AIBU to ask you some questions about the USA?

[BreakfastInAmerica]

I've been reading lots of US fiction over lockdown, I've never been there.

What's the big deal with joining a fraternity house at College? What is the benefit of it? Why the Greek frat house names?

Is public access television still a thing?

Why do they call savoury muffins English Muffins when I'm more likely to see a blueberry or chocolate muffin when I'm out and about?

How do Americans eat things like thick pancakes with cream for breakfast, even the people who are slim?

What are grits?

Why are Automatic cars so prolific in the US, rather than manual/stick shift?

I'm sure I've got lots more questions and please pitch in with your own questions and answers.

AIBU to ask for your answers and questions about the small differences between the US and the UK?

@Leaannb - cross posted with your answers on the driving age issue.

I find US houses interesting (admittedly I have only seen them on TV blush) - particularly the way the rooms on the ground floor, so the kitchen and reception rooms, won't have doors, just big wide open arches. I like it!

You see this less with older houses, which wouldn't be used as TV sets. My house was built in 1986 and has an open floor plan with just doors on the bedrooms and bathrooms. I quite like it too and it makes it easier for air to circulate for the central air conditioning and heating.

This thread is making me soooo hungry!

I'd love to see other threads like this for other countries too. Like China for eg.

Anyway, my question for here is:- what's the difference between state and private university? Can you apply to unlimited universities? Do you get in because of your sats and act grades? Is it easier to get into private university? Are they more expensive? Do students usually go to their local state university unless they go to Ivy League?

what's the difference between state and private university? Can you apply to unlimited universities? Do you get in because of your sats and act grades? Is it easier to get into private university? Are they more expensive? Do students usually go to their local state university unless they go to Ivy League?

Funding. State universities get state money and are generally lower tuition costs; private universities rely on fees & donors for their costs.

You can apply to as many as you like; it costs money to apply. Around $150 per application when I went to school, I'm sure it's more now.

You get in because of your high school grade point average, mix of extracurricular activities, your entrance essay (and recommendation letters from teachers, community leaders, etc.) and your standardised test scores. Each school has a different process but it almost always considers all of these things.

It is sometimes easier to get into a private university because each school sets their own admission criteria, but one that was easy to get into wouldn't be very valuable once you graduated. There are accredited universities that basically make it as easy as "do you have a pulse and can you pay your bill?" but most employers know who they are and the degree doesn't carry as much weight. However to be accredited the course work has to meet body standards, so in theory they are all supposed to be the same standard.

Private universities are almost always more expensive to attend.

Students don't always go to their local university, and in my town going local was a sign you hadn't quite "made it'."

Re the drinking and driving, I live in the Midwest in the suburbs and unfortunately drinking and driving is really common. I was stunned when I first arrived here and went out with some work colleagues and their partners at how much they drank and then drove home. It was almost as if the fact that they were all drinking beer meant that it didn't count as alcohol.

My kids also could take their driving tests at 16, theoretically, as they got their learners' permits at 14 1/2. It's so much easier learning to drive in an automatic, though, and driving instructors aren't as common where we are. You just get your kids to drive you everywhere (and they have to drive on the interstate as part of their driving test). Mine had to do a minimum of 50 hours, at least 10 of which had to be at night (we had to document it) before they could take their tests.

One of mine joined a environmental fraternity at college, but that wasn't a thrusting, hazing type of outfit, just students of a like mind. One of their friends dropped out of their Greek life association as they were expected to live in the house in their junior and senior year and just couldn't afford it, was way more expensive than the other housing.

Proper biscuits and gravy can be delicious, though!

Anyway, my question for here is:- what's the difference between state and private university? Can you apply to unlimited universities? Do you get in because of your sats and act grades? Is it easier to get into private university? Are they more expensive? Do students usually go to their local state university unless they go to Ivy League?

I'll give it a go, having just been through the process for my kids.

State Uni's are partially funded by the state and have multiple campuses that are part of the state system. SUNY (state university of NY) has about 40 locations that share some central admin but also function independently in teaching and admissions. Private uni's have no state funding or connection. Many of the SUNY schools were private uni's that would have gone under if they had not been moved into the state system.

You can apply to as many uni's as you like, but there is a fee for each. Both of my kids applied to nine.

You get in based on your SAT scores, the rigor of your course selections in high school, your grades and athletic, social and artistic achievements. Both of my kids row crew and I'm sure it was a factor in getting scholarship grants. Uni's actively compete for the students they want.

Private uni's have a higher sticker price but may offer more scholarship money to a student they really want, so in some cases can be cheaper than a state school. For most kids, the state colleges are less expensive.

I don't know about most kids, but I think they go to the best uni they can afford to go to regardless of state vs private. There are hundreds of private uni's in the US that are not ivy league. DD is going to one of the "seven sisters" - the women's uni equivalent of the ivy league and DS goes to a great private uni near Boston that simply had everything he was looking for.

Mine have not long graduated college, and from what I remember:

There are absolutely loads of universities and it's true that some aren't worth the money, even though they may be super expensive.

Both went to a Public university in our state. It was really difficult to get into as although it's a huge school, it's extremely popular and as such only really gives student athlete scholarships, not academic ones. There is a financial aid package out here, though, for lower income families to help bring the cost down. The cost for students who live out of state or internationally is over 3 times that of in state students.

Even though it's so expensive here, undergraduate degrees are often seen as only a starter degree as there is such a lot of generalised education required. That means that masters degrees are often required, which is another two years and more money.

And student loans never get wiped here, unlike in the U.K., I believe

I always wanted two things common to American houses which are rarely ever seen in homes in the UK. One is a proper US-style front porch. The other: a laundry chute! I so want a laundry chute.

A widow's walk would also be awesome. And I so miss the sound of loons wailing in the dusk, or great horned owls hooting in the woods.

When students get sports scholarship ,s for university how does that work ? I assume they would still have to have a certain amount of academic ability?

When students get sports scholarship ,s for university how does that work ? I assume they would still have to have a certain amount of academic ability?

The scholarship is dependent upon the ability to participate in and be a contributing member of the sports team AND also contingent on a certain level of academic performance. There are some terrible stories about injured athletes or pregnant athletes who lose their money to attend school because they can't contribute to the team: www.espn.com/college-sports/news/story?id=2865230

You can also lose it for academic performance as well and there have been high profile scandals regarding schools allowing athletes to underperform.

oh yes a front porch is a thing of excessive comfort. We lived in Texas as well as Alaska, and in the former loved our porch, and the sound of cicadas in the trees. Screen doors are a thing too.

Thanks for the replies @gwenneh @MissConductUS and @Candacewasalwaysright !

My friend's ds is a rowing scholar at Brown. I could have asked her but I'd feel like a bit of a twit!

Sadly, not all American houses have porches. (Looks enviously at other houses in neighborhood.)

I watched a documentary iirc about ice (and refrigeration.) It said that front porches came about because it was so hot (not surprisingly). You would get a delivery of ice that you could store and use to cool things. However, when air con became standard, houses stopped building porches/verandas and a great social activity, talking to neighbours on porches, died out.

I dream of having a porch/veranda running around my house. Not something I'm likely to have on my London terrace! 😞

*a delivery of a big block of ice. It did not melt because if size of the ice/density?

I have medical questions. Do you have the equivalent of GPs in the US? On films/TV shows, people seem to go direct to specialists - women see their gynaecologist for a smear test, or go straight to an ophthalmologist if they have an eye problem? (OK, that was on Friends...). And everyone seems to take their children to a paediatrician rather than a GP?

And how does it work if you don’t have medical insurance? Did the Obamacare proposals get implemented?

@MarieIVanArkleStinks

I always wanted two things common to American houses which are rarely ever seen in homes in the UK. One is a proper US-style front porch. The other: a laundry chute! I so want a laundry chute.

A widow's walk would also be awesome. And I so miss the sound of loons wailing in the dusk, or great horned owls hooting in the woods.

What's a widows walk?

I worked as a nanny in a huge Georgian house that the owners had renovated. The dad of the family had put a laundry chute in from the bathroom on the first floor to the utility room in the basement. If I ever couldn't find something (toys etc), I'd always know to check the basket because the children had inevitably dropped it down the chute. We're renovating our house soon and I want to install the same thing into our new bathroom.

This is a hugely fascinating thread. My question was going to be about the length of the school day, but it's been done, so thank you for that.

The city of Baltimore, Maryland, had a unique tradition of painting their screened doors. Home owners could see out but people on the street could just see the painting. They started dying out when air conditioning became more common, but have had a recent revival.

owlcation.com/humanities/Painted-Screens-BaltimoreFolkArtTraditionofScreenPainting

Sorry. A bit off topic.

@tobee You're most welcome, glad I could help.

Brown University doesn't offer athletic scholarships:

admission.brown.edu/ask/athletics

so your friends son is a rower who receives some need based aid. He would not lose it if he dropping rowing. My kids both got academic grants, sometimes called "merit aid" but it was in part a need to have good athletes for rowing that made the offers generous.

I read an interview with a college admissions director and he said that it's like casting a movie. If the college orchestra needs a French horn player that would count in a applicant's favor.

Re ice delivery, the delivery man would put it in the ice box

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebox

which might be on the front porch, but would more commonly be in the kitchen.

*I have medical questions. Do you have the equivalent of GPs in the US? On films/TV shows, people seem to go direct to specialists - women see their gynaecologist for a smear test, or go straight to an ophthalmologist if they have an eye problem? (OK, that was on Friends...). And everyone seems to take their children to a paediatrician rather than a GP?

And how does it work if you don’t have medical insurance? Did the Obamacare proposals get implemented?*

We do have GPs; whether you go there first or not depends on the problem and what kind of insurance you have. HMO-type insurance (and some PPO types) require you to have a referral from your GP to access other services -- so you'd go there, then to a specialist. Gynaecology is an exception; generally if you need one you go straight there. Ophthalmology is separate and you'd go straight there because vision insurance tends to be separate from general medical insurance - you don't need a GP referral.

Paediatricians for children are the norm until they are 18 and then start seeing the GP.

If you don't have medical insurance you pay full price. The ACA did not change that. There are some provisions for single-payer care if you are int he military, over 65, or low income you can get Tricare, Medicare, or Medicaid, respectively. Each state governs who "low income" refers to in the case of the last some states have expansions (for example, New Jersey Familycare for a family of four will provide subsidized medical care if your income is below 355% of the federal poverty limit, a household income of $93k) and some states give it to basically no one by making the income limit very very low.

What's a widows walk?

It's a railed balcony, usually around a cupola. They're most often seen in seafront houses, looking out over the ocean (I grew up in the NE so many houses had them.)

Why do they drive automatic cars?
How could people who are unable to use a knife and fork at the same time, steer and use a gear lever. 😁😁

everyone seems to take their children to a paediatrician rather than a GP?

The pediatrician is effectively a GP for DC. They do annual checks, we need annual vaccination certificates for school and see them when they are sick.

It is more usual to see specialist doctors but GP's do exist for adults.

Yes I remember that about Brown scholarships now @MissConductUS . My friend is from the Midwest but has lived here since the 90s. I often have questions but it can be a bit weird quizzing someone in a normal social interaction!

If you don't have medical insurance you pay full price

Hospitals have lower prices for ‘self-payers’ so the uninsured wouldn’t be paying full price either. In fact, no one pays the ‘full price’ as insurers have their own tedious negotiation process.

It’d be helpful if hospitals were mandated to publish their prices ahead of time. A lot of this stuff is haggled after the fact and can be stressful and a real time waster

@Hungrypuffin

I have medical questions. Do you have the equivalent of GPs in the US? On films/TV shows, people seem to go direct to specialists - women see their gynaecologist for a smear test, or go straight to an ophthalmologist if they have an eye problem? (OK, that was on Friends...). And everyone seems to take their children to a paediatrician rather than a GP?

And how does it work if you don’t have medical insurance? Did the Obamacare proposals get implemented?

Yes, we have lots of GP's, most of whom are qualified in internal medicine. Specialist referral depends on your insurance, but most will allow you to self refer. It's almost always a waste of time for the GP to have to process the referral. Women can select a gynecologist to be their primary care provider.

The Affordable Care Act has been the law of the land since 2010 and was a major overhaul of the healthcare system here:

Affordable Care Act (ACA) & Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA)

And how does it work if you don’t have medical insurance?

That's a bit complicated and depends on where you live and your age. Pensioners get Federal coverage through Medicare and low income people through a state Medicaid program if they meet the eligibility requirements.