Faced with the unclear epidemic development and the changeable and complicated situation of studying in the United States, many families who study in the United States as their "first choice" have considered transnational applications. The United States, Britain and Canada are all the most attractive destinations for studying abroad in terms of education quality, facilities resources and overall cultural atmosphere.

However, different countries have different educational systems and application requirements. If there is no clear understanding between countries, it is likely to affect the application results and even the study in the next few years. Do you choose a multi-country mixed application and what should you pay attention to when choosing a country to study abroad? Next, through horizontal comparative analysis, help students to better understand the educational models of the three countries and make rational choices.

Characteristics of educational systems in various countries

United States of America

American higher education strives to learn from others, hoping to take into account the advantages of the two branches of education in the world, namely, junior college education (that is, the cultivation of professional skills as the core goal) and liberal arts general education (that is, the cultivation of the bottom quality such as thinking ability and dialectical ability as the core goal). Therefore, American universities pay more attention to liberal arts education at the undergraduate level, while professional education pays more attention to graduate education, which is also an important aspect different from studying in Britain and Canada.

Undergraduate education encourages students to try extensively and dabble in many aspects when they are young, find out 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. In the eyes of American universities, students' long-term development potential is more important than their grades. Only by doing what you really like can you find your greatest potential and creativity. These long-term development potentials depend very much on basic abilities other than professional skills, such as humanistic quality, critical thinking ability and communication ability, which can be cultivated by liberal arts general education.

The undergraduate course in the United States is the credit system. The well-known "four-year" university, compared with domestic universities, is actually an average study time. In other words, you can apply for graduation as long as you meet the credit requirements required for graduation. For students who have spare capacity for study, they can complete their undergraduate studies faster.

In addition, education, medicine, veterinary medicine, law, which are very narrow disciplines, are in the stage of postgraduate education in most cases, and it is impossible to study these majors at the undergraduate level in the United States.

Britain, England

The most attractive place in Britain is often the education system that can graduate from undergraduate courses in three years. British universities attach great importance to in-depth study in professional fields. From the first year to the last year of college, it is a course to learn and expand professional knowledge. This requires applicants to choose their own majors at the stage of admission application, and different majors often affect the course selection in high school.

The British higher education system, which focuses on the cultivation of professional skills, has a complete professional subdivision, and there are sub-fields such as finance, marketing, risk management, human resources and real estate management under the business field. In addition, medical and legal majors are offered at the undergraduate level, and international students are recruited.

However, the curriculum of British universities is relatively strict, so everyone's learning progress and pace are similar, and naturally they all graduate in three years. Some British universities also offer four-year undergraduate-postgraduate courses, which is also a relatively convenient study abroad program for students who want to get a master's degree. If you don't consider experiencing different university atmosphere during the undergraduate and master's stages, the undergraduate and master's programs in Britain will save you the trouble of applying for a master's degree after graduation.

On campus culture, British universities adopt a very unique "college system". After entering a specific college of the university, everything from eating, drinking, housing and transportation, paying tuition fees to daily study is in your own college. Although this strengthens the relationship between students and teachers, it also makes it much more difficult to change majors when studying in British universities than in the United States.

Canada

Canada belongs to the Commonwealth, so it inherits the rigor of British universities. However, due to its geographical location closer to the United States, it also integrates the flexibility of many American universities.

Undergraduate education in Canada tends to cultivate professional skills, but it also provides students with some 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.

The formal academic system of Canadian universities is four years, but it may take four and a half or five years to graduate if there is a co-op paid internship program that combines work with study. However, because Canada is also a credit system, it is also possible for students with fast progress in master's courses to graduate early. In addition to the distinctive co-op project of combining work with study, Canada's policy of changing student visas into work visas is the best embodiment of Canada's warm welcome attitude towards international students studying in Canada. Unlike Britain and the United States, which set a certain threshold for international students' work visas, Canada's entire study abroad policy has a strong tendency to attract outstanding immigrants.

Matters needing attention in application

Generally speaking, the materials required for American university applications are also applicable to Britain and Canada, and students do not need to prepare for standardized exams. However, the following differences should be noted in advance:

Britain, England

1. Compared with the United States, British universities pay more attention to students' academic ability, such as whether they can delve into academic problems, whether they have enthusiasm for learning, the degree of mastery of knowledge, and the planning of future study plans.

2. British universities have certain requirements for the number and scores of AP exams for domestic and international students. After entering the school, they usually receive a conditional admission notice. Only by meeting the basic requirements of the school can you enter the school; Different majors have different requirements for IB and A-Level scores and subjects, which need to be understood according to the major.

3. Because of the industrialization of education, in order to attract more international students, British universities provide various bridges and language courses (such as various preparatory courses) as the basis for formally entering universities. In other words, as long as you are willing to apply for a British university and study hard, no matter what the background conditions are, after a period of hard work, it is possible to prove your ability with excellent results in the preparatory course and enter the ideal university.

Canada

1. Students in the domestic ordinary high school curriculum system can directly apply for Canadian undergraduate courses as long as they complete the curriculum requirements and examination requirements of their respective systems; If you want to apply for an American undergraduate course, you need to take the SAT/ ACT exam.

2. Each college of Canadian University has a greater say in admission, and the application requirements will be different.

Finally, Sheng Boyou and Bian Xiao want to remind that American universities have clear batches of EA, ED and RD. Although Canada and Britain also have deadlines, they are basically rolling systems. They can submit it when they are ready, and the results will come out after the review. Therefore, students considering international application should plan the overall application rhythm.

Multi-country mixed application has added more choices for the study abroad party whose study abroad situation is still not completely clear this year. If you have a wide range of academic interests, a wide range of curiosity, hope for interdisciplinary development or don't want to set yourself up in a narrow professional field too early in the undergraduate stage, the United States is still the best choice; And if the professional direction is clear, famous schools in Britain or Canada can also consider it.

After understanding the overall undergraduate education system in the United States, Britain and Canada, we should seize the time, make preparations as soon as possible, and make clear the target of studying abroad. Collect information of institutions, select institutions suitable for application, prepare various materials according to the requirements of the school, and start to create documents. Only by sowing hard in advance can we enjoy the joy of offering "falling" at the time of harvest!