<p>I am not really sure how this whole ranking thing works, Universities and colleges are on different lists. So for instance is it better to go to the #4 ranked college, or the #27th ranked University?</p>
<p>In Canada, universities and colleges are completely different. Colleges focus on career training where as universities offer a broader education. Generally, university is thought to be more intellectual where as college is more hands on.</p>
<p>ok, but I am talking about say the difference between Tufts and Wellesley....which would be considered more prestigious?</p>
<p>Bump........</p>
<p>aren't you past college anyway</p>
<p>Yah I wish! I am actually in community college right now, returning to school after a very long break!</p>
<p>There's no hard and fast rule, but generally universities are bigger and more research-oriented than colleges. Universities often will organize themselves into colleges and schools (having, for example, a college of arts and sciences, a college of engineering, a school of law, a college of medicine, a school of public policy, and so on)</p>
<p>Some institutions, like the College of William and Mary, call themselves colleges when they are more like what most people would call universities.</p>
<p>A college is usually an institution that teaches a certain subject, while a university usually teaches many subjects.</p>
<p>A university can be made of colleges, but a college can't be made of universities.</p>
<p>To answer your original question, I think they run pretty much parallel. The top liberal arts colleges are as difficult to get into as the top 10 or so universities.</p>
<p>I always heard that a college was an institution that only offered a bachelors degree, whereas a University offers higher degrees. However, I think that there's no hard and fast rule anymore.</p>
<p>Rule of thumb dividing line is that a university has numerous colleges -- such as arts & sciences, engineering, business, education, agriculture, health sciences (including often nursing), and other -- and programs going through a PhD. Liberal Arts Colleges generally have arts & sciences and go through bachelor or sometimes master degree. Other distinction is that an LAC is usually smaller than a university in student size (although not necessarily in land size). Nevertheless, reality is that the distinctions can often be hazy as there are LAC's with business, engineering, education or other colleges and higher degree programs and there are places that call themselves universities though they are closer to an LAC.). The USNews ranking system is primarily designed to sell magazines and on-line services and thus you should not use it as the end all be all for choosing a college. It divides between national universities and LAC's mainly because it believed the dual ranking system would help sell more magazines. Moreover, USNews does not really evaluate the quality of teaching you will get and there are many who profess you can do better in that category with an LAC that is ranked high in USNews than you can get at the top ten universities. But perspectives differ. Which kind of college is better to go to is really a matter of personal choice and one cannot generalize that going to a university is "better" than an LAC or vice versa. As to Tufts and Wellesley, both are highly regarded.</p>