The United States of America is the best study abroad destination. Hundreds and thousands of international students choose to study in the US every year. The USA has the quality and the world wide recognition education system.  The US universities have high ranks in the QS world university rankings. Program flexibility to choose from, practical approach to guide through the career path and the great faculties are also helping study in the USA to make it popular. 

Education system in the USA:

Education system in the USA has three sets: public, private and homeschool. Public schools are the common schools and the state owns and governs these schools setting the standards. Hence they are also referred to as state schools. Private schools are privately owned schools. These private schools are often governed independently. Homeschool is often given by the parents to their children at their convenience in the home. But the overall education standard is set by each state. The US Department of Education (ED) ensures equal access to education.

K-12 (Kindergarten to grade 12) education is mandatory in the United States. One must appear for the K-12 schooling in state owned public schools or state approved private or homeschool. 

We are focusing on the education system for international students, so not digging deep into the complete education system in the USA. However you can learn about the complete education system in the USA here. 

Post secondary education in the USA:

After K-12 there is a post secondary education or a higher secondary education. Most of the international students go to the USA to get higher secondary education. This is the optional final stage of formal education in the United States of America. Post secondary education in the USA mainly go through the

  • Community colleges
  • Private colleges
  • Universities

You can study in the USA in community colleges, private colleges or in the universities. But for an international student we prefer to study in the universities. 

Types of universities in the USA:

There are mainly two types of universities in the USA. The public university and the private university. Public universities are the state owned universities while private universities are the for profit universities. For an international student it is always better to choose the public universities over the private universities. However, private universities are not bad but selecting the best private university is quite difficult. Since the public universities are funded by the state government, you are likely to get a good amount of scholarship in the public universities. 

What are the study options in the USA for international students:

Mostly the undergraduate and the graduate courses are the options to study in the USA for any international student. Bachelor level courses and the Master level courses are the popular one. But one can also get a doctorate degree in the USA as well. The flow of the international students is for bachelor level undergraduate degree and then Master level graduate degree. 

What intakes are available to study in the USA?

There are three intakes available to study in the USA.

  • Fall intake: usually starts in August and September
  • Spring intake: Spring intake starts in January
  • Summer intake: Summer intake starts in the month of May. This is not the popular intake and not available in all the universities.

The best intake to enroll for the undergraduate and graduate degree in the USA is the fall intake. Fall intake is the main and major intake in the USA. However, one can also opt in for the spring intake, while missing a fall intake. Summer intake is not advisable as this intake is only available in a few colleges and universities.