Education Level

An-U · #21 03-16-2003, 07:07 PM

Hope to pass the a-level, abi, bac, matura or whatever you name it next year and then I'll hopefully go to uni. (just good that there's no nc for what I'm gonna study

)

Becky · #22 03-16-2003, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas Anderson

Just out of curiosity, can someone tell me how the American school system works? In the UK we finish High School at 16, College for 2 years and A Levels, and then university for 3/4 years and Degree's.

Typically, Elementary school is grades K through 4. Middle school is grades 5-8 and High school is grades 9-12. The school system is responsible for the needs of special students from ages 3 to 21. Most people finish 12th grade at age 17 or 18. College is optional. Some people go and some don't. We have Jr. Colleges or Community Colleges that typically offer 2 years of classes and if you go into certain technical fields you can get an Associate's degree. Liberal Arts degrees typically take 4 years for a Bachelor's. A Master's in most any field will be an additional 2 years (or so). A Doctorial degree will depend on the field. Some take 2 more years. Some take 8 years--it totally depends on your speciality and what's required to get there. Some Doctorial degree programs skip a Master's level completely. Also, a person can extend the amount of time they're in school by taking classes part time while working. Most people don't do graduate programs full time unless they're going into medicine or a field where they really can't get a job and continue to slowly take classes. However, most colleges do require you to finish any program within a certain time frame. For instance, if you're doing a two year program part time, you might have 6 years to finish it.

Becky

{_Warrior_} · #23 03-16-2003, 07:59 PM

I´ll be phd

Jovian · #24 03-16-2003, 08:07 PM

I answered Master's Degree, since I have already completed my Master's Thesis and now all I can do is to wait for it to be read and graded.

About the school systems, in Finland kids usually start school at the age of 7. Before that, they either stay at home if one of the parents is not working or are placed in various forms of day care, such as municipal day care centres (municipal kindergartens) or private day care. Also, at the age of 6, kids can attend pre-school either part time or full time.

At school then, our institution of compulsory education is known as the Comprehensive School. Classes 1-6 are known as the lower level of the Comprehensive, and classes 7-9 are known as the upper level. Once a kid has successfully passed all 9 class levels, s/he's free to leave school for good if s/he so chooses. Most teenagers however choose to continue to the Upper Secondary school, which is more or less equivalent to the American Senior High. At the end of the Upper Secondary students have to take the Matriculation Exam (like A Levels in the UK) in at least 4 subjects, one of which must be their mother tongue (Finnish or Swedish, as we are a bilingual country) and one the other national language (again, Swedish or Finnish). The other 2 subjects can include Maths, first foreign language (for most ppl that's English but it can be something else too), second or third foreign language, or something we call "reaali" is a big combination exam where you have to answer in at least six questions (??) in for example biology, geography, history, religion, psychology, philosophy, chemistry, physics or "philosphy of life" (for the lack of a better word). You can either answer all questions from one subject or divide your answers between several different subjects.

Not all Finnish teenagers go to the Upper Secondary though, as some ppl are not "academically inclined", so to speak. At the age of 16 after completing the comprehensive school, it is also possible to go to various vocational schools or institutes and basically get out of school and start working at an earlier age than if you go to the Upper Secondary. When students have completed their Matriculation Exam or a basic level exam at a vocational school or institute, they can apply to Polytechnics which aim at tertiary level vocational degrees (like Bachelor's Degrees) or to Universities which aim at Bachelor's Degrees or Master's Degrees. Most students who go to University stop at the Master's Degree, but if one has managed to find a fruitful subject of study, it is possible to continue to a Doctorate.

For now, there are no strict time limits for completing university degrees in Finland. The study grant and the student loans are only granted for 55 months, but if one can finance their studies somehow, the actual studies can take, well, as long as you want basically. I should know, it has taken me a hefty eight years to complete my Master's Degree.

I was of course working in between for more or less a full academic year, during which time I didn't do any studies cause I simply didn't have the time or the energy for it... But even if you count that out, one can't exactly say I would've completed my studies in a record time.

Then again, for a humanities student like me, taking seven or eight years to complete the MA degree isn't really all that rare.

Late · #25 03-16-2003, 11:48 PM

Quote:

or something we call "reaali" is a big combination exam where you have to answer in at least six questions (??)

Eight.... I´m aiming for history and maybe physics....

Quote:

But even if you count that out, one can't exactly say I would've completed my studies in a record time.

Hahahahah.

You can´t believe how long I have been laughing at that. No offense of course...

So, basically TRADENOMI is Bachelor of Business Administration, right? ´Cause that´s what I´m going to be. Ain´t EVTEK a Polytechnic?

Ville did well but his party didn´t, eh?

ugly_queen_from_mars · #26 03-17-2003, 01:21 AM

i'm in the university studying political sciences and history (international relations, sociology, psychology, law, european studies...etc etc)

Mongoose · #27 03-17-2003, 02:51 AM

American education is funny, you have to actually "pass" and finish High school

anyway in 2 years I should have a BA

Mongoose · #28 03-17-2003, 02:52 AM

and btw Mike, I went to a primary school, then Middle School - then it would have been onto high school but I moved to sheffield. To a comprehensive as you call it I guess

Jeanne · #29 03-17-2003, 05:06 AM

GET READY
THIS IS COMPLICATED!!!

I won't vote directly because Quebec system is different because we are a french province in an anglophone country!

In the anglophone province of Canada like Ontario, you get to go to law school as a gradute degree. so you have to do an undergrad like a BA to get to law school.

In quebec, you have to do your High school which is one year shorther. ( i got that one)

Then you have to do CEGEP, a two year education that look like first year of university, its a pre0university degree. ( I got that one in science,letter and arts).

Now, after this I went directly to law school ( I will be done law school next year). so i'm kind of doing a graduate degree with no undergrad.

What is more funny (people in quebec are crazy) is that i'm doing two law degree at the same time. I will get a LLB a law degree for commonlaw like USA and England, because the anglophone province of canada are common law. I will also get a BCL a civil law degree because Quebec practice french law like in France.

so the summary would be I will get 2 gradute law degree!!!

Mongoose · #30 03-17-2003, 05:12 AM

I didnt vote because none of the above actually fit my posistion as a university Student

damn yanks

View Poll Results: What is your highest level of education?
Doctorial Degree	1	3.13%
Master's Degree	4	12.50%
Bachelor's Degree	8	25.00%
Associate's Degree	1	3.13%
Presently in college	10	31.25%
Some college, no degree, not presently taking classes	0	0%
Completed High School	1	3.13%
In High School or Jr. High	7	21.88%
Did not finish High School	0	0%
Voters: 32. You may not vote on this poll

Education Level

NBJ - Everything Else