At College In College At the Univeristy In the University

[melo]

Which is correct:
Mark is in College
or
Mark is at College

Mark is in the University
or
Mark is at the University

[Philly]

Hi
.
In American English:
.
Mark is in college. = Mark is currently attending a college/university.
Mark is at college. (Some people use this to mean the same thing as the first sentence.)
.
I think most Americans would use the word college no matter whether the particular school is actually called "college" or "university" (i.e. Swarthmore College / Princeton University)
.
.
Using a specific name, I think most people would then use "at":
.
Mark is at Princeton.
Mark is at Swarthmore.

[melo]

Molte grazie Philly
Carmelo

[MrPedantic]

For British English:

1. Mark is in College = Mark is at present within the grounds of the college he attends.
— This would require a certain context: one of the British universities (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge) which are composed of separate colleges. The speaker would also very probably be in (the vicinity of) the college.

2. Mark is at College = either:
a) Mark is at present within the grounds of the college he attends, e.g.

"Where's Mark today?"
"Mark? Oh, he's at college."

b) Mark is enrolled on a course at a college. He isn't necessarily there now, e.g.

"What about Mark? What's he doing these days?"
"Mark? Oh, he's at college."

3. Mark is in the University = Mark is at present within the grounds of the university.

4. As #2; but both speaker and addressee must know which university it is, e.g.

a) "So Mark's living in Manchester now, is he?"
"Yes, he's at the university."

b) "Where's Mark? I haven't seen him today."
"Oh, he's at the university."

Cf. however

c) "What about Mark? What's he doing these days?"
"Mark? Oh, he's at university."

All the best,

MrP

[melo]

MrPedantic
Thank you so much!
In Italy we say, "Piu' chiaro di questo...l'acqua!= Clearer than this...water!

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by melo

Which is correct:
Mark is in College
or
Mark is at College

Mark is in the University
or
Mark is at the University

I agree with Philly about AE. Let me add this: "in college" means enrolled at the current time; "at college" presumes enrollment and it describes his current location. One can be in college but be at home visiting his parents.

We can say "at the university" to describe the person's location.