Ah, of course, how rude of me. My name is Michael Furtak. I am currently attending Hamilton College, which is located in central New York state and am majoring in Computer Science. Hamilton is a small liberal arts college, with an intimate learning atmosphere, created mostly by its small class sizes and dedicated teachers. This smaller class size is one of the primary reasons for choosing Hamilton. It differs based on the college, but at Hamilton, the average student takes four classes per semester and receives four credits towards graduation. To graduate, you must have 32 credits. At other schools, the amount of credit you receive per class depends on the class, (2, 3, or 4 credits is common) and a usual semester means taking about 14 credits worth of classes.

A large difference between Japanese and American colleges is the application and entrance process. If you compare college entrance in America to Japan, you can see that the stress and preparation involved in the process is on average much less for American students than their Japanes counterparts. For example, Japanese students who intend to continue on to college must endure "exam hell" and often attend extra after-school exam preparation classes to be prepared. However, once a student gains entrance to a university, the situation switches. Japanese professors tend to be extremely lenient with homework and projects and are often known to take frequent vacations. The American college experience is quite the opposite, with professors tending to become more strict, and assign more projects as levels increase. Additionally, American college students who are holding part time jobs are often doing so in order to pay part of their tuition. In Japan the expectation is more that one's parents will pay for your education, and a much greater percentage of students are holding part time jobs to save money for things like cars, trips and the like.