications. Each university/college has an independent admissions procedure. Admission criteria for undergraduate courses require the applicant to get test scores such as SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) or ACT (American College Test). The required score depends on the reputation of the institute. Secondary school grades, extra curricular activities carry considerable weight. Graduate programs such as MA, MS require GRE (Graduate Record Examination) score. Management courses require GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) score. Students from non-English speaking countries are required to get TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score. The applicant’s GPA (Grade Point Average) score is also considered while processing the application. Recommendation letters of the instructors from undergraduate schools, vouching for the credentials of the applicant, are a must. Most of the institutes require the applicant to write a ‘Statement of Purpose’, justifying his/her candidature, explaining career aspirations, why s/he wants to apply to that particular organization and why s/he chose a particular program. It is advisable to apply to at least 4-5 institutes because there’s no guarantee that the first institute you apply to would grant admission. One can make either an on-line or paper application, but should do well in advance depending on the deadline of the particular college. Foreign students should start preparing collecting the information at least 12-18 months before the academic year they want to enroll in. Curriculum & Evaluation New York being one of the major educational centers, the range of specializations offered by its educational institutions is very wide. Before applying one must go through the websites of various institutes and compare the programs and specializations offered by them. Even though the program name is the same the choice of specializations, curriculum and focus of the course might differ. Some are research-oriented whereas some give more importance to coursework and practical training. The performance of the students is evaluated on a grading scale of A-D. Graduate students should maintain a ‘B’ grade on an average to stay in the program and to earn their degree. ‘F’ indicates fail. Fees & Funding Higher education in America is very expensive. Students from outside New York and foreign students are charged more fees. The cost of each program is given in the college website and it differs from institute to institute. Public universities are state-funded whereas private colleges rely on tuition fees. So, they are more expensive than public universities. Though cost does not represent quality the popular assumption is that private colleges offer better quality education. All most everybody avails financial assistance to complete the degree. There are many web-based programs that provide financial assistance to students. The US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) program is the largest source of student aid in US. Among the undergraduates, nearly 75% of SUNY students and 80% of CUNY students receive some kind of assistance in the form of scholarship, grant, loan or employment. Scholarship is merit-based and grant is need-based. Neither of them requires repayment. But student loan should be repaid with interest. The website of each college gives details of the fees for a particular program, the types of financial assistance available and the mode of applying for it. Needless to say the career prospects after completing the course are many and varied depending on the stream of specialization.
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