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.
上大学对任何一个年轻人来说都是人生大事。上大学这个短语让人想起新获得的独立、接触到的新视角、新知识，也许还能让人想起初尝酒的滋味。
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，在美国，很少有人用university来泛指“大学”，即使他们上的是哈佛大学。为什么college成为指代中学后教育时普遍使用的术语？这两种机构之间有什么区别吗？
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.
尽管university这个词汇在这两者中历史更悠久，早在13世纪就产生了，但北美的学校和学生却主要用college来指代大多数高校。这两个词没有严格的定义，但却有各自的属性。北美的college一般指提供本科学位（比如准学士学位或学士学位）的四年制大学。（社区学院通常是两年制高校）。College一般不提供硕士或博士学位，学生规模通常也没有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则一般都会提供本科和研究生课程，有更大的学生群体能获得高级学位。University还可以包含college， 即学院。一所university旗下可能有艺术学院、科学学院和商学院。比如密歇根大学（university）旗下就有工程学院（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.
尽管两者间通常是这种关系，但也有例外。一些college可能比university还大，一些college可能还会提供硕士学位。更复杂的是，一些符合university标准的高校也许会选择自称为college。达特茅斯学院和波斯顿学院都符合university的标准，但却出于传统原因而使用college的名称。有些高校一开始是college，后来发展成university，但仍保留原来的名字。
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.
人们往往会认为university更有声望更难进，但其实不能根据名称来仓促判断，因为变量太多。一些college对申请者的要求比university还要高。有些university可能比某些college还小。两种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.
在英国，学生上大学用的词是university而非college。英国的college通常是两年制，学生专攻一项技能（和职业学校很相似）或为升入大学（university）的考试做准备。
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.
尽管这两个词从严格意义上来讲不能互换，但两者的差别足以将二者区分开来。要知道，美国的一些州，比如新泽西州，对于高校取名有规定。在该州，一所高校至少必须有三个学科提供研究生学位才能自称为university。