大学申请过程中会涉及到一些专用术语，选校也不例外。下面是常用的一些术语，一起来看看吧。一旦熟悉了每个术语，你就可以轻松开始选校之旅啦。

AcceptanceRate: The percentage of applicants a college accepts for admission.录取率：了解目标学校的录取率同时对比同一个学校近三年的录取，可以从一定程度上把握目标学校的申请难度，合理安排选校list。推荐一个美国的网站http://www.acceptancerate.com/，通过这个网站可以查询到每个学校的录取率及相关数据。 Accreditation:Certification that a college meets the standards of a state, regional ornational association.认证：美国大学是否拥有地区或国家的协会认证，也是衡量其专业水准的重要标尺。比如国际高等商学院协会 (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of BusinessInternational)，成立于1916年，是全球首屈一指的商学院和会计项目的认证机构。美国不少大学的商学院都通过了这个认证。推荐一个查询网站，http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/，这个网站上面涵盖了学校所有的认证信息，非常齐全。 Reach School: A college where admission might be a stretch for you, based on theaverage GPA and test scores of accepted students and the college’s overalladmission requirement.冲刺院校：一般来说，冲刺学院历年录取学生的平均标准化成绩和GPA，如果比申请者实际分数较高（但是超过幅度不大）的时候，我们称其为冲刺院校。研究冲刺学校的历年录取要求和数据可以帮助大家合理定位，具体信息一般在学校的官网都能查到。 Safety School: A college where, based on the average GPA and test scores ofaccepted students, you have a high likelihood of being admitted.安全学校：又称为保底学校。从历年录取学生的平均GPA和标准化考试分数来说，如果明显低于申请者实际分数，我们称作保底院校。和冲刺院校道理相同，大家可以通过查询学校的官网，了解录取数据之后确定自己的保底校。选校需要拉开档次，而保底校的存在意义，主要是把申请人从offer焦虑中解脱出来，从而更加信心百倍的冲刺。 Student-FacultyRatio: The number of students at a college compared to the number offaculty. Some colleges see this as an indicator of class size and professoraccessibility, but a lower ratio doesn’t guarantee either. For a trueindication of class size and professor accessibility, speak with students andprofessors at a college.师生比：美国文理学院的平均师生比一般为1:8-1:14，相对于综合性大学来说较高，也就是说学生和教授沟通的机会及课堂互动都会更多。当然，综合性大学里面也有师生比高的，比如加州理工学院California Institute of Technology, 这个学校的师生比约为1:3；又比如耶鲁大学Yale University, 它的师生比为1:5。需要提醒大家的是，这个数据仅供参考，如果想要真正了解学校的师生比，不妨直接和这个学校的在校老师或学生打听看看。 除了以上术语之外，大家在选校时还需参考学校排名、录取具体要求、规模大小、专业排名、自然环境、社会环境、学费等因素。总之，选校时除了关注这些客观因素，也要问问自己是否喜欢，因为只有适合自己才是最好的。聊完术语，我们看下美国大学的具体分类。下面列了一些经典分类，大家可以根据自己兴趣和期望进行深度探索。 Universities – Universities offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees.They can be made up of several “colleges” or “schools” that specialize invarious courses of study and research, with some schools emphasizingpre-professional training and others focusing on broader intellectual skillsets. Universities tend to be larger than other institutions of higherlearning, both in terms of the number of students enrolled and the physicalsize of the campus. 综合性大学：提供本科和研究生学位。学校下设文理学院、商学院、工程学院、艺术学院等。综合性大学相比于其他类型的大学来说，规模较大，研究实施完善，学科分类齐全，学生也更多。 Schools of Fine Arts/Performing Arts/Applied Arts – These schools offerspecialized training and study. Classes cultivate practical skill sets directlyrelated to the student’s specific artistic goals. Training in such schoolsequips students for professions in filmmaking, fashion design, fine arts(painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography), performance arts (acting,music, dance), architecture, and graphic design. 专业的美术/表演艺术/应用艺术学校：这类学校提供专业的教学和培训，学生通过学习可以具备电影、时尚设计、美术（绘画、版画、雕塑、摄影等）、表演艺术等专业知识和技能。比如说Berklee college of Music/伯克利音乐学院,California Institute of the Arts/加州艺术学院等。想要攻读艺术方向的小伙伴们可以多关注这类学校。 Institutes of Technology/Polytechnic Schools – These schools provide awide range of specialized training and study in science, engineering, andtechnology. Some concentrate on more hands-on, vocationally-based training,while others offer degrees in more advanced scientific research andengineering. 理工学院：这类学校提供科学、工程和技术等领域的广泛的专业培训。它们往往关注实践和职业培训。Community Colleges – Community colleges are non-residential institutionsprimarily utilized by individuals living in the region in which they’relocated. They offer a range of liberal arts and vocational-training degrees,and usually bestow two-year degrees. Course credits from community colleges canoften be transferred to other educational institutions for those hoping topursue a four-year degree. 社区学院：社区学院多为两年制的公立初级技术学院。它提供的课程有两类：一类是过渡性文理课程，相当于4年制大学的前两年，学生修满一定学分后可转入4年制大学继续深造；另一种课程是职业技术课程，毕业后可直接就业。 Vocational Schools – These schools offer specialized training in specificareas of professional work. They generally offer two-year degrees orcertificates that directly prepare students for a given career. Professionsthat benefit from training in vocational schools include computer programming,electrical work, plumbing, contracting, cosmetology, business administration,and automotive repair. 职业学校：这类学校致力于提供专业培训和职业教育，大部分学制为两年，学生毕业后可获得两年制的学位和证书，并在所学领域就业。培训的专业大体有计算编程、电工、管道工、美容、汽车修理等。 "Public" vs. "Private" - 1/3 of four-year colleges arepublic, which means they are operated and financed by the local and stategovernment. The remaining 2/3 are privately operated and financed. Most privatecolleges are non-profit organizations, but the number of accredited, for-profitschools is on the rise. Both public and private colleges rely on endowments,tuition, alumni donations and other fund-raising campaigns. Public schools arealso directly funded by the state, but both kinds of schools are indirectlysubsidized by the Federal government in the form of tax exemptions, studentloans, and grants. 公立VS私立：有三分之一的四年制大学是公立的，它们通常由当地或州政府出资建立运营，而剩下三分之二的四年制大学则为私立大学。公立大学比较注重教育的研究性和普及型，私立大学则更重视小班教学。需要注意的是，公立大学和私立大学的主要区别是经费的来源不同，它们都有很多质量好，信誉好的大学，所以公立和私立并不是判断大学好坏的标准。扬帆起航留美群109217322 期待您的到来！孙老师，诚信为本，现在接受2017年度申请委托~ 孙老师 QQ：379112060QQ群： 扬帆起航留美群 109217322（不定期讲授美国留学申请实例~） Tel：13810801594微信：sunyiusasunyi@jieyajie.com