If you have plan to study in USA, what you need to know first is their education system. As you are going out from a different education system, you need to know very clearly how the two different education system synchronize.
Most of the students who go to US for higher study, usually complete their primary and secondary education in their own country. According to the American education system, a student requires to complete 12 years of primary and secondary education in order to attend a university or college. This 12 years of education may be completed outside USA and hence allow the students from other countries to pursue higher education in USA.
In American education system, a child starts going to school at the age of 5 years. A Primary School usually has five years of education, referred to as first through fifth grades. The Secondary School consists of a total of seven years, and referred to as sixth through twelfth grades. Among those, the ninth through twelfth grades are most commonly referred to as High School.
Once a student passes out of High School and intends to attend a College or University, he must attend an Undergraduate School. Undergraduate Schools offer either a two year degree (called an Associate Degree) or a four year degree (called a Bachelors Degree) in a specific course of study, which is known as ‘Major’.
Those who have completed Bachelor’s Degree, can further go at Graduate Schools for Master’s Degree and then also further go for Doctorate Degree. The Master’s Degree is usually two-year program which is highly specialized in a specific field. Those who want to go take their education further ahead, can go for Doctorate Degrees, known as PhD. It takes three to six years to complete a Doctorate Degree.