College, University or Institute differences

We use the term “college students" which mean students either in college or universities. We almost never say" going off to university" or when I was in university."Instead, saying going off to college" and "when I was in college. What is the difference in two of them? Colleges and universities have many things in common. Both offer undergraduate degrees in the arts and sciences, for example. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living. But many colleges do not offer graduate studies.

Another difference is that universities are generally bigger. They offer more programs and do more research. Modern universities developed from those of Europe in the middle Ages. The word "university" came from the Latin universitas, describing a group of people organized for a common purpose. "College" came from collegiums, a Latin word with a similar meaning. In England, colleges were formed to provide students with places to live. Usually each group was studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study. The first American universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a college. This is still true. A college can also be a part of a university.