United States

Stretching more than 3,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the United States of America is comprised of 50 states, each with its own unique traditions and history. With the capital city, Washington DC, The United States originated in a revolution which separated it from the British Crown. The constitution, drafted in 1787, established a federal system with a division of powers which has remained unchanged in form since its inception. The US contains a highly diverse population, the product of numerous and sustained waves of immigration. Ethnic and racial diversity – the “melting pot” – is celebrated as a core element of the American ideology. The 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed racial and other discrimination, but race continues to be a live issue. The election of Barack Obama as the country’s first African-American president in November 2008 marked a defining moment in the country’s chequered history of race relations.

The country is also a major source of entertainment: American TV, Hollywood films, jazz, blues, rock and rap music are primary ingredients in global popular culture. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, American art and literature took most of its cues from Europe. Writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau established a distinctive American literary voice by the middle of the 19th century. Mark Twain and poet Walt Whitman were major figures in the century’s second half; Emily Dickinson, virtually unknown during her lifetime, is now recognized as an essential American poet.

Hollywood, a northern district of Los Angeles, California, is one of the leaders in motion picture production. As the music, rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music have deeply influenced American music at large, distinguishing it from European traditions. Elements from folk idioms such as the blues and what is now known as old-time music were adopted and transformed into popular genres with global audiences.

The United States has mostly temperate climate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The United States has many competitive private and public institutions of higher education. The majority of world’s top universities listed by different ranking organizations are located in the US. We have some list top universities as your references for studying abroad:

1. Princeton University

   Princeton University is a private institution that was founded in 1746. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,323, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 600 acres. Princeton, the fourth-oldest college in the United States, is located in the quiet town of Princeton, New Jersey. Within the walls of its historic ivy-covered campus, Princeton offers a number of events, activities and organizations. Princeton’s unofficial motto, “In the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations,” speaks to the university’s commitment to community service.Princeton University is unique in combining the strengths of a major research university with the qualities of an outstanding liberal arts college. Whether through independent study, student-initiated seminars, or lectures in emerging fields such as neuroscience, Princeton students have the flexibility to shape dynamic academic programs that prepare them for leadership and lives of service.
   Chartered in 1746, Princeton is renowned for its commitment to undergraduate teaching.  All intellectual endeavors of Princeton’s 5,320 degree-seeking undergraduate students are supported by a range of first-rate academic resources, such as libraries, laboratories, and even an art museum. The academic options at Princeton give students flexibility in pursuing their intellectual interests while working toward either the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Students also may choose from among 47 interdisciplinary programs, creating combinations of academic interests. Princeton’s six residential colleges offer settings where students quickly can become involved in campus activities. Students can participate in more than 250 student-run organizations, the arts, civic engagement, student government, religious groups, and athletics.

2. Havard University

   Harvard University is a private institution that was founded in 1636. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,722, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 5,076 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Harvard’s extensive library system houses the oldest collection in the United States and the largest private collection in the world. At Harvard, on-campus residential housing is an integral part of student life. Freshmen live around the Harvard Yard at the center of campus, after which they are placed in one of 12 undergraduate houses for their remaining three years. Although they are no longer recognized by the university as official student groups, the eight all-male “final clubs” serve as social organizations for some undergraduate students; Harvard also has five female clubs.
   In addition to the College, Harvard is made up of 13 other schools and institutes, including the top-ranked Business School and Medical School and the highly ranked Graduate Education School, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Law School and John F. Kennedy School of Government. Eight U.S. presidents graduated from Harvard College, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Other notable alumni include Henry David Thoreau, Helen Keller, Yo-Yo Ma and Tommy Lee Jones. In 1977, Harvard signed an agreement with sister institute Radcliffe College, uniting them in an educational partnership serving male and female students, although they did not officially merge until 1999. Harvard also has the largest endowment of any school in the world

3. Yale University

   

   Yale University is a private institution that was founded in 1701. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,430, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 342 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut, is known for its excellent drama and music programs, which reach outside the classroom with student organizations such as the Yale Whiffenpoofs, a famous a cappella group, and the Yale Dramatic Association.

   Yale is made up of the College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and 13 professional schools. Included in the professional schools are the top ranked Law School and highly ranked School of Management, School of Medicine , School of Art and School of Nursing. The School of Drama, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Divinity School are also well-regarded graduate programs. The Yale Record is the oldest college humor magazine in the nation. Dwight Hall is an independent umbrella organization that fosters student service and activism in the local New Haven community. Yale is well known for its secret societies, the most famous of which are the Skull and Bone Society, which boasts members such as George W. Bush and John Kerry, and the Scroll and Key Society.