The Differences between the College Education in America and in China

I have been America for two years, and as time goes by, I find that the American college education is different to the Chinese college education in several ways. First of all, the tests that students need to take to get into colleges are different. In America, students have two kinds of this test, which are ACT and SAT. Students can choose either test to take and the total times of taking the test are not restricted. Nonetheless, SAT and ACT are not required by all colleges. In general, colleges with higher ranking more likely to require students to take ACT or SAT. On the contrary, in China, there is only one test for students who wants go to colleges to take, and it is called “GAOKAO”. All of colleges in China require students to take GAOKAO, and students can take only once GAOKAO for a academic year. It is possible for students to take it again, but it means they have to skip one year. Because most of Chinese students do not want to go to colleges one year late, they have huge pressure from preparing GAOKAO. Moreover, the college lives in these two counties are also distinct. The GPA for American college students is very important because it will affect their applications of graduate school and applications of jobs in the future. Meanwhile, the materials that students learn in colleges are much harder than what they learned in high schools, so most of American students experience huge pressure from studying in college. However, Chinese students have exactly opposite mode of college life. After experiencing the cruel GOAKAO, Chines students release all of their pressure. Although the materials that Chinese students learn in college are not easy at all, the GPA for them is much less important than it for American students. In other words, once Chinese students get into college, the graduation and GPA are not serious problems for them. Therefore, Chinese students have much less pressure in college, and they actually enjoy their college lives so much. In conclusion, Chinese college students have completely different experiences of college education comparing to American college students do.


American high school class.





David Shankbone. A high-school senior (twelfth grade) classroom in Calhan, Colorado. Photo. Wikipedia. Wikipedia. 29 Feb 2008. Web. 11 Nov 2015.






Chinese high school students who are preparing for GAOKAO.





Alvin Ybanez. Italy, France Now Accept GAOKAO Score. Photo. Yibada. Yibada. 26 Jun 2015. Web. 11 Nov 2015.






American college students who are studying in the library.





Pinar. The Most Beautiful Library in the World. Photo. Mymodernmet. Mymodernmet. 31 July 2012. Web. 11 Nov 2015.






Chinese college students' fun life in dorm room.





Brian Ashcraft. Every Dorm Room Should Come With an Inflatable Pool. Photo. Kotaku. Kotaku. 7 Aug 2014. Web. 11 Nov 2015.






Chinese college students' daily life.





Author unknow. Chinese Dorm Shopping Session? Photo. Buybuychina. Buybuychina. Date of posting unknow. Web. 11 Nov 2015.