Obtaining a higher education and studying at the university are the processes extended in time. Most importantly, education should eventually lead to the cherished goal – employment in the specialty with the prospect of career growth. Obtaining higher education is a serious step that should be preceded by adequate preparation. One of these steps is the selection of the university, and furthermore, the selection of the country in which the student plans its further education. Despite the fact that the higher education system in the United States is one of the best in the world, comparative analysis between American high education and higher education of other countries will familiarize not only the advantages but also disadvantages of American high education system.
There will be two examples – Germany and France. Higher education in France and Germany is rigidly structured; each specialty involves the study of a particular set of disciplines. All higher education institutions are autonomous enough, but ultimately they are under the control of the Ministry of Education. This trait is especially felt in France, where education in public universities is much more prestigious than in private. However, in the United States, the Department of Education does not play such a big role in the education itself because many U.S. states also have a state-level department of education.
In Germany and France, as well as in the USA, students decide which lectures to attend, and which ones can wait. Certainly, there is a specific set of subjects that simply must be learned. The most significant difference between education in Europe and the U.S. in terms of students is in teaching methods. In Germany and France, the emphasis is on theory and independent study of the subject. This means that a student must form his or her own opinion on a particular issue, based on a lecture course and trends in domestic developments. In contrast, the education in the United States is famous for its practicality: the student does not study many “extra” disciplines, thus focusing on doing what will be directly useful in further professional activities.
All higher education in the United States is paid, so the struggle for the applicant compels universities to introduce new courses or modify the old ones, while often at the expense of the subject being taught. However, students pay $ 20000 for an average year of education in a private university, whereas in a public university student pays $ 14500. At the same time, there is a well-developed system of social support for the poor students in the U.S., as well as the system of scholarships for education. A student can get a grant to study on behalf of the local baseball team or “the club of amateurs of the cactuses”, of course if he proves that he versed in it and cannot live without it. Therefore, the U.S. system of higher education provides external support for students, so it makes the American high education system unique among all the systems of higher education in the world. The program, by which American students are learning, is almost impossible to describe because every university is working as per its own individual plan. Common to all higher education institutions of the U.S. is only that, in four years, you can get a bachelor’s degree, and in six years you can get the master’s degree.