In relation to universities, the term college normally refers to a part of the university which does not have degree-awarding powers in itself. Degrees are always awarded by universities whereas colleges are institutions or organizations which prepare students for the degree. Most universities do not have colleges; those that do are referred to as collegiate universities.

 

California State Universities

The CSU is a leader in high-quality, accessible, student-focused higher education. With 23 campuses, almost 433,000 students, and 44,000 faculty and staff, we are the largest, the most diverse, and one of the most affordable university systems in the country. We offer unlimited opportunities to help students achieve their goals. We prepare graduates who go on to make a difference in the workforce. We engage in research and creative activities leading to scientific, technical, artistic and social advances. And we play a vital role in the growth and development of California’s communities and economy.

Campus Home Pages

To see where these campuses are located, go to the Map of Campus Locations.

 

The University of California

The University of California is home to more than 222,000 students and, in turn, to their parents and families. Each year, UC campuses welcome thousands of new students. The following admissions resources and campus information are designed to help students (and their parents) who want to attend UC as well as current students feel like part of the UC family.

Campus Web Pages for Future Students
The individual campuses provide prospective students with valuable information about applying to UC, the benefits of a UC education and the unique academic and social environment of their campus.

 

Campus Tours (in-person and online)
Graduate Studies

 

Private Schools

In the U.S., many universities and colleges are private, operated as educational and research nonprofit organizations. While most liberal arts colleges are likewise private, there are also some public liberal arts colleges. Some private universities are closely affiliated with religious organizations (for example, the University of Notre Dame) and some are directly operated by religious organizations (such as Brigham Young University).

 

Proprietary colleges are also private though they are most often referred to as proprietary colleges to prevent confusion with non-profit private institutions.

 

Like government-operated institutions, private universities are eligible for educational accreditation, but some private universities (primarily proprietary colleges) lack accreditation (see list of unaccredited institutions of higher learning), and their degrees are not formally recognized.

 

Legally, private universities may not discriminate, but generally have a somewhat free hand in setting admissions policies. For example, universities in the Ivy League based their selections on many secondary factors other than academic performance, up through the beginning of the 20th century. Since the post WW2-era, however, following in the mold of James Bryant Conant at Harvard, most private universities have made enormous strides in becoming meritocratic. The nation’s private institutions now make broad efforts to recruit students from underprivileged backgrounds.

 

The U.S. system of education has also been transplanted to other countries. Private universities such as the American University in Cairo and the American University of Afghanistan typically offer a liberal arts curriculum to their students.

 

Tuition fees at private universities tend to be higher than at public universities though many private universities offer financial aid as well.

 

Common Application

There are now 414 Common Application members in 44 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Germany and Italy. If the school you are interested in does not appear on this list visit the school’s web site or contact their admissions office for application information. They represent an enormously diverse variety of institutions: small and large, public and private, coed and single-sex, highly selective and relatively open enrollment. However, they all share a commitment to the mission of promoting access through holistic admission.

 

·       Adelphi University

  • Agnes Scott College
  • Alaska Pacific University
  • Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
  • Albion College
  • Albright College
  • Alfred University
  • Allegheny College
  • American University
  • The American University of Rome
  • Amherst College
  • Arcadia University
  • Assumption College
  • Augsburg College
  • Augustana College – Illinois
  • Augustana College – South Dakota
  • Austin College
  • Babson College
  • Baldwin-Wallace College
  • Bard College
  • Barnard College
  • Bates College
  • Belmont University
  • Beloit College
  • Bennington College
  • Bentley University
  • Berry College
  • Birmingham-Southern College
  • Boston College
  • Boston University
  • Bowdoin College
  • Bradley University
  • Brandeis University
  • Brown University
  • Bryant University
  • Bryn Mawr College
  • Bucknell University
  • Burlington College
  • Butler University
  • California Inst of Technology (Caltech)
  • California Lutheran University
  • Canisius College
  • Carleton College
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Carroll College (Montana)
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • The Catholic University of America
  • Cazenovia College
  • Cedar Crest College
  • Centenary College of Louisiana
  • Centre College
  • Champlain College
  • Chapman University
  • Chatham University
  • Claremont McKenna College
  • Clark University
  • Clarkson University
  • Coe College
  • Colby College
  • Colby-Sawyer College
  • Colgate University
  • The College of Idaho
  • College of Mount Saint Vincent
  • *The College of New Jersey
  • College of New Rochelle
  • College of Notre Dame of Maryland
  • College of St. Benedict & St. John’s University
  • College of the Atlantic
  • College of the Holy Cross
  • *College of William & Mary
  • College of Wooster
  • Colorado College
  • *Colorado State University
  • Columbia College Chicago
  • Columbia University
  • Concordia College – New York
  • Concordia University
  • Connecticut College
  • Converse College
  • Cornell College
  • Cornell University
  • Creighton University
  • Curry College
  • Daemen College
  • Dartmouth College
  • Davidson College
  • Denison University
  • DePaul University
  • DePauw University
  • Dickinson College
  • Dominican University of California
  • Dowling College
  • Drake University
  • Drew University
  • Drexel University
  • Duke University
  • Earlham College
  • Eckerd College
  • Elizabethtown College
  • Elmira College
  • Emerson College
  • Emmanuel College
  • Emory University
  • Erskine College
  • Eugene Lang College – The New School
  • Fairfield University
  • Fisk University
  • Florida Institute of Technology
  • Florida Southern College
  • Fontbonne University
  • Fordham University
  • Franklin & Marshall College
  • Franklin Pierce University
  • Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
  • Furman University
  • Gannon University
  • George Fox University
  • The George Washington University
  • Gettysburg College
  • Gonzaga University
  • Goucher College
  • Green Mountain College
  • Grinnell College
  • Guilford College
  • Gustavus Adolphus College
  • Hamilton College
  • Hamline University
  • Hampden-Sydney College
  • Hampshire College
  • Hanover College
  • Hartwick College
  • Harvard College
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • Haverford College
  • Hendrix College
  • Hillsdale College
  • Hiram College
  • Hobart & William Smith Colleges
  • Hofstra University
  • Hollins University
  • Hood College
  • Hope College
  • Husson University
  • Illinois College
  • Illinois Institute of Technology
  • Illinois Wesleyan University
  • Immaculata University
  • Iona College
  • Ithaca College
  • Jacobs University Bremen
  • John Carroll University
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • *Johnson State College
  • Juniata College
  • Kalamazoo College
  • *Keene State College
  • Kenyon College
  • Keystone College
  • King’s College
  • Knox College
  • La Salle University
  • Lafayette College
  • Lake Erie College
  • Lake Forest College
  • Lasell College
  • Lawrence Technological University
  • Lawrence University
  • Lehigh University
  • LeMoyne College
  • Lesley College
  • Lewis & Clark College
  • Linfield College
  • List College, The Jewish Theological Seminary
  • Long Island University – C.W. Post Campus
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Loyola University Maryland
  • Loyola University New Orleans
  • Luther College
  • Lycoming College
  • Lynn University
  • Macalester College
  • Manhattan College
  • Manhattanville College
  • Marietta College
  • Marist College
  • Marlboro College
  • Marquette University
  • Marymount Manhattan College
  • Maryville University of St. Louis
  • Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
  • McDaniel College
  • Menlo College
  • Mercyhurst College
  • Meredith College
  • Merrimack College
  • *Miami University (Ohio)
  • Middlebury College
  • Mills College
  • Millsaps College
  • Moravian College
  • Morehouse College
  • Mount Holyoke College
  • Mount Saint Mary College (NY)
  • Mount St. Mary’s College (CA)
  • Muhlenberg College
  • Naropa University

 

  • Nazareth College
  • *New College of Florida
  • New England College
  • New York Institute of Technology
  • New York University
  • Newbury College
  • Niagara University
  • Nichols College
  • Northeastern University
  • Northland College
  • Northwestern University
  • Notre Dame de Namur University
  • Oberlin College
  • Occidental College
  • Oglethorpe University
  • Ohio Northern University
  • Ohio Wesleyan University
  • Oklahoma City University
  • Otterbein University
  • Pace University
  • Pacific Lutheran University
  • Pacific University
  • Pepperdine University
  • Philadelphia University
  • Pitzer College
  • *Plymouth State University
  • Polytechnic Institute of New York University
  • Pomona College
  • Presbyterian College
  • Prescott College
  • Princeton University
  • Providence College
  • Quinnipiac University
  • Randolph College
  • Randolph-Macon College
  • Reed College
  • Regis College
  • Regis University
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Rhodes College
  • Rice University
  • *Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
  • Rider University
  • Ringling College of Art & Design
  • Ripon College
  • Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Roger Williams University
  • Rollins College
  • Rosemont College
  • Russell Sage College
  • Sacred Heart University
  • Sage College of Albany
  • Saint Anselm College
  • St. Bonaventure University
  • St. Catherine University
  • St. Edward’s University
  • Saint Francis University
  • St. John Fisher College
  • St. John’s College (Maryland)
  • St. John’s College (New Mexico)
  • Saint Joseph’s College
  • Saint Joseph’s University
  • St. Lawrence University
  • Saint Louis University
  • Saint Mary’s College of California
  • Saint Mary’s College (IN)
  • Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
  • Saint Michael’s College
  • St. Norbert College
  • St. Olaf College
  • Saint Peter’s College
  • St. Thomas Aquinas College
  • Saint Vincent College
  • Salem College
  • Salve Regina University
  • Santa Clara University
  • Sarah Lawrence College
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Scripps College
  • Seattle Pacific University
  • Seattle University
  • Seton Hall University
  • Sewanee: The University of the South
  • Siena College
  • Simmons College
  • Skidmore College
  • Smith College
  • Southern Methodist University
  • Southern New Hampshire University
  • Southwestern University
  • Spelman College
  • Spring Hill College
  • Stanford University
  • *(SUNY) Binghamton University
  • *(SUNY) Buffalo State College
  • *(SUNY) College at Brockport
  • *(SUNY) College at Geneseo
  • *(SUNY) College of Environmental Science & Forestry
  • *(SUNY) Cortland
  • *(SUNY) Fredonia
  • *(SUNY) Maritime College
  • *(SUNY) Morrisville State College
  • *(SUNY) New Paltz
  • *(SUNY) Oneonta
  • *(SUNY) Oswego
  • *(SUNY) Plattsburgh
  • *(SUNY) Potsdam
  • *(SUNY) Purchase College
  • *(SUNY) Stony Brook University
  • *(SUNY) University at Albany
  • *(SUNY) University at Buffalo
  • Stephens College
  • Stetson University
  • Stevens Institute of Technology
  • Stevenson University
  • Stonehill College
  • Suffolk University
  • Susquehanna University
  • Swarthmore College
  • Sweet Briar College
  • Syracuse University
  • Texas Christian University
  • Thiel College
  • Thomas College
  • Transylvania University
  • Trinity College
  • Trinity University
  • Tufts University
  • Union College
  • University of Chicago
  • *University of Connecticut
  • University of Dallas
  • University of Dayton
  • *University of Delaware
  • University of Denver
  • University of Findlay
  • University of Great Falls
  • University of LaVerne
  • *University of Maine
  • *University of Maine at Farmington
  • *University of Maine at Machias
  • *University of Mary Washington
  • *University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • *University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • *University of Massachusetts Boston
  • *University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
  • *University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • University of Miami
  • *University of Michigan
  • University of New England
  • *University of New Hampshire
  • University of New Haven
  • *University of North Carolina Asheville
  • University of Notre Dame
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Portland
  • University of Puget Sound
  • University of Redlands
  • *University of Rhode Island
  • University of Richmond
  • University of Rochester
  • University of San Diego
  • University of San Francisco
  • University of Scranton
  • *University of Southern Maine
  • University of Tampa
  • University of the Pacific
  • University of Tulsa
  • *University of Vermont
  • *University of Virginia
  • Ursinus College
  • Utica College
  • Valparaiso University
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Vassar College
  • Villanova University
  • Virginia Wesleyan College
  • Wabash College
  • Wagner College
  • Wake Forest University
  • Washington & Jefferson College
  • Washington and Lee University
  • Washington College
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • Webster University
  • Wellesley College
  • Wells College
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology
  • Wesleyan University
  • Western New England College
  • Westminster College – Missouri
  • Westminster College – Pennsylvania
  • Westminster College – Utah
  • Westmont College
  • Wheaton College
  • Wheelock College
  • Whitman College
  • Whittier College
  • Willamette University
  • William Jewell College
  • Williams College
  • Wilson College
  • Wittenberg University
  • Wofford College
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  • Xavier University
  • Xavier University of Louisiana
  • Yale University

*Public Schools

 

California Community Colleges

A California Community College is a publicly supported and locally oriented college that provides programs to: help you transfer to a four-year college, pursue career education programs, take remedial or “catch-up” programs, and offer coursework for cultural growth, life enrichment, and skills improvement.

 

The California Community Colleges are one educational option among many. In California, some students apply to the University of California or the California State University or independent universities and colleges. The California Community Colleges, though, offer many students huge advantages through a greater variety of programs.

 

At a community college you can take classes to prepare you for college-level math and English, receive career training to get in the workforce quickly and affordably, and complete lower division courses that are transferable to a four-year college or university.

 

A community college is a good choice for anyone who may want to attend a four-year school later but who is not yet academically, personally, or economically ready to begin study at a university. Community college is also a good option for those who are unemployed or under-employed and want to be retrained to work in emerging and in-demand industries such as health care and green jobs.