The College Search: American vs. Norwegian

Good Morning Norway!

If you live or have lived in Norway, you know what this picture means - THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER!  I took these pictures on Monday before I left for school.  This was around 8 o'clock in the morning.  By near mid-June we will have about four-hour-long "nights".  That will definitely make up for the long absence of sun during December...

THE COLLEGE SEARCH
This post is about "the college search" in Norway.  I have recently completed my college search "the American way" but have also talked with a college counselor at THVS and gone to Lillestrøm for a college fair.  First, let's talk about high school vs. videregående skole.

High School in USA is four (long) years - 9th to 12th grade/freshman year to senior year/ages 14 to 18.  In Norway, videregående skole is three years long, from age 16 to 19/1st to 3rd grade.  I remember the first day of ninth grade talking about "the importance of grades for college" and on that first day we were introduced to "the college search".  We met the high school counselors and were each assigned to one.  There were about 400 students each assigned one of three counselors.  At THVS, there is only one college counselor (that I have seen) who is in charge of almost 2,000 students.  The number of students in comparison to the number of counselors shows the differences between the college search in Norway and in USA.

Applying to college in USA is a long and tiring process.  Freshman and sophomore years are generally prep for the SATs.  This is a test that we have to take to get into most colleges which is scored in three different categories: writing, reading and math.  Each section is scored out of a possible 800 points and can take up to five or six hours including timed breaks between sections.  The test can be taken up to three times (schools taking the best scores of each section) or more with the scores averaged.  The test is normally taken in Junior year.  The next part of applying to college is the actual application.  This includes: personal information, parents' educations and jobs, letters of recommendation, essays, etc.  Most colleges require applications to be handed in by late January and students find out final decisions by April/May.  In Norway, we went to a college fair in Lillestrøm in late January.  Like I said, in USA we would have already sent in our test grades with our applications.  We had a talk with the college counselor in class this week too.  It's mid-February!  We discussed our options, major decisions and checked out some colleges in a booklet.  The application in Norway is almost purely grades and isn't due for another few months.  Another difference is that you have to go into college with a major whereas in USA you can go in as undecided.

COST
As we all know, school in USA is NOT free.  St. Louis University, the school which I will be attending next year (either for Meteorology or for Aeroscience... I have yet to decide), is about $32,000 (according to collegeboard.com).  I got the Dean's Scholarship of $12,000 per year, but 20 grand per year is still quite a bit more than it costs in Norway.  In Norway, people describe the cost of school as "free" but then add in government loans.  Either way, there was an article in the newspaper the other day saying how expensive it was to go to school at a private school but I did the math and it was a little less than $2,000 per year.  WHAT?

LIVING
In USA we have Dorms where students can stay at the school while they study and pay the school directly.  Also, at SLU (St. Louis University) students are required to be on a meal plan, so the school feeds them too.  In Norway, dorms don't exist.  You have to find your own place to live but normally students are grouped together in different areas of the cities where there are many apartment buildings, etc.  Of course, the cost of living in Norway is much, much higher than the cost in USA, so that's where your money goes. 

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I'm leaving with Line and Helle tomorrow morning to go to COPENHAGEN, DENMARK!  We come back Tuesday and on Friday I'm going to meet up with Didrik and Cathrine and spend a weekend with them at their cabin in the mountains :D 

Last night I went to a concert at the Sandefjord church (in Sandefjord) with Mari, Line and Alice and saw the music line's performance.  They performed "The Armed Man" in 13 movements with choir and orchestra.  It was truly an amazing performance.  It reminded me a bit of home when we were walking around in Sandefjord because we stopped in KIWI to get something to eat.  Kiwi  is a grocery store.  I have spent countless nights in Woostock, Leb and Rutland doing the same. 

I can't believe I have less than five months left in Norway.  :(

By the way!  It's 4 o'clock and SUNNY!  The days!  They're getting longer!  :D