Types of Higher Education Institutions

The United States of America offer a wide variety of institutions for students at all levels.

Public universities: These are state-affiliated bodies run with the support of public taxes. All levels and degrees are available along with the widest variety of subjects. These universities are inexpensive for those living in the state. For overseas students, the tuition fees are higher. The popular names under this category are University of Texas, Pennsylvania State University, University of California, California State University, etc.

Private Universities: These are not sponsored or supported by any Governmental organisation. The tuition fees for native and international students are at par, although the fees are higher. Some notable universities under this category are George Washington University, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University etc.

Ivy League Schools (Universities): The eight universities in this group focus on undergraduate education of liberal arts, and also have associated professional and graduate schools under them. Admission is very competitive with steep tuition fees. Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Brown, Columbia ,Pennsylvania and Dartmouth are the universities in this group.

Small Liberal Arts Colleges: With a stress on undergraduate courses, these colleges offer humanities, sciences and social science courses. These bodies have smaller classes and focus on individual attention. They have extremely tough admission standards. Swarthmore, Manhattan, Amherst, etc., are some of the colleges under this category.

Technical Schools: These schools offer engineering, science and research programmes. Graduate level students with a strong background of science and maths attend these colleges. Some schools under this category are Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), California Polytechnic Institute, and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Community Colleges: These colleges offer higher education, granting certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and lower level tertiary education. De Anza College and Bellevue Community College, among others, fall under this category.