An undergraduate degree program is much easier to get into than a graduate program. Colleges review grade-point averages, community involvement and recommendation letters when selecting undergrad students. Before acceptance into graduate school, a student must take and pass the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE. International students must also pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language -- or TOEFL -- exam to demonstrate their proficiency in English. Students must present a statement of purpose to leaders in their field of study before they are accepted into the program. Department committees will review the statement and determine if the ambitions presented are worthy of entry.
Forty-seven percent of undergraduate programs cost less than $9,000 a year at a public university; private schools can cost $35,000-plus per year. Graduate degree programs are harder to price because tuition depends largely on the type of degree desired. Students can pay anywhere from $3,500 to $25,000 a year at a public university; their costs largely depending on the program selected. Private graduate schools range from $20,000 to 40,000.
Undergraduate classes can range anywhere from 15 to 300 students, depending on the subject and requirement to attend. Basic courses such as algebra, history and science are often heavily enrolled in because they are required in all degree plans. Graduate students have smaller classes -- usually no greater than 25 -- and focus on information relative to a student's field of study.
Lecture is the predominant form of teaching in an undergraduate course. Aiming to cover a massive amount of information in a small period, professors dictate the information needed to pass an upcoming exam. Graduate classes are often led in a discussion format, with the professor posing open-ended questions to spur students to voice their opinions. Classes require substantial amounts of reading and writing and have only a cumulative final.
Grants, scholarships and loans are easily accessible for students pursuing a two- or four-year degree. Stafford Loans and Pell Grants are widely distributed, and financial-aid programs are available at all universities. At the graduate level, grants and scholarships are few and far between, but tuition reimbursement can be earned by getting a research or teaching assistantship. A small stipend is common for students granted an assistantship.