University, College, high school, secondary school

[Ju]

To my undertanding,

Depends on different countries, "college" stands for university, high school and secondary school.

Am I right?

Thank you.

 

[Raymott]

Yes. In Australia, high school and secondary school is the same thing, and some are called colleges. A university is not called a college.

 

[Ju]

Yes. In Australia, high school and secondary school is the same thing, and some are called colleges. A university is not called a college.

Senior high school is from year 10 to 13
Junior high school is from year 7 to 9

Am I right?

Many thanks.

 

[GoesStation]

In American schools, high school is generally from ninth or tenth through twelfth grade. Junior high or middle school runs from sixth or seventh through eighth or ninth grade. The details vary depending on the school district. Some states may impose a consistent structure on all their school districts.

 

[Tdol]

A university is not called a college.

But some universities, like Oxford, are divided into colleges.

 

[Barb_D]

In the US, we don't differentiate between "college" and "university" in common speech, and we also use "school" to refer to either.

Even if the school I went to was called "X University" I'd still say "I went to college in New York."
Jim is away at school.
Jim is away at college.
Where did you go to school? - Usually this means what college/university, unless you are specifically talking about your hometown and early schooling.
In the US, we rarely say "He's at university" or "Where did you go to university?" or "What university did you go to?"

 

[emsr2d2]

In the UK, high/secondary school is from age 11 to age 16. Sixth form college is from age 16 to age 18. College or university is from age 18 to age 21/22. We don't use "college" and "university" interchangeably. You either attend college or you attend university.

 

[Skrej]

In the US, we don't differentiate between "college" and "university" in common speech, and we also use "school" to refer to either.

I'd add the caveat that this is true for four-year institutions, but we do refer to two-year institutions (known as community colleges or junior colleges) only as 'colleges'.

 

[andrewg927]

It should be noted that college also means different university divisions such as college of liberal arts, college of business or women's college. In this sense, college and university are not interchangeable. I would say while a university includes post-graduate studies or advanced degrees, a college does not.

 

[andrewg927]

I would also add some training programs use the name "university" in their title but is not an actual accredited university. An example of that is Hamburger University.

 

[Raymott]

But some universities, like Oxford, are divided into colleges.

Yes, but Oxford is not in Australia. I explicitly gave the Australian usages.
Australian Universities are divided into Schools and Departments.

 

[Raymott]

Senior high school is from year 10 to 13
Junior high school is from year 7 to 9

Am I right?

Many thanks.

In Australia, Junior is grades 8, 9, 10 and Senior is grade 11 and 12. They are the levels in high school.

 

[andrewg927]

In Australia, Junior is grades 8, 9, 10 and Senior is grade 11 and 12. They are the levels in high school.

That's very different from the US. We have freshman, sophomore, junior and senior in high school. Some school districts also use lower, intermediate and upper school in addition to other designations.

 

[GoesStation]

That's very different from the US. We have freshman, sophomore, junior and senior in high school.

... Except in places where high school is only three years. (For learners, freshman, sophomore, junior and senior are the four years of undergraduate studies in American colleges and universities. The terms are also used for ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade in four-year high schools.)

 

[Tdol]

Yes, but Oxford is not in Australia. I explicitly gave the Australian usages.
Australian Universities are divided into Schools and Departments.

We have those too. But they are, to us, sub-sections of an institution. I didn't mean to intrude into Australian usage, but the situation in the UK is slightly more complex and confusing.