Types of Colleges
There are thousands of colleges out there for you to search through. This can be overwhelming, so we put together a list of the different categories of colleges that you may come across to help you narrow down exactly what you are looking for.
Public and Private
Public colleges are funded by local and state government. They may offer lower tuition rates than private colleges - specifically for “in-state” students.
Private colleges rely on tuition, fees and non-government funding sources. Generous financial aid packages for students are often available due to private donations.
For-profit colleges
For-profit institutions are businesses that typically offer career training. Although they offer a variety of degree programs, it’s wise to exercise caution when applying to a for-profit school as they typically come at a higher cost.
Liberal arts colleges
Liberal arts colleges offer numerous courses in liberal arts areas such as literature, history, language, life sciences, and mathematics. Most are private and have 4-year bachelor’s degree programs.
Universities
Universities are larger institutions that offer a wider variety of academic majors and degree options. These schools provide bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Most universities contain several smaller colleges.
Two-Year Colleges and Community Colleges
Two-year colleges offer certiciate programs or associate degrees that can be completed in two years. They can include community colleges, vocational-technical colleges, and career colleges.
Community colleges offer two-year associate degrees that prepare undergraduates for four-year institutions offering bachelor degree programs.
Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)
There are a variety of minority-serving institutions that you may come across during your search. We’ve listed them out and given a little more information about each of them below:
ANNAAPISIs, also known as Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-serving institions, focus on impriving the transition, progression, graduation and transfer rates of Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
ANNHs, also known as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions.
HBCUs, also known as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, were established prior to 1964 and whose principal mission was and still is the education of Black Americans.
HSIs, also known as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, have at least 25% Hispanic full-time undergraduate students.
NASNTIs, also known as Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions.
PBIs, also known as Predominantly Black Institutions.
TCUs, also known as Tribal Colleges and Universities, maintain, preserve and restore Native languages and cultural traditions while offering a high quality college education.
Research Universities
When it comes to different types of research universities, there are three main distinctions. There are R1, R2 and R3 universities. These are distinctions of the amount of research activitiy happening at that specific institution. Universities with R1 distinction offer very high research activity, universities with R2 distinction offer high research activity, and universities with R3 distinction offer moderate research activity.
Building your college list
These categories, in addition to academic programs offered, size, location, athletics and student life, can help you find a school that’s a good fit for you. Remember, when you create a Scoir account, you can search for and discover schools using many of these categories as filters.
