overview of us qualifications 9 september 2008 by anne-marie bruner senior international officer/...
TRANSCRIPT
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 *
67 59 129 106
Anne-Marie BrunerSenior International Officer/Study Abroad Co-ordinator