Asklemmy

I think it depends on your country. Here in the UK, for example, a college is usually an alternative to a school for GCSEs or A-levels. It can also be for specific vocational training - e.g. art college.

As far as I can tell - in the US college & university are synonymous. They also often use school to refer to the same place.

In the UK, if someone asked you where you went to school, you would assume they wanted to know what secondary (high) school you went to. It would never occur to you that they meant uni!

A university is a typically a collection of colleges (or schools).

For example: Harvard University is made up of Harvard College, Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, etc.

For all intents and purposes - we use the word “college” and “university” interchangeably because they’re the same level of education. Either can do associates through doctoral.

Community colleges, however, only focus on 2 year degrees and certain certifications.

In New Zealand a university is a form of higher/tertiary education institution.

A college is a high school that's trying to sound fancy.

The kind of place that the US calls "community college" would be called a "polytech" here.

It’s contextual. My understanding is that in British English, “going to uni” is equivalent to the American English “going to college”. At least in the US, the word college colloquially refers to undergrad, though a lot of colleges do offer postgraduate programs.

From what I understand, colleges focus mainly on undergraduates, while universities provide undergraduate and graduate programs. It doesn't necessarily mean that colleges are always smaller or have less resources than universities though.

In Canada, the difference is generally that universities offer degrees while colleges offer diplomas and certificates. Degrees generally take longer to earn that diplomas or certificates and would include things like bachelors degrees, masters degrees, PhDs, etc.

In the US, universities have a significant number of graduate degrees along with undergraduate degrees while colleges offer (almost) exclusively undergraduate degrees. My alma mater became a university shortly before I started because they started offering enough graduate degrees.

In the US, they're the same. In most countries, a university is a collection of colleges (although most people don't know that).

In countries where universities and colleges are considered separate entities (i.e. most countries), universities are still considered more prestigious, although it's much easier to get a BS/no job degree from an university than a college

The answer varies inside and outside the US.

In most countries, Universities offer 4+ year programs and offer accredited degrees. These undergraduate degrees prepare you for even more advanced agrees like Masters or Doctorate ( PhD ). Universities offer medical and law degrees. Universities are the elite schools and are generally only found in larger centres. Colleges on the other hand tend to be vocational and more simply adult study. A college issues a diploma, not a degree and is typically not accredited in the same way. Colleges can be very regional.

You would go to university to get a law degree and collage to get a diploma in criminology. You would go to university to become an engineer and college to become a technician.

In the US, the term college is often used to refer to universities as well and universities sometimes offer a mix of degree and diploma programs. Somebody that went to a state university might refer to it as college. The term Ivy League identifies schools that other countries would identify as universities. In the US, the term community college is more representative of what other countries call colleges. That said, community colleges in the US can be of lower quality than most countries would tolerate ( in my view ).

In Canada, the system is slowly moving towards the US standard. Many colleges or technical institutes are trying to position themselves as universities. There is a rapid increase in the number of colleges, especially those catering to international students.

Not sure where you live, but here in Costa Rica, college is the equivalent to High School.

Source: I am from Costa Rica and I'm on my 10th year (4th year on high school)

I'm the US there are 3 that I can think of:

1. They are synonymous in the general sense. "Yeah, I graduated from college."

2. Specifically a 2-year school, but usually this will be community College or something similar.

3. Sub organizations in a large university

One is more pretentious than the other and costs more money. 🙃