U.S. colleges

The concept of  college in the U.S. means a smaller university that's offering only undergraduate programs (not graduate).

Colleges generally have a duration of 4 years and is equivalent to a liberal arts college (law, medicine, literature, business, etc..). It can be a private institution or only independent department of state or private universities.

In the U.S. there are community colleges that offer two year programs, which may precede the transfer to a university for a further 2 years of study. These programs lead to a diploma - Associate of Arts - AA (most areas of the humanities, including businesses) or Associate of Sciences - AS (science and technology). Community colleges also offer technical and professional programs that last between six months and one year and ends by obtaining a qualification certificate (Occupational Certificate - OC).

Students Community College (about 65% of young Americans opting for this form of education) enjoy the following benefits: tuition much lower than university, flexible programs starting courses several times a year, classes limited number of students, more attention paid to them by the teachers. The approximately 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. are totaling approximately 10.4 million students. Regarding the sources of funding, 42% comes from the state, 23% of tuition fees, 18 local funds, 55 of federal funds and 10% from other sources.

The annual fee for tuition at a college / university can reach 37.000 USD for university and up to 50,000 USD postgraduate studies, while at a community college is between 7000-26000 dollars.