The United States of America (USA), commonly referred to as the United States (US), America, or simply the States, is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal district. Washington, D.C., has been the capital of the United States since 1800. Eight other cities have served as the meeting place for the U.S. Congress and are therefore considered to have once been the capital of the United States. In addition, each of the fifty U.S. states and the five principal territories of the United States maintains its own capital.
The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, “in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law”. In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local.
The United States is a developed country and has the world’s largest national economy, with an estimated GDP in 2013 of $16.7 trillion – 23% of global nominal GDP and 19% at purchasing-power parity.
The United States, with its large size and geographic variety, includes most climate types. To the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The southern tip of Florida is tropical, as is Hawaii.
The land area of the contiguous United States is 2,959,064 square miles (7,663,941 km2). Alaska, separated from the contiguous United States by Canada, is the largest state at 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 km2). Hawaii, occupying an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America, is 10,931 square miles (28,311 km2) in area.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the country’s population now to be 317,566,000, The third most populous nation in the world, after China and India, the United States is the only major industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected.
American public education is operated by state and local governments, regulated by the United States Department of Education through restrictions on federal grants. There are also local community colleges with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition.
Higher education in USA is often at one of the 4,495 colleges or universities and junior colleges in the country. Like high school, the four undergraduate grades are commonly called freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years (alternatively called first year, second year, etc.).
The universities of USA are among some of the top universities in the world; Stanford University, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are all ranked in the global top 10 in the 2013 QS World University Rankings, with Massachusetts ranked first.
The USA has had a total of 350 Nobel Prize winners to-date. With few of the recent winners Robert J. Shiller (Economics 2013) Lars Peter Hansen (Economics 2013) and Eugene F. Fama(Economics,2013).
Distinct advantages of Study in USA
• This quality education is thereby upheld year after year and the degrees that students attained in the US are not just widely recognized and accepted, but also widely respected around the world.
• You can get the opportunity to earn while you learn, when you enroll into an MS/PhD program. Your research grant will help support your personal needs by waiving your tuition and providing you with a stipend, while the intellectual challenges that you will overcome academically will certainly help satisfy your professional appetite.
• The US education system offers a kind of flexibility in terms of the courses that are offered, which enables you select your choice of subject from a variety of topics. You can now specialize in the area of your choice without having to take any unnecessary classes.
• Full Bright Scholarships opportunities for talented students
• The students who study in USA are allowed to work for 20 hours per week in University days and 40 hours per week during off season
• Post Study Work opportunities, on completion of degree, students are legally authorized to work in the US & need to apply for Optional Practical Training Employment Authorization (OPT).
• The International Education reputation of the USA attracts the aspiring students from all around the world, making it a cultural diverse country.
UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDYING IN UNITED STATES
