Going off to college is a milestone in any young adult’s life. The phrase itself conjures up images of newfound independence, exposure to new perspectives, knowledge, and possibly even one or more sips of alcohol.
上大學對任何一個年輕人來說都是人生大事。上大學這個短語讓人想起新獲得的獨立、接觸到的新視角、新知識，也許還能讓人想起初嘗酒的滋味。
In America, however, few people use the phrase 「going off to university,」 or 「headed to university,」 even if they are indeed about to set off for, say, Harvard University. Why did college become the predominant term for postsecondary education? And is there any difference between the two institutions?
然而，在美國，很少有人用university來泛指「大學」，即使他們上的是哈佛大學。為什麼college成為指代中學後教育時普遍使用的術語？這兩種機構之間有什麼區別嗎？
While university appears to be the older of the two terms, dating as far back as the 13th century, schools and students in North America have embraced college to describe most places of higher learning. There is no rigid definition of the words, but there are some general attributes for each. A college is typically a four-year school that offers undergraduate degrees like an associate or a bachelor’s. (Community colleges are often two-year schools.) They don’t typically offer master’s or doctorates, and the size of their student body is typically the smaller of the two.
儘管university這個詞彙在這兩者中歷史更悠久，早在13世紀就產生了，但北美的學校和學生卻主要用college來指代大多數高校。這兩個詞沒有嚴格的定義，但卻有各自的屬性。北美的college一般指提供本科學位（比如準學士學位或學士學位）的四年制大學。（社區學院通常是兩年制高校）。College一般不提供碩士或博士學位，學生規模通常也沒有university大。
Universities, on the other hand, tend to offer both undergraduate and graduate programs leading to advanced degrees for a larger group of students. They can also be comprised of several schools—referred to as colleges—under their umbrella. A university could offer both a school of arts and sciences and a school of business. The University of Michigan has a College of Engineering, for example.
University則一般都會提供本科和研究生課程，有更大的學生群體能獲得高級學位。University還可以包含college， 即學院。一所university旗下可能有藝術學院、科學學院和商學院。比如密西根大學（university）旗下就有工程學院（college）。
While many of these traits are common, they’re not guaranteed. Some colleges can be bigger than universities, some might offer master’s degrees, and so on. To complicate matters further, an institution that fits the criteria of a university might choose to call itself a college. Both Dartmouth College and Boston College qualify as universities but use the college label owing to tradition. Schools may begin as colleges, grow into universities, but retain the original name.
儘管兩者間通常是這種關係，但也有例外。一些college可能比university還大，一些college可能還會提供碩士學位。更複雜的是，一些符合university標準的高校也許會選擇自稱為college。達特茅斯學院和波斯頓學院都符合university的標準，但卻出於傳統原因而使用college的名稱。有些高校一開始是college，後來發展成university，但仍保留原來的名字。
People tend to think of a university as being more prestigious or harder to get into, but there are too many variables to make that determination at a glance. Some colleges might ask more of applicants than universities. Some universities might be smaller than certain colleges. Either one can be public or private.
人們往往會認為university更有聲望更難進，但其實不能根據名稱來倉促判斷，因為變量太多。一些college對申請者的要求比university還要高。有些university可能比某些college還小。兩種高校都既可能是公立的，也可能是私立的。
In the UK, students go off to university (or uni) instead of college. The British version of college is typically a two-year program where students either focus on learning one particular skill set (much like a vocational school) or use the time to prepare for exams so that they can advance to university.
在英國，學生上大學用的詞是university而非college。英國的college通常是兩年制，學生專攻一項技能（和職業學校很相似）或為升入大學（university）的考試做準備。
While the terms aren’t strictly interchangeable, there is enough of a difference between the two to try and make the distinction. Keep in mind that some states, like New Jersey, have rules about how institutions label themselves. There, a university has to have at least three fields of graduate study leading to advanced degrees.
儘管這兩個詞從嚴格意義上來講不能互換，但兩者的差別足以將二者區分開來。要知道，美國的一些州，比如新澤西州，對於高校取名有規定。在該州，一所高校至少必須有三個學科提供研究生學位才能自稱為university。