This spring a group of teachers from three Russian cities (Obninsk, Zheleznogorsk, Dimitrovgrad) visited the USA on the teacher exchange program. We spent most of the time in a small town of Maryville, Tennessee getting acquainted with the system of education from inside, as we lived in the teachers’ families and they were our guides in their schools and in American way of life. During our staying there we saw different institutions from kindergarten through Pellissippi College and Tennessee University. We can state that though all in all we have the same values, the approach seems sometimes quite different. As a result of our joint work we offer you some observations about American school.

There are many opportunities to study in the United States for international students.
There are Universities that offer professional degrees and certifications, language schools that offer English training to prepare students to attend the English speaking universities, private K-12 schools that offer programs for children ages 5 to 18 to learn English and complete high school, and there are intensive English programs that teach longer classes in shorter time. These programs are great ways to experience the United States and get an education from schools with good reputations. Many international students don't know how to arrange their education in the United States. Here is a how-to plan for international students:

The University of Oxford, situated in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

History

The motto of the university is 'Dominus illuminatio mea' (Latin: 'God [is] my light').

The date of the university's foundation is unknown, and indeed it may not have been a single event, but there is evidence of teaching there as early as 1096. When Henry II of England forbade English students to study at the University of Paris in 1167, Oxford began to grow very quickly. The foundation of the first halls of residence, which later became colleges, dates from this period and later. Following the murder of two students accused of rape in 1209, the University was disbanded. On June 20, 1214, the University returned to Oxford with a charter negotiated by Nicholas de Romanis, a papal legate.

Oxford's chief domestic rival is Cambridge, founded shortly afterwards. Together Oxford and Cambridge are sometimes referred to as Oxbridge. Cambridge is, not always correctly, considered stronger in scientific subjects whereas Oxford is, not always correctly, considered stronger in theology and the humanities. Both are members of the Russell Group of research led British Universities.

Studying in a foreign country offers so much more than "just" an education.

As high school students approach the end of their high school education, and invitations to apply at various colleges and universities start inundating their mailbox, the looming question is "Where should I go to college?' It's the next chapter in their lives after graduation, and its understandable to see why they get so stressed out about it. There are so many options. I graduated from high school two years ago, and I still remember how hard it was to decide. First you have to decide where you'll apply to, and then you have to decide which acceptance letter to accept (if you got accepted at more than one university, that is).

Looking back, it's kind of funny how stressed out I was before graduation. Now that I have been in university for two years, my high school graduation seems so trivial. Yet, I'm thankful for the experience. Most of all, I'm thankful that I made what was then a very hard choice: Studying abroad.

That's right, studying abroad. For some reason, students don't think of this when they're sending off college applications. I don't know why, because there are so many opportunities and great schools abroad. You could study in France, or England, or Germany, or even Africa or Japan! Studying abroad is an amazing experience.

Studying abroad at a foreign college or university offers you more than just an education. Studying abroad gives you an opportunity to learn more about the way our world works, see things through different eyes, absorb a foreign culture (a great chance to learn a foreign language, too!), and have a lot of fun. The four (or more) years you spend in college is the perfect time to immerse yourself in another culture and enjoy life through the eyes of a Frenchman or an African or an Asian.

According to legend the University of Cambridge in England was founded in 1209 by scholars escaping Oxford after a fight with Oxford locals. King Henry III of England granted them a teaching monopoly in 1231.

The Mathematician's Bridge over the River Cam.

Along with the University of Oxford, Cambridge University produces a large proportion of Britain's prominent scientists, writers, and politicians; the pair are known as Oxbridge. Both are members of the Russell Group of Universities.

The thirty-one Colleges of the University are independent institutions, separate from the University itself, and they enjoy considerable autonomy. For example, colleges decide which students they are to admit (though this is under review in 2003), are responsible for the welfare and domestic arrangements of students and for small group teaching ('supervisions'). They appoint their own 'fellows' (senior members). Many of the colleges are also quite wealthy (in some cases very wealthy), while the university is not.

The first College was Peterhouse founded in 1284 by Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely. The second-oldest College is King's Hall which was founded in 1317, though it no longer exists as a separate entity. Many other colleges were founded during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A full list of Colleges is given below, though some, such as Michaelhouse (which was combined with King's Hall to make Trinity, by King Henry VII) and Gonville Hall no longer exist.