<p>Not trying to start any arguments or imply anything with this thread. I have just heard that colleges are not as prestigious, for lack of a better term, as universities. Is this true, and what is the difference? Thank you!</p>
<p>Colleges are smaller and generally not talked about as much but they can be just as good or better than universities. Colleges are usually only undergraduate (few to no grad students) and only have one school while a university will often have more grad kids than undergrad with multiple schools (arts and sciences, etc)</p>
<p>In the US, “college” and “university” are mostly used interchangeably as generic terms when referring to four year schools granting bachelor’s degrees (though “college” can also include two year community colleges whose highest degree granted is an associates degree).</p>
<p>“College” may also sometimes refer to undergraduate-only four year schools, while “university” may also sometimes refer to those which also grant graduate and/or professional degrees. “College” may also refer to divisions within a school, such as the “College of Arts and Sciences” and the “College of Engineering” within a school.</p>
<p>In some other countries, “college” is more likely to refer to what in the US would be called a community college, while “university” is more likely to refer to a bachelor’s degree granting school. So people from Canada may refer to “going to university” rather than “going to college” when describing attending a bachelor’s degree granting school.</p>
<p>Colleges (in general) give out undergraduate degrees. Universities, on the other hand, have undergrad students as well as Master degree candidates and even Doctorate (ie PhD, MD) candidates.</p>
<p>Universities are often more well-known, since they generally have larger student bodies and have a well-known research focus. Prestige is not the same thing as being well-known, although some people confuse them. Prestige refers to how well-regarded a school is. There are both universities and colleges which are considered prestigious.</p>
<p>Also, to complicate the matter further, I believe there are a few colleges which call themselves “such-and-such university” even though they only offer undergraduate degrees. (and vice-versa)</p>
<p>There also are “Institutes”, “Academies”, “Polytechnics”, “Seminaries”, “Schools”, and more.</p>
<p>Do not get hung up on what word the institution uses in its name.</p>
<p>A university is an educational institution that has more than one college.</p>
<p>Said another way - a college is just one school, a university is more than one school under the university umbrella.</p>
<p>Yes, Boston College is actually a university. They even considered changing the name to “Boston College University.” xD</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Exactly.</p>
<p>There’s no systematic difference in prestige. Frankly, most universities have greater name recognition than undergraduate colleges due to football and basketball.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Some universities call their subdivisions “schools” rather than “colleges”. [Dartmouth</a> College](<a href=“Academics | Dartmouth”>Academics | Dartmouth) also has subdivisions called “schools”.</p>
<p>In the US, whether a bachelor’s degree granting school calls itself a “university” or a “college” is not really important.</p>