Transcript: “Listening Time” Episode 30

Welcome to the Listening Time podcast. I'm Conner from polyglossa.com, and
you're listening to Episode 30 of the Listening Time podcast. If this is your first time
listening, welcome! I'm glad you found this resource to help you practice your listening
comprehension in English. I'm sure that you already know how this works by now if
you've been listening for a while. But if this is the first episode that you're listening to, let
me just explain really quickly how it works. In each episode, I choose a different topic or
a couple different topics, and I speak about these topics in a natural way, using natural
words and phrases and expressions, but I speak a little bit more slowly, and a little bit
more clearly than the average native speaker speaks. In this way, you can understand
me better and learn new words more easily because you understand more of what
you're hearing. And then hopefully, after using these episodes for a while to practice,
you can eventually move on to real podcasts made for English speakers. So, this
podcast should be a great resource for you to help you practice your listening.
I've noticed recently that the podcast is growing, and I'm very happy about that.
It's still a small podcast, but I see some progress. Specifically, I see that there are some
new listeners from certain countries. The number one country is Vietnam, actually. So,
I'm really happy to have all my Vietnamese listeners here. I've been getting a lot of new
listeners from Thailand as well. So that's really cool. And I'm happy to have all of you
listening from all the different countries, wherever you're from. Thank you for tuning in to
this podcast, and please share it with anyone who might find it useful so that this
podcast can continue to grow.
So today, we're going to talk about university. This is definitely an interesting
topic, and it's a topic that students asked me about a lot, so I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Before we begin, remember that you have the transcript available for each episode. So,
if you want the transcript for this episode, you can find it in the Episode Notes. And of
course, remember to sign up for our $1 Listening Practice Seminars at polyglossa.com
so you can practice your listening skills even more. Alright, let's get started.
Okay so first of all, I need to talk about something really important. And that is the
difference between the words "university" and "college". So, of course everyone knows
what a university is. I think in every language, every country, there's a word for
university. This is a very clear concept. However, it's important for you to know that in
American English, we actually prefer to use the word "college" rather than university.
So, the word "college" in American English means this same exact thing as university.
They're interchangeable.
So I can say, "I went to that university" or "I went to that college". It means the
same thing. However, we actually prefer to say the word "college". When I'm speaking
with other Americans, I rarely use the word university. I only use the word "university"
when I'm talking to students of mine who are from other countries. And we often have
miscommunications when I use the word college, because in other countries, college
might mean something different, but in American English, college and university are the
same thing.
So, in this episode, I'm probably going to use the word college more often
because for me, that's what's natural. Alright, so first let's talk about getting into college,
getting admitted into college. This just means being accepted into college. So, in the
US, what are the criteria for being accepted into colleges? What are the important
things? Well, one thing that's very important is your grades. This is another important
word to recognize in American English, The word "grades" can refer to the years of
school, like for example: first grade, second grade, third grade. Or it can also be used to
refer to the score that you receive in your class. So: A, B, C, D, F... these are grades. So
if I say "I got good grades in school", this means that I did well in my classes. So of
course, your grades play a big role in whether or not you get admitted to a college. If
you get good grades, then you have a better chance of going to a good college. If you
don't get good grades, then your chances are lower.
Another important factor is your SAT score. The SAT is a standardized test that
you can take in high school that colleges can use to determine your academic
capabilities. So, not everyone has to take the SAT. It's actually optional. So, if you don't
want to go to college, you don't need to take the SAT. This is something that students
take if they aspire to go to college. When we "aspire" to do something, this just means
that we intend or plan or have the goal to do something. So, if you want to go to college,
you should take the SAT test in high school. So that's another important factor.
And then one last factor is extracurricular activity activities. This phrase refers to
the things that you do outside of the classroom. So for example, if you play a sport in
high school, this is an extracurricular activity. Or if you're the leader of some club, then
this is also an extracurricular activity. The top colleges in the US want their students to
be heavily involved in school programs and things like that. So, they expect the people
who apply to these colleges to have a lot of experience with extracurricular activities.
So, these are the three main factors that determine whether or not you get admitted to a
college in the US.
So now, let's talk about the structure of college or university in the US. So of
course, a bachelor's degree is four years. So, if you do everything on time and you don't
fail your classes, you'll finish in four years, and you'll have your bachelor's degree. The
bachelor's degree is the degree that most students get first. There are associate's
degrees, as we call them, but most students don't do these types of degrees.
Associate's degrees are only two years. Most people do bachelor's degrees, and they're
four years. So, in the first two years of your bachelor's program, this is what we call
"general education".
So, these classes that you take are general classes. They're not all focused on
your major. This is another very important word. The word "major" refers to the subject
that you study in college. So for example, I could say "my major is English", or you can
also say, "I majored in English". You can use it as a verb, like that. So, in your first two
years of college, your classes are pretty general. You take a science class, a history
class, an English class, a math class, etc. You don't get to only focus on your major.
Some people like this, and some people don't like this. For example, the students
who already know exactly what they want to study, they probably don't like this type of
structure because it forces them to study subjects that they don't want to study. But
there are many students who enter college, and they don't know what they want to
study yet. They haven't chosen a major. And these students have until the beginning of
their third year to choose their major. When we say that you "have until" some time, this
means that this is the deadline. You have to do this action before that time. So, students
have to choose their major before their third year of college.
 So, these students might benefit from this general education in their first two
years, because they have time to see what they like. They can experience different
classes, different subjects, and they can choose the one that is most interesting for
them. And then, they can declare this major before their third year. And then, in the third
and fourth year of your bachelor's program, your classes are focused on your major. So,
almost all of your classes have something to do with the subject that you chose. So
really, this system is divided into two parts. Your first two years are general, and your
second two years are more specific.
For me, this wasn't that great because I already knew what subjects I wanted to
study. So, it seemed like a big waste of time and money to study all of these unrelated
subjects during the first two years, but that's just my opinion. So, there aren't only
majors in universities, there are also minors. This is an optional thing. If you don't want
to choose a minor, that's okay. You don't have to. But some people decide that they
want to have a major and a minor. The minor is the subject that is secondary to your
main subject. So, maybe you want to study math as your major, and you want to do a
minor in physics, for example. This means that the majority of your classes will be
related to math, and then the other classes will be focused on physics. And so I didn't
choose this option. I didn't do a minor, but I know other people that did do this. And a lot
of people prefer to have a minor as well as a major.
And one other important thing is that in university, we have what we call "credits".
So, each class is worth a certain amount of credits, and you need a certain amount of
credits in order to graduate. So, you have to reach this number. If you don't have
enough credits, you can't graduate. You can't get your degree. So if I remember
correctly, I think that most classes are worth three credits, but some of them are worth
four and some of them are worth one. It just depends on the type of class. So, credits
are very important when it comes to college because this is what you need if you want
to graduate.
So, how about the class schedule? Well, this is different for everyone. It depends
on how many classes you're taking each semester, and it depends on which classes
you choose, and it can also depend on your preference. Some people like morning
classes, some people like evening classes. And you often have the opportunity to
choose, more or less, when your classes are. But sometimes, it's a little more limited,
and you have to take one class in particular, and there's only one time slot for that class.
When we use the phrase time slot in English, we're just referring to a certain time in
your schedule. That's it.
So, when I was in college, it was very common for students to have classes from
Monday to Thursday. So for example, I think that I only had Friday classes during one or
two semesters, I think. I think during the other terms, I didn't have Friday classes, so I
always had a three-day weekend. This is pretty cool because it feels like you have a lot
of free time after you finish your week of classes. So, if I remember correctly, I think
most of my classes were about two hours in length, but some are shorter and some are
longer, of course. And in my college, it was necessary to go to class. So you couldn't
just skip class and study and take the tests and get good grades. So, you had to attend
class if you wanted to pass the class. So, I know that in other countries, there are
different systems, where maybe you don't have to go to all the lectures, and you just
need to go to certain classes to take tests or do certain assignments, but at least in my
college, it was necessary to go to class. So, I didn't skip class that often.
So, one really important factor when it comes to choosing a college is the
environment at the college, because in the US, it's really common for people to live on
campus during their first year or first couple years. Just a note: when we say live "on
campus", we're referring to living at the university. The "campus" refers to the university
grounds. So for example, I lived on campus for a couple years when I was in university.
When people live on campus, they live in what we call "dorms", or dormitories. So,
when people live in dorms this just means that they share a room or a space with other
students at the same college, and they live there full-time. So, they can walk to all their
classes, they don't need a car, and their whole life revolves around that university.
You've probably seen American movies that are about college, or with scenes
where people are living in the dorms. This is very accurate. This is really common in the
US. So, living on campus is definitely an interesting experience. And many people love
this, especially people who like to party. I'm not one of these people. I don't drink and I
don't party. So for me, this aspect isn't that interesting, but for other students, this is
what they're looking forward to when they start college. They want to party.
So, many students do very poorly in their classes during their first year of college.
When we say that you do "poorly" in something, this means that you don't do well, you
do bad. So, many students fail a lot of classes in their first year, or they just don't do
very well overall because they're focused so much on their social life on campus. So,
that's one thing that a lot of people regret after their first couple years, because maybe
they're not able to finish their degree in four years because they have to retake classes
that they failed. So, partying on campus is a really big thing in the US.
Another thing that's really big in college is sports. So, college sports in the US are
really popular. Many people watch college sports on TV, even. So for example, I know
people who like watching college football, and they actually prefer watching college
football more than professional football. So, this is a really big industry, so to say, in the
US. And so, of course, if you're a good athlete in high school, you have the opportunity
to go to a lot of good colleges.
So, if you're one of the best athletes in your sport, there will be recruiters who
come to watch your games in high school. These recruiters are coming from different
colleges. And they'll actually try to convince you to go to their college, and they'll offer
you all kinds of benefits, and they'll offer you a scholarship for sure. A "scholarship" is
money that a university gives a student to attend their school. So, instead of you, the
student, paying to go to the school, maybe the school will pay your whole tuition for you.
The word "tuition" in English refers to the money that you have to pay to attend a
college.
So, the best athletes in high school oftentimes receive full-ride scholarships. A
"full-ride scholarship" is a scholarship that pays for your whole time at the university. It
pays the whole price that you would normally owe in order to go to that university. So,
this is a huge benefit of course, because in the US, universities are extremely
expensive, as you probably know.
How much does it cost to go to college in the US? Well, it depends completely on
which school you go to, and it also depends on where you live. Usually, if you go to a
college that's in your state, it's cheaper than if you go to a college in another state. And
of course, if you want to go to a very good college, this is going to cost significantly
more than a bad college. I didn't go to a good college, but my college was still
expensive compared to universities around the world. It still costs thousands and
thousands of dollars. If you want to go to a really good school and you want to live on
campus, it's common to pay $100,000, or even more, to finish a four-year bachelor's
program. That's a crazy amount of money. I know. But this is the reality in the US.
Alright, so lastly, let's talk about whether or not college is worth it. Should
students go to college, or no? I think this depends completely on what you want to do in
your career. If you want to be a doctor, for example, you probably need to go to college,
but if you want to be an entrepreneur, you probably don't need to go to college. I think
each person needs to weigh the pros and cons, and make the decision for themselves.
When we say to "weigh" something, we're just saying to measure it... to see what is
more important: the pros or the cons, the advantages or the disadvantages. For me, I
think that most people don't need to go to college. They just need to gain experience on
the job. They need to actually work and learn, and they'll be just fine. But I know that
other people disagree with me, and they would tell you that you definitely need to go to
college if you want to be successful. People have differing opinions when it comes to
this.
Alright, we'll stop there for today. Hopefully, this episode was interesting for you,
and hopefully, it was good practice for your listening. Remember that you can access
the transcript in the Episode Notes. And remember to sign up for our $1 Listening
Practice Seminars at polyglossa.com if you need more practice for your listening.
Alright, thank you very much for listening to this episode, and I hope you'll come back
for Episode 31 of the Listening Time podcast.

*IMPORTANT: This episode was recorded a while ago, and I don’t use the Polyglossa
website anymore. Now, you can access my Listening Practice Seminars by becoming a
member at www.patreon.com/listeningtime