Today, although the quality of education in famous universities led by Ivy League is recognized all over the world, most American universities have not really integrated professional and general education at the undergraduate level. So there is a difference between a comprehensive university and a liberal arts college.
In short, the college of arts and sciences is more inclined to the general education of pure liberal arts, attaches great importance to the cultivation of college students' comprehensive quality, and puts the cultivation of professional skills in a secondary position. Comprehensive universities, in general, want to give consideration to professional skills and liberal arts general education. On the one hand, it pays more attention to the setting of professional courses and research related to majors than the college of arts and sciences; On the other hand, for students of any major, a minimum credit requirement for general courses will be set. However, compared with the college of arts and sciences, there is a big gap between the curriculum requirements and the teaching staff of general education.
Liberal arts general education at undergraduate level is the greatest educational advantage of American universities compared with domestic universities, and it is also an important aspect that distinguishes American universities from undergraduate studies in Canada, Britain and other countries and regions.
It is not difficult to understand why American universities attach great importance to liberal arts general education at the undergraduate level. For example, it is normal for them to change majors freely during their freshman and sophomore years, even if they change majors three or four times. If you transfer to the United States halfway (whether from an American university or anywhere else in the world), you can also change your major and apply for transfer to the United States. You can easily take double majors or multiple majors; Even if you don't take more than one major at the same time, you can freely take interested and non-professional related courses according to your own interests.
Because the education purpose of American universities at the undergraduate stage is to encourage students to try extensively and dabble in many aspects when they are young, find what they really like and are good at, and then dig deep. Whether it is a professional course in senior year, further study in the future, or entering social work after graduation, it is based on fully confirming one's strong professional interest.
Summary: The United States is still the most mainstream destination country for studying abroad, with many famous schools, and the advantages of science, technology, culture and economy are the added value of studying abroad. The core advantages of undergraduate education are diversified school-running styles, solid liberal arts education, high degree of freedom in changing majors and multi-majors, and flexible academic system.
The trend of vocational skills education in Britain is very obvious, and the most attractive place is often the education system that can graduate from undergraduate courses in three years. The reason why I can graduate in three years is that in the last year of high school, the British mainland has actually entered a pre-university education.
The British higher education system, which focuses on the cultivation of professional skills, not only closely focuses on professional courses in university courses, but also has a complete division of labor, such as finance, marketing, risk management, human resources and real estate management in business fields, which are generally offered at the undergraduate level in British universities. In contrast, the division of business majors in American universities at the undergraduate level is still relatively rough.
In addition, undergraduate courses in the UK also offer medical and legal related majors, which are open to international students. This is a great advantage of British undergraduate education compared with American undergraduate education. For example, international law, dentistry and veterinary medicine can all apply for British undergraduate courses, but the application threshold of such disciplines is higher than that of conventional majors.
The curriculum of British universities is relatively strict, not as free as that of the United States, so everyone's learning progress and pace are similar, and naturally they all graduate in three years.
Because of the industrialization of education, in order to attract more international students, British universities have provided various bridges and language courses (such as various preparatory courses) as a foreshadowing for formal entry into universities. In other words, as long as you apply to a British university and study hard, no matter what your background is, as long as you pass the exam, you can enter an ideal university.
Summary: The industrialization of education in Britain provides the corresponding study paths for international students. For students who are not fully prepared to go abroad, they can also realize their dream of studying in Britain through the curve of saving the country such as preparatory courses.
Although Canada is also a Commonwealth country, its education system is not exactly the same as that of Britain. Generally speaking, undergraduate education in Canada tends to cultivate professional skills, but it also provides students with a certain degree of freedom.
For example, when freshmen enter school, they may be admitted to a college, such as engineering college or business college. After entering the school, they will finally determine the target major according to their professional courses. But after determining the major, it is not as easy to change majors as American universities.
In terms of professional subdivision, Canadian universities are more detailed than the United States, but not as detailed as the United Kingdom. Canada's medicine is very strong, but like the United States, it is generally not available until the postgraduate stage, and the entrance threshold is very high. A great advantage of studying in Canada is to provide a wide range of education majors at the undergraduate level.
Canada's top universities, including McGill University and the University of Toronto, are all public universities, and class competition is fierce. Moreover, even a top university like McGill has many classes for freshmen with more than 400 students. For students with poor real language ability or self-control, it is difficult to have close communication with professors in order to achieve excellent results.
Famous schools in Canada generally combine leniency with severity. It seems that the application threshold is lower than that of famous American universities, but the elimination rate of undergraduate courses is much higher than that of American universities.
Compared with Britain and America, Canada's whole study abroad policy has a strong tendency to attract excellent immigrants. In recent years, in addition to studying abroad, other immigration channels in Canada have become increasingly difficult. Students studying in Canada are free to apply for a work visa with a maximum validity of 3 years before the student visa expires.
Getting a visa, solving the identity problem, and then slowly looking for a job can greatly alleviate the psychological pressure of international students seeking employment. After finding a job, it is not difficult to get a maple leaf card step by step according to the different immigration policies of Canadian provinces.
Summary: The biggest advantage of studying in Canada lies in the convenience of staying in Canada to work and immigrate. Canadian universities provide more support for international students' employment during their study and after graduation than British and American universities. For students with clear professional direction and career planning path, studying in Canada is an excellent choice.
After understanding the overall undergraduate education system in the United States, Britain and Canada, I believe that everyone has some new understanding of studying abroad. Finally, let's make a summary:
1. Students who want interdisciplinary development, or students who don't want to lock themselves into a narrow professional field too early in the undergraduate stage, prefer the United States.
2, the professional direction is clear, and the possibility of changing majors is very small, which is more suitable for the UK.
Families wishing to immigrate through studying abroad should take Canada as their first choice.