Overview of US Qualifications 9 September 2008 by Anne-Marie Bruner Senior International Officer/ Study Abroad Co-ordinator.

Overview of US Qualifications

9 September 2008

by Anne-Marie BrunerSenior International Officer/Study Abroad Co-ordinator

Presentation outline

Secondary schools Universities and Colleges Grading/marks systems Standardised tests Other factors

Secondary Schools

Public schools (state-funded) Private schools

Parochial

Preparatory (or College Preparatory)

Independent

Universities and Colleges

PUBLICLY FUNDED Community Colleges, or Junior Colleges

(Associate’s degrees, certificates) Public universities

(Bachelor, Master’s and PhD)

PRIVATELY FUNDED Private colleges (Bachelor, some Master’s) Private universities (Bachelor, Master’s and PhD)

US News & World Report – Best Colleges rankings

National Universities e.g., Yale and UCLA – offer full range of undergraduate majors, master's, and doctoral degrees. Also committed to producing groundbreaking research.

Master’s Universities e.g., Providence and Villanova – offer full range of undergrad programs and some master's programs but few doctoral programs. Four regions: North, South, Midwest, and West.

Liberal Arts Colleges e.g., Oberlin, Dickinson and Middlebury – emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts fields of study

Baccalaureate Colleges including Cooper Union and Daniel Webster, focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. Four regions: North, South, Midwest, and West.

Insert USNWR (screen shot)

Grading/marks systems

GENERAL 4.0 scale

SPECIAL Magnet schools Private schools IB schools

NOTE: AP/IB module offerings

not all high schools offer AP modules. Students are able to pay, register and take the AP test independently, but there is a reduced chance that they will pass. Some schools offer ‘Honors’ or ‘Advanced’ modules instead.

Recalculating GPA

LETTER grades

A = 4B = 3C = 2D = 1F = 0

NUMERIC grades (usually)

90-100 = A80-89 = B70-79 = C65-69 = D<65 = F

School profile 1

Grading scale Scores Accreditation Graduation

requirements

School profile 2

Grade points

score means

School Profiles 3 & 4

British School of Washington equivalencies

GCSE North America

A* A+

A A

B A-

C B+

D B

E C

F D/F

Sample transcript from vocational ‘college’

Standardised Tests

UNDERGRADUATE Entry ACT – American College Test SAT – Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I/ SAT II)

POSTGRADUATE Entry GRE – Graduate Record Examination LSAT – Law School Admissions Test MCAT – Medical College Admissions Test GMAT – Graduate Management Admissions Test

2007 Percent of Graduates Taking ACT/SAT

More than 50% of graduates taking SAT

More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT

8/28/2007Source: WICHE data for number of H. S. Graduates per state, ACT Annual State Reports, College Board Annual State Summary

CT 16/81DC 31/91DE 9/70MA 15/81MD 14/68NH 15/80NJ 11/79RI 9/66VT 22/64

16/53

18/53

15/48

29/41

27/48

18/32

20/61

60/12

30/52

71/6

76/8100/23

77/6

76/3

82/459/28

59/19

78/8

70/6

70/9

66/4

74/6

75/5

79/6

96/4 80/9

97/13

100/8

70/6 70/9

21/6168/27

11/74

21/86

11/98

18/7277/8

16/70

43/61

34/67

54/64

66/20

Score concordance

Other admission factors…

ACADEMIC AWARDS National Merit Scholarship Valedictorian Salutatorian

GRADE TRENDS Private schools IB schools

EXTRA-CURRICULAR leadership memberships

ESSAY

North America recruitment activities

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Study Abroad fairs 27 28 8 21

Study Abroad visits 29 10 21 13

UG recruitment fairs 5 5 13 10

UG secondary school visits 0 13 77 48

PG recruitment fairs 5 1 2 10

PG recruitment visits * * * *

Conference attendances 1 1 8 4

Alumni events * 1 0 *

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Anne-Marie BrunerSenior International Officer/Study Abroad Co-ordinator

[email protected]