Quote Originally Posted by Jock Scot View Post
I think your terminology would not be quite correct for Universities in the UK. I think we would say that we graduated from X university rather than being an "Old boy"!

So imagine you are attending a gathering of fairly ancient(old) ex university students who had qualified from assorted UK universities and in the dim and distant past attended some very smart UK school as well. So there will be several assorted ties on view which one can then also add assorted military ties on show too. I found these events rather trying, but identifying the ties has made the time pass slightly faster, on more than one occasion!
That’s quite possible. There’s a terminology difference I’ve been missing. The usage of college and university appears to be different here than in the UK. In the US, the distinction is more subtle and the terms often get used interchangeably. If someone here told me they were a college graduate, I’d assume that they had earned at least a bachelors degree.

Based on what I see with a google search, “Colleges in the UK offer further education for those aged 16-18, preparing them for university. Some UK colleges also provide vocational training and adult education courses.”

Whereas in the US, “In the US, universities and colleges are both forms of higher education for students who have completed a high school education. However, they differ because colleges are often smaller than universities and have specializations in specific fields of study. Universities emphasize research, are typically larger, and offer a broader range of courses.”

It’s amazing that the terms are used so differently but you can see where my confusion came from.