When I came to China, I was surprised to see that university students in China don't have the freedom that American students have. By that I mean many students here don't choose the courses they want to take. At home, students select many of the courses they want, as well as the time and professor

　　Normally, university students in the US take general courses for the first two years of study: English, history, math, computer, art, PE, i.e., Physical Education, etc. During this time, they are expected to figure out where their interests lie. After the second year, students must declare a major. In China, students enter a certain department and study only one discipline for all four years. This is really a big difference.

　　Freedom doesn't mean that American students don't work hard while they're at the university. In fact they must! Even though students take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (similar to College Entrance Examination in China), and enter the university, they don't have the guarantee that they can graduate. During the first two years of university study, a certain percentage of students will be failed and forced to leave the university.

　　I might also add that most professors don't really care if students attend lectures or not. Most students know that they can't pass the exams unless they attend the professor' lectures. The reason for this is that each professor prepares his own exams, usually a mid-term exam and a final exam.