Higher Education in the usa and Great Britain

It’s not easy for the students to enter a college at a leading university. A college may accept only 1 out of every 10 who apply.

The system of higher education includes 4 categories of institutions: 1) the two-year, or community college, which is financed by the local authorities. Tuition fees are low and many American students study in them. On graduation the students can work or may transfer to 4-year colleges or universities; 2) the technical training institution where students study different technical skills such as: design, business, accounting; 3) the four-year college; 4) the university where the young people can get a master’s degree or a doctoral degree. All the institutions are public (financed by the state) and private where the fee is about 12 thousand dollars a year. The students can receive a grant, a loan (which the student must pay back after graduating).

The academic year is usually 9 months, or 2 semesters. Students study four or five different subjects. The student’s progress is controlled by the tests. A student’s record consists of his grade in each course: A – is the highest mark, F – is a failure.

Thus we see the American system of education gives the students much choice which they can realize according to their will.

Many students in Britain are taking full-time post-school education courses, including a combination of full-time study and job experience.

There are 79 universities; they enjoy complete academic freedom. They appoint their staff, and decide what and how to teach. The kinds of institutions are quite different. Polytechnics tend to be more vocationally oriented than universities, providing sub-degree vocational courses as well as traditional academic degree courses. Many polytechnics have close links with commerce and industry, many students have jobs and attend part-time.

The open University is non-residential and offers degree and other courses for adult students of all ages in Britain. Its teaching method is a combination of correspondent tuition, television and radio broadcast, peculiar computer programs, using video and CDs and residential schools.

Over 500 colleges of further education run courses from catering to business studies. Most further educational courses are vocational, but many colleges offer more academic courses. Some students prefer full-time education, but many young people attend college part-time, by day- or block release from their jobs.

The New National Vocational Qualifications, based on standards of competence set by industry, are designed to ensure the relevance of vocational qualifications to employers.

Applying for a job

The happiness of any person largely depends on having suitable and desired job. One may learn of a job vacancy in a newspaper, from a friend, from the employment agency or TV advertisement.

To apply for a job you are interested in, it is necessary to convince the prospective employer of your ability to do this job well. The first thing you should do is to prepare a resume (curriculum vitae – BrE). A resume must contain a summary of essential facts about your background: personal data, career objective, work experience, education, and references. You should emphasize your strong points in your resume. For example, if you have no job experience, stress your personal qualities (sociability, honesty, reliability, efficiency etc.) or educational background. Well-composed resume will make the prospective employer understand what abilities make you a suitable person for a particular job.

If you succeed to interest the employer he will invite you for interview. Interviews are conducted on the various patterns: there are traditional one-to-one and group interviews, board or panel interviews where applicant is interviewed by a panel of interviewers, «deep-end» interviews which give to a candidate the opportunity to demonstrate his skills and apply his knowledge.

To make a good impression on the interviewer it is important to find some information about the company or institution you are going to work at. Besides, there are some rules of behaviour at an interview. For instance, when greeting the interviewer you should wait until he shakes your hand. Also, you shouldn’t sit down until he offers you to do that. During the interview it is common to avoid discussing personal, domestic or financial problems if you are not asked about.

Interviewers can’t check applicant’s professional skills immediately, so, the first thing they are attracted to is the agreeable personality and friendly attitude of the interviewee. You shouldn’t criticize your former colleagues or employer: criticism helps to reveal your own negative qualities.

Interviewers are usually interested in qualifications of the candidate, his previous job experience, motivation and the reasons of applying for that job. During the interview you may ask questions too – about salary, probationary period, social guarantees, transport facilities to or from work, chances of promotion. But you should discuss the subject you are interested in after the interviewer introduced it.

It is clear that job interview is a stress situation for any applicant. The majority of interviewees feel nervous, and not everyone is able to show his worth during the interview. But it is necessary to do all one’s best because the conclusion about the candidate is made within the first ten minutes of the interview.