School: College and High School, the Nigeria perspective.

In many countries of the world, a college is a secondary school and is very different than a university. In the United States, however, colleges and universities are quite similar. Often, both colleges and universities are referred to as schools. Generally, both colleges and universities in the United States are four-year institutions that offer a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree. This is commonly known as an undergraduate or bachelors degree.

The main difference is that most universities also offer a higher level of study after you complete your bachelors degree - resulting in a masters degree or doctorate.

What confuses many international students is that Americans use the words school, college and university interchangeably in conversation. For example, someone may ask, Where do you go to school? In this case, they simply want to know what university you are attending.

Adding to the confusion, universities are often divided into sections that are referred to as colleges. The University of Idaho, for example, is organized into ten colleges, which include the College of Engineering, the College of Law and the College of Agriculture. No matter which of these colleges you attend, your degree will be issued by the University.

You will also hear the word college when people discuss two-year colleges. These colleges (also called community colleges or junior colleges) offer a degree called an associate degree. Many international students choose to get this type of degree and then transfer to a four-year college or university to study two more years to earn a bachelors degree.

You will want to pay close attention when you read or hear information about a school, college or university, but recognize that all the institutions share the same basic principle -- providing a challenging and exciting place to study and earn a degree

School is the general name for every formal educational centre. College is the same thing as a university, though it is mostly used outside Nigeria, just the same way we call ours SECONDARY SCHOOL, They call theirs HIGH SCHOOL.