You can use this video to practice your listening and comprehension as I speak.

You ready?

So, today I'm going to talk about universities in the U.S.

This is a subject that I'm sure a lot of you are interested in, because maybe you've thought about studying in the U.S.

So, let's talk about some of the essentials that you need to know about American colleges.

So, first things first.

It's important that you know that in the U.S., we use the word college interchangeably with the word university.

You can say either of these words, and they refer to the same thing most of the time.

In other countries, this is not the case.

I'm sure if you go to the U.K. or Australia, you'll hear people use these words very differently, but since I'm an American, I tend to use the word college more frequently than university.

Let's talk a little bit about the cost of going to a four-year university in the U.S.

Before we can calculate the average cost, we first need to distinguish between in-state and out-of-state tuition.

What am I talking about here?

Well, if you attend a university that is located in the state where you live, where you went to high school, it's cheaper.

If you decide to go to a university in another state, it's more expensive.

This is what I'm referring to when I talk about in-state and out-of-state tuition.

The average in-state tuition for a four-year public university in the U.S. at this time is a little more than $25,000 per year.

I know, that's a lot.

But it's actually not that bad compared to out-of-state tuition.

The average out-of-state tuition for a four-year public university in the U.S. at this time is about $41,000 per year.

That's crazy, isn't it?

I wish I could tell you that I were joking, but sadly I'm not.

This is the reality of going to college in the U.S., so you definitely need to think about this before you decide to study in an American university.

I was pretty lucky because my college wasn't quite that expensive.

You might be wondering how people can afford to pay these astronomical tuition costs.

The answer is student loans.

A student loan is money that the government lends to somebody to pay for college.

Sounds great, right?

Wrong.

After you graduate, you have to pay back all the money that the government gave you plus interest.

So, after students graduate, they spend many years paying back their student loans.

College is unbelievably expensive in the U.S.

Alright, let's talk about the educational aspect of American universities.

In the U.S., students can choose their major, the subject they want to study, either before or after starting college.

Many students don't know what exactly they want to study, so they don't decide on a major until the end of their second year.

The way this works is that all students have general classes during their first two years.

Everyone takes more or less the same types of classes.

Math, English, History, Science, etc.

Then, starting in their third year, students take classes specific to their major.

So, for example, I majored in English.

So, during my third and fourth years of university, all my classes were related to English.

But, during my first and second years, I had all general classes, not all English classes.

This is why many people don't decide on a major until the end of their second year.

You don't really have to decide before then.

I know this is really different from a lot of other university systems in other countries.

Okay, lastly, let's talk about living on campus.

This is something that many students do, especially in their first and second years.

All universities have what we call dorms, which are like student apartments, but usually very small.

The dorms are located on the college campus, so it makes it really convenient for students to walk to their classes.

The downside of living in the dorms is that you usually have to share your small living space with other people.

If you get stuck with a bad roommate, you're in for a long year.

I've had some bad roommates in the past, unfortunately.

Another negative thing about living in the dorms is that if you're not into drinking and partying, it can be pretty uncomfortable for you.

Dorms are notorious for being places where students drink, party, and get into all kinds of trouble.

So, you might want to consider that before you decide to live on campus.

Okay, that's all for today.

Leave a comment and tell me what your country's universities are like.

I'll see you next video. you