Tartan Day in Balboa Park, San Diego

[FossilHunter]

Alumni is not a word we use over here, well at least I have never come across it, apart that I see it used on this website in the USA, so I am not really certain sure of your terminology. So in Uk terms, a school tie is for present pupils and an "old school tie" is for past pupils. The colours used are usually and in my experience, VERY different from each other.

In the US, Alumni would be a former student or graduate of a school, college, or university. Wikipedia suggests that it’s more or less synonymous with “old boy” in British English though it’s use may be a little more expansive as it is used for just about any type of school.

Based on your previous post, using American terminology, you would be considered an alumnus of the RAC and I suppose I would be and old boy of San Diego State University.

[Jock Scot]

In the US, Alumni would be a former student or graduate of a school, college, or university. Wikipedia suggests that it’s more or less synonymous with “old boy” in British English though it’s use may be a little more expansive as it is used for just about any type of school.

Based on your previous post, using American terminology, you would be considered an alumnus of the RAC and I suppose I would be and old boy of San Diego State University.

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!

[FossilHunter]

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.

[Jock Scot]

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.

In polite circles in the UK, one notes the tie and the viewer might just say, "I see that you went to Oxbridge or the RAC or wherever" and the answer would be "indeed I did" that would then be the end of that particular conversation. We don't ask what qualification they might have achieved and rarely are we told, the conversation might move on to "my cousin went there you might have known him/her? After that the conversation usually takes a non academic route.

[FossilHunter]

In polite circles in the UK, one notes the tie and the viewer might just say, "I see that you went to Oxbridge or the RAC or wherever" and the answer would be "indeed I did" that would then be the end of that particular conversation. We don't ask what qualification they might have achieved and rarely are we told, the conversation might move on to "my cousin went there you might have known him/her? After that the conversation usually takes a non academic route.

That’s reasonable, especially considering that the ties give an indication of where they went.

I wouldn’t generally ask too much about a stranger’s educational background. Unless of course I find out that they are in a field related to my own, then I ask out of genuine interest which I believe is a slightly different situation.

[OC Richard]

Due to the informal nature of our dress here in California, it seems that baseball caps, t-shirts, fleece jackets, etc bearing a College or University name and/or logo fulfill a similar function to neckties in the UK.

It's very common for people not only to wear such "college gear" but also to fly college flags on their houses.

In many cases parents will wear gear and fly flags of the college/university their child is attending/did attend.

Around here much of this is fueled by the rivalry between the Los Angeles area's two most prominent universities, USC and UCLA.

So a car will have a licence-plate frame that says "MY MAID WENT TO UCLA" and down the street in a posh neighbourhood you might see alternating flags from those two schools interspersed with flags from universities across the country.

[FossilHunter]

Due to the informal nature of our dress here in California, it seems that baseball caps, t-shirts, fleece jackets, etc bearing a College or University name and/or logo fulfill a similar function to neckties in the UK.

It's very common for people not only to wear such "college gear" but also to fly college flags on their houses.

In many cases parents will wear gear and fly flags of the college/university their child is attending/did attend.

Around here much of this is fueled by the rivalry between the Los Angeles area's two most prominent universities, USC and UCLA.

So a car will have a licence-plate frame that says "MY MAID WENT TO UCLA" and down the street in a posh neighbourhood you might see alternating flags from those two schools interspersed with flags from universities across the country.

Yup and certainly no one is wearing ties at school. I recall early morning lecture halls with girls coming in wearing their pajama bottoms, ugg boots, and Starbucks coffee. Maybe an SDSU hoodie if it was chilly out.

This was also 13 years ago so I can’t imagine it’s got any better. Some of that may be Southern Californian informality.