Do you say college or university?
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I personally say university. A lot of people here in the USA say college regardless of if they are going to ITT Tech or a community college or an actual university. What do you peeps say? Do you feel their is a difference between the words?
Well it is college, because not everyone is a university. If I were going to a community college, it wouldn't be correct if someone said I was going to a university, while a university is still college, so the correct way to say it, at least here in the U.S. is college. You can call a university a uni, or university, but that was more used when no one went there. So if I went to community college, as did others, or I was in a CC, while another person was in a university, I would say, yeah, they're in a university. Now though, I just say college. I know no one that goes to CC.
The definition is kind of specific; a university is a college that offers both graduate and undergraduate studies. I'm at a university, but I tend to say college because I'm not a graduate student yet.
@AjayRaz said:
@Vasta_Narada said:
@No0b0rAmA said:
They mean two completely different things where I live (Canada).
Concurred from BC.
as a resident of QC i can also approve this
Verified from Nova Scotia.
Universities have colleges in them, don't they? A college is a specific school, universities have multiple schools (law, engineering, etc.).
People usually just say 'I go/went to college' though, I think probably just because it's shorter and because it's true in both cases.
@Little_Socrates said:
The definition is kind of specific; a university is a college that offers both graduate and undergraduate studies. I'm at a university, but I tend to say college because I'm not a graduate student yet.
Pretty much this. If I'm not mistaken though, in the US/Canada, most people would say 'I'm going to college' (regardless of if it's grad/undergrad) while saying 'I'm going to University' is more of a European way of saying it.
I guess you could say university for mine, but technically they always called themselves an "institute." I mean, it was in our name.
College (or Sixth Form) is where you go to before to do the qualifications you need to get into University to do your degree. (UK)
@Silvergun said:
@Little_Socrates said:
The definition is kind of specific; a university is a college that offers both graduate and undergraduate studies. I'm at a university, but I tend to say college because I'm not a graduate student yet.
Pretty much this. If I'm not mistaken though, in the US/Canada, most people would say 'I'm going to college' (regardless of if it's grad/undergrad) while saying 'I'm going to University' is more of a European way of saying it.
I am not going to lie, I learned something new today, and it was in this thread! From the US, most people say college and a lot of time that sometimes covers anything from a crappy Phoenix University to the Unversity of (some State school) to Ivy League, which kind of sucks. I feel like some people are over-estimating their education by saying that they went to college when they really just went to Phoenix or Devry, or a tech school and never finished.
Side rant; I hate it when people say, or imply on Facebook "about" section that they attended and finished "college/"university" when they only went there for a year and now dropped out. It is kind of like they are faking it to their general on-lookers and friends.
I say college for everything now, but if I was going to a university I bet I would be a jerk and insist people refer to it that way so I could feel superior.
@FreakAche said:
University. Where I'm from, "college" generally refers exclusively to community colleges, trade schools, or anything else that offers two year programs.
Exactly. They specifically invented a word for "school with 4 year undergraduate programs, as well as various other graduate studies", and that word is "university". Using "college" so broadly just confuses the matter of what type of postsecondary institution someone is attending.
I say college simply because I am not an elitist bastard. No, but really, every time I hear someone say "I go to University", or something along those lines, it always makes them sound European to me.
I fell like University should be used more when referring to a specific one, like "The University", rather than "University". If you know what I mean. When referring to higher education I think college is a nice broad term.
Even though I go to a university, I still refer to it in the general as "college."
So I'll tell my friends, "I come back from college ______,"or "Hey when are you going back to college?", etc.
University. The establishment I am educated at has University in the title, the place I was at before that had College in the title.
@believer258 said:
I know what both mean but I am currently going to college (i.e. undergrad degree) and that might change when I go to UNC Charlotte for a major.
But people around here generally call it "college".
I sometimes forget people here can live in the same city as I do. Initially, I get paranoid and think, in this case, "How do they know about UNCC?!"
I live in America, so I say "college" in general terms. Since I'm in grad school, though, I say "grad school" or "undergrad" to differentiate what school I went/going to, instead of simply saying "I go to college."
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