Religious schools

Most of the private schools are affiliated with religious organizations and about a half of all private schools attend Catholic schools. Private religious schools in the USA operate under he principle of religious instruction, which they think should be a key element in the daily education of their children. Some private schools though don’t ignore that religious component but emphasize on classical component.

Most Catholic parochial schools provide only elementary education. Aside from these there are systems of schools which are operated by Catholic dioceses (large district under the jurisdiction of a bishop), which are generally known as diocesan schools.

As for tuition fees for both parochial and diocesan schools, it’s comparatively low, as parishes and dioceses subsidize part of school expenses.

There are higher education religious institution.

Non-Catholic but religiously oriented enroll 1/3 of all private schools students in the USA. Most of these schools are supported by various protestant organizations are affiliated with so-called conservative Christian organizations. During the last 30-40 years the number of conservative Christian schools has grown rapidly, and many other national protestant denominations support private schools, especially Adventists, Baptists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Quakers.

Most Catholic children attend public schools.

There are non-Christian private schools. Most common are Jewish schools, often called Hebrew day schools.

Nonsectarian schools

Private schools not affiliated with any religion or church. Some of them originated as religious organizations decades ago, but now they accept all students and don’t require to be religious. They emphasize the development of moral character more than study of some particular religion. Some independent private nonsectarian schools may have specialized educational programs that focus on particular subjects as science, math, performing arts.

Independent college preparatory schools

Prep. schools are the wealthiest and the most prestigious. E.g. Phillips Academy in Massachusetts and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and some others.

3. Higher educational establishments

For a long time the USA has been leading in the sphere of education. In 1825 England had only two universities, Oxford and Cambridge, and the USA had over 50 colleges. Now it’s several thousands. Half of them are privately owned and operated, and most of these privately owned and operates institutions of higher educations are small liberal arts colleges. Publicly owned ones are large state universities.

Most of universities in the USA offer 4-year courses leaving at bachelor’s degree. Not all of them provide post-graduate work for master’s degree or doctorate. Americans are obsessed by the idea of higher education for everyone. For a long time everyone was accepted regardless of their academic ability, though this process altered now.

The American education system becomes increasingly selective especially at the level of higher education. The system is extremely competitive and highly selective. Each university generally sets its own admission standards. The universities are also the most difficult to get into.

Nearly half of all people attend colleges or universities, but not all of them complete the course for bachelor’s degree. Most students receive federal loan to cover their study expenses. Virtually all students pay tuition fees themselves, i.e. their families support them and/or they can find part-time job. Most want to get bachelor’s degree. The students of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th years are called freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors respectively.

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The most prestigious of all American universities is Berkley in California.