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The US boasts the largest education system in the world. There are more than 12,000 institutions of higher and specialised learning, thousands of public and private high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, kindergartens, language schools, and so on. The good news is that the sheer number of education institutions provides the relocating Brit with a wide array of study options. The bad news is that sorting through the vast amount of information can be daunting and time-consuming for most. Combine that with the obvious dissimilarities between the education systems of the US and the UK, and it can get confusing.

Early years

In the US, education is compulsory for all children until they are 16 years of age. Most children begin one year of kindergarten at age five, after which they will enrol in an elementary school (commonly known as a primary or infant school in the UK). Some elementary schools also offer kindergarten classes. Elementary school in the US starts at grade one and ends at grades five or six. This means that the average student would attend elementary school from approximately age six (grade one) to 11 or 12 (grades five or six).

The next step after elementary school is middle school. While there are some exceptions, most middle schools offer education at grade levels six to eight (ages 12 to 14). This would be roughly equivalent to education levels primary five to secondary two in the UK. Middle schools could be stand-alone schools, completely independent, or they could be part of a high school. After grade eight, students in the US enrol in high school, which most often encompasses grades nine to 12. Students generally stay in the same high school until they graduate and are ready to enrol in a university.

Higher education

Upon completion of high school and receiving a high school diploma, students who would like to further their education have many choices. A popular option is to enrol in one of the approximately 12,000 universities or colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree. Most bachelor degree programmes in the US take anywhere from three to five years to complete, with four being the average. However, students also have the option of enrolling in one of the thousands of community colleges or junior colleges, which award associate degrees. An associate degree requires approximately two years of study and is equivalent to approximately half the academic level of a bachelor’s degree. In addition, a student can also earn an associate degree and then transfer into a university or college to complete a bachelor’s degree with approximately two additional years of study.

The US offers top-notch, post-bachelor education options in the way of master’s and PhD programmes. This is commonly referred to as “graduate school”. It is important to note that medicine, law, dentistry, and a few other degrees are only offered at the graduate level in the US. This means that, in order to earn a medical degree, for example, a student first has to complete a bachelor’s degree (perhaps in biology), and then enrol in a graduate school for approximately six years. Law degrees at the graduate level take approximately three years to complete.

At high school level and above, US students complete courses in certain subjects in order to earn “units”. This unit system is inherent in almost all higher learning institutions. High schools, colleges and universities require that a student successfully complete a certain number of units in order to graduate from that school. As an example, a high school student may be required to complete a geometry course and earn three units as part of the maths curriculum.

Public or private?

Now that we have discussed the various education levels and the unit system, let’s touch on some other important factors to note. Public schools in the US are free to attend and are paid for with public funds and, generally, administered on the state or county level. In order to attend a public elementary, middle or high school, a student must physically reside within a certain area (called a school district) established by the school board. Students outside this area must enrol in their allocated elementary, middle, or high school. That explains why homes in school districts with excellent schools generally are more expensive to purchase or rent, much the same as in the UK.

Private schools, meanwhile, are privately run and can enrol students from anywhere. Of course, private schools are substantially more expensive. An excellent private school like Trinity Prep (located in Orlando, Florida) charges approximately $12,000 per year for a student attending the ninth grade (secondary three).

Exams and grading

Other points to keep in mind about the US education system are its exam and grading system. American schools generally favour administering on-going, continuous tests and exams rather than one main exam at the end of the year. This means that to be successful, a student has to be diligent about studying regularly and scoring well in frequent tests, quizzes and exams. US schools generally award a letter grade (A to F) or a percentage grade for tests and exams.

Most schools convert these letter or percentage grades into a system called Grade Point Average (GPA), with 4.0 being the highest GPA attainable. For example, if a student scores an A+ or above 95% in a class, he or she will earn a GPA of 4.0. An A- or score of 90 – 95 will secure a GPA of 3.7, so on and so forth. US universities and colleges will scrutinise a potential student’s average GPA (among other factors) in deciding whether to enrol that student.

The US truly boasts some of the most exciting study options in the world. Schools like Julliard (film and acting), MIT (engineering), Harvard (languages, business and law), Johns Hopkins (medicine) and many others are world-famous and excel in their respective fields. Armed with a better understanding, you will now be more prepared to navigate your way through the US education system.

For more information on schools, universities and general education in the US, visit USA Study Guide at: www.usastudyguide.com.

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