American University

Life

The University of South Carolina

 Education in the United States
 Start school at 5 years old - Kindergarten

Elementary(Primary) school at 6 or 7 years old

Middle School(Junior High School) by 11 years old

High School by 14 years old
 Passing an Exam in you Senior year you will receive
a High School Diploma

University by 18 years old

How does this compare to China?
 College or University
 College and University are both can be used
interchangeably
 Universities are usually larger than colleges and
offer more courses of study
 Colleges are usually smaller than colleges and off
less course of studies
 Both offer four year(undergraduate) degrees or
Bachelor's Degrees
 Community College
 Community College is different from University
 It is smaller and offers 2 year degrees or Associate's
Degrees
 Community Colleges offer courses that train you for
a job such as a Nurse ( 护士 ) or Electrician( 电工 )
as examples
 What are the meanings of college and university in
china?
 Cost of University
 Going to college in the United States is not free but
students must pay money to the school in order to
attend(Tuition)
 Very often students can go for free if they have very
good grades or get scholarships.
 Another option is loans(borrow money from
Banks or from the Government) to pay for school
 How do America and China compare?
 Getting into College
 Most colleges have admission criteria(things you
must do to be able to attend that college)
 They often include:
 High Grades(GPA)
 High School Diploma
 Recommendations from Teachers
 Interview(usually from Top Universities)
 Essay or Personal Statement(What you will do
with your life)
 Admissions test such as the SAT
 The University of South Carolina
 The largest University in the state of South Carolina
 Has a student body of 30,000
 Located in Columbia, South Carolina
 The University of South Carolina
 It is a typical American University
 Universities are made up of many colleges such as
the college of Engineering, college of Arts and
Sciences, College of Mass Communications as a few
examples
 The Horseshoe

 Favorite place for students to study

 Oldest part of the University
 Classes at American Universities
 Students can decide what time they would like to take
classes and which classes they would like to take
 Classes are usually offered 3 times a week for 45
minutes or 2 times a week for 90 minutes
 The Size of a class ranges from just a few students to
Hundreds
 The way a class is structured is determined by the
Professor.
 Seminars
 Class of just a few students
 Usually are advanced classes with a heavy focus on
discussion
 Lecture Hall
 Large halls with hundreds of students
 Very common in your freshman year
 Only the professor speaks and students just listen
 Student Living
 Most American Universities require first year
students to live on camps in dorms
 After your first year students can move “off
campus” and find housing that is suitable for them
 There are many apartment and housing areas
designed specifically for students
 Dorms at USC
 There are many different types of dorms with
different environments
 There is the Honors Dorm for the smartest and
brightest students
 Dorms that speak certain foreign languages such as
French and Spanish
 Dorms for People who play sports such as
Basketball players
 Preston College
Community for Music and the Arts
 Green Quad
 A dorm that focuses on the Environment and the
dorm is Environmentally Friendly
 The Russell House
 A place where students can eat on-campus
 The Russell House
 Fast Food on the Second floor such as Pizza Hut and
Taco bell
 The first floor you can get typical American Foods
like salads, grilled chicken, and macaroni and
cheese as a few examples
 There are also restaurants in walking distance where
you can eat
Off-Campus Housing
 Sports at the University of South
Carolina
 The favorite sports at USC is American Football,
Basketball, and Baseball
 Most American Universities participate in games
against other universities.
 The universities that do participate have Football
Fields, Basketball Stadiums, and Baseball Stadiums
Willams-Brice
 Willams-Brice Stadium
 Football Field
 Carolina Stadium
 Baseball Field
 Colonial Center
 Basketball Stadium
 Mascots
 Most if not all American Universities have a Mascot
which is a figure that represents the University
 Our mascot is cocky the Gamecock
Gamecock
 The Arts at USC
 USC also focuses on the arts as most Universities
Do.
 Most Universities have places for students to
perform their art
 Koger Center for the Arts
 Performances of all types are displayed
USC Symphony
 Longstreet Theatre
 Plays are performed
 Student Life
 Most Students take an average of 5 classes per
semester
 Studying is left up to the student
 Most students prefer to study outside, in the library,
or at local coffee shops and bookstores
 Outside the Classroom
 When students are not studying or in class most like
to do extracurricular activities such as join clubs
 They also go to the gym on-campus and participate
in sport matches against one another
 They also may exercise
 Attending Football, Baseball, and Basketball games
against other universities is also very popular
 Strom Thurmond
 Gymnasium with Basketball courts, swimming
pools, and exercise equipment
Inside of Strom Thurmond
 Graduation
 Once a student has fulfilled the requirements and
classes of the University they are allowed to
graduate and are given a diploma for their major