What's the difference between American public high schools and private high schools?

First, the basic situation of public and private high schools

1, basic introduction of public high schools

As the name implies, public high schools are funded by the government. Public schools belong to school districts, which are basically every city. If it is a small school district, two or even three cities will unite to form a school district. Each school district manages different public schools belonging to its own school district, including high school, junior high school and primary school.

Some school districts are relatively large, while others are relatively small. There is no direct relationship between the size and quality of school districts. For example, if you watch the movie "Beijing meets Seattle", there is a person named San mentioned in the movie.

School districts in marino. Its high school is in the Los Angeles area, ranking very high, called San Marino High School.

School, San Marino High School. It is not a particularly large school district. Compared with the Los Angeles school district, it is very small, but San Marino High School is one of the best in Los Angeles and even California in terms of graduates' whereabouts and SAT scores.

2. Basic introduction of private high schools

Private high schools are mainly divided into day schools and boarding schools, and some high schools also have religious backgrounds.

1), boarding school

Boarding is called boarding in English.

School, easy to understand. You live in a school, and the school has a dormitory. Some schools are completely boarding. If you want to go to this school, you must live there.

2), day school

Day school, you don't live in school, you need to find a host family, and the host family will send you to school every day. There are some schools where you can choose to live here or live outside. Every school has different requirements. For some schools, there is no dormitory at all, so you must find a host family outside, and the parents of the host family will take you to school every day.

3) Schools with religious backgrounds

Many parents have a great misunderstanding about schools with religious backgrounds, and they are not even very interested in them. They think that religion and science are contrary. It's not all like this. Historically, since the Middle Ages, it was the people in the church who really received education. Only the clergy of the church will study science and law, including English words that everyone knows. A university is called a university. In fact, the word university comes from Latin. In the twelfth century, many people in the church founded many universities, and these universities still exist today, and they are all famous schools. For example, Oxford University and Cambridge University in Britain; 1386 The University of Heidelberg in Germany is also a missionary university.

Professors in these universities are actually clergy, and their salaries are paid by the church. Therefore, for a long time, church and science were complementary. Although missionary schools have a religious background, they do not force you to believe in their religion. We are often asked this question because some parents in our country believe in Buddhism, or don't believe in any religion, and don't want their children to believe in any religion. The school only requires you to respect their religion, and there may be only one religious lesson per week, and it is an elective course after freshman year. We should maintain mutual respect and understanding.

Second, the difference between them.

So the choice of American high schools is public or private? It actually depends on the specific requirements of these American high schools. For example, public American high school study abroad schools are actually only allowed to accept short-term exchange students, so parents and classmates should apply for judgment according to their actual situation.

1: The learning time limit is different. American public high schools are only allowed to accept short-term exchange students The statutory time limit is 1 year. Students must transfer to private high schools or return to China after one year of study.

2. Differences in the cost of studying abroad The American public high school exchange program is an international student exchange program supported by the US government, which is aimed at middle school students between 15- 18. Tuition and living expenses are much cheaper than private high schools.

3. Different forms of accommodation American public high school exchange programs must require international students to live in local host families and receive family care and guardianship.

4. Different types of visas

In American public high schools, students can only hold short-term J 1 scholar visa or 1 annual F 1 visa. J 1 Scholar visa cannot be renewed after it expires. If you choose to transfer to a private high school after the F 1 visa expires, you need to go back to China to apply for a new visa. In American private high schools, students get a student visa of F 1, which is generally valid for 5 years, and can be renewed after the visa expires, and they are allowed to study for a long time with a student visa.

Third, their respective advantages and disadvantages.

1. Advantages of public high schools

1) Take the study of 1 year as a buffer adaptation stage to prepare for entering a better private school.

Many parents will consider whether my children can go to public schools. Generally speaking, only a few public schools can accept international students with F- 1 visas, and their school districts can issue I20 forms, and the admission time is limited to one year. Why is this? Because the main source of funds for public schools is the annual property tax paid by local residents in their communities. If you buy a house in the United States, you have to pay property tax at the end of the year. Therefore, a good university has a lot of financial support, and the funds come from local residents, so it does not accept foreign students. To put it bluntly, I pay my children to study. In my school district, why can foreign students come to this school to study? Some schools are ok, but the number is relatively small, and its legal maximum validity period is one year. After that year, you have to transfer from this public school to other private schools.

2) Be familiar with American campus environment, improve language ability and understand American culture.

This year's life in public schools is quite helpful to students. They can get familiar with the American campus environment, improve their language ability, make American friends and, most importantly, understand American culture.

3) The tuition is relatively low.

Compared with private high schools, the tuition of public high schools is much cheaper, about 1 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. Of course, this is almost free for international students and local residents. In greater los angeles area, two school districts can issue I20 to receive international students. Many parents choose to send their children to private schools in one step, and then finish high school in a few years. For some students, studying in a public high school for one year is actually a good choice.

4) The entry threshold is relatively low, which can be used as a springboard for applying for private schools.

For example, if you take the TOEFL or the joint exam, the results are not particularly satisfactory. I tried several times, but I couldn't meet the admission standard of the school. If the difference is much, you can only drop one level, you can't go to a good private high school, you can only go to a more general private high school. In this case, we can compare whether we can go to a relatively good public high school that can accept international students. The entry threshold of general public high schools is slightly lower than that of private schools. Explain that the low threshold does not mean that its teaching quality is not good, or it is not as good as private schools. It shows that fewer people know this way, indicating that the application is not so competitive. In this year's study, students can learn culture, improve their language level and strengthen their communication skills. In addition, with the help of our teachers, they can improve the grades required in the entrance examination. It can be used as a good springboard to transfer to a more ideal private high school in the future.

2. Advantages of private high schools

1)

Famous American private schools not only have high tuition fees, but also have high admission standards. The general admission rate is only 15%. Entering these schools is equivalent to entering the university in advance. Because of the high cost, all the people who can enter these schools are families, not only with good academic performance, but also with assets or successful parents. The average annual household income will exceed $300,000. Belong to the former 1% families who immigrated to the United States. In addition to families that inherit wealth, parents are usually doctors, or partners in law firms, as well as corporate executives, high-tech venture capital shareholders or Wall Street financial experts. Influenced by the family environment, these students generally have rich learning and social resources, broad horizons and high demands on themselves.

2) The educational system of private schools is equivalent to that of private schools in China. The teacher-student ratio is generally 1:6. The average number of students in each class will not exceed 20. Professors have enough time to discuss and coach students in class and after class. The teacher-student ratio of American brand public high schools is generally above 1: 1 1. A class with many courses has 30 students.

3) What domestic parents are most concerned about is the proportion of private senior high school entrance examinations to famous universities. From the data we have seen, the proportion of the top 50 private high schools admitted to the top 10 universities in the United States should be around 30%. At present, it is generally believed that the top 10 universities in the United States are eight Ivy League universities plus MIT and Stanford University. If we add other top-ranked liberal arts colleges and universities and expand the target to the top 20 universities, it is estimated that 50% of the graduates of these private high schools can enter. Why is there such a high proportion? Because the top 50 private high schools in the United States are not large in scale, the largest generally graduate more than 200 people every year, and the smallest graduates only a few dozen people every year. On average, it is estimated that each school graduates 150 people every year. The top 50 schools graduate 7500 students every year. One third of them are 2500 people. The top 10 universities in the United States enroll about 1500 students every year on average.

10 universities have 15000 students. There is no problem in quantity. In addition, the system of these private high schools is similar to that of famous American schools, which is equivalent to a systematic relationship. Culture comes down in one continuous line. Comparatively speaking, the top 50 public high schools in the United States generally graduate about 500 people every year, and only 10% can enter the top10 prestigious schools. Compared with private schools, the probability is much smaller.

4) Private high schools are small in scale, and the family environment and background are relatively clean. American children study and live together for four years, and it is easy to form lifelong friendship. It laid a good foundation for me to establish personal relationships in my career in the future. In comparison, because there are too many students in public schools, they will be more indifferent to each other.

The above details the public and private situation of American high schools from three aspects. Parents and students must know more about studying in American high schools after reading it. In short, for American high schools, they should choose according to their own needs. But also can be flexibly selected. For example, it is also a good way to transfer from public colleges to private colleges. Finally, I wish everyone can apply to an ideal institution and have a satisfactory study abroad trip.