valus471
Member
Spanish
- May 27, 2023
- #1
Greetings!
Is there another way to ask the aforementioned question that sounds natural? My intent would be to ask someone how far they made it in terms of the education system. I don't want to stress the contrast between "higher" or "lower" within the question, but rather focus on the academic institution, i.e. college, high school, and so on.
My attempt would be something along the lines of: Up to what level did you study? Needless to say, I know it's wrong. I'm racking my brain here, but I can't come up with anything better.
Thanks in advance.
B
bh7
Senior Member
Limestone City
Canada; English
- May 27, 2023
- #2
You might ask, "What is your highest / most advanced educational attainment?"
Tegs
Mód ar líne
English (Ireland)
- May 27, 2023
- #3
What is the context you have in mind? Are you asking this in a conversation, or is it a question on a job application form?
valus471
Member
Spanish
- May 27, 2023
- #4
A phone interview by an insurance company would be the scenario, so there's a certain formality to it.
Tegs
Mód ar líne
English (Ireland)
- May 27, 2023
- #5
In that case, the suggestion in 2 works. You could also say "what is the highest degree you have received?" but this assumes some level of university education, which may not be appropriate, depending on how highly qualified the person needs to be to apply.
L
LVRBC
Senior Member
English-US, standard and medical
- May 27, 2023
- #6
If you can manage more than one question in the time allotted, you can avoid "higher" by asking "Do you have a college degree?" and if the answer is no, then "Did you graduate from high school?"
valus471
Member
Spanish
- May 27, 2023
- #7
Thank you all.
Keith Bradford
Senior Member
Brittany, NW France
English (Midlands UK)
- May 27, 2023
- #8
LVRBC said:
If you can manage more than one question in the time allotted, you can avoid "higher" by asking "Do you have a college degree?" and if the answer is no, then "Did you graduate from high school?"
That's very culture-specific. The words high school and college don't have the same meaning in Britain as in the USA.
I'm sure that other people have asked this question and answered it professionally. Does anyone know the standard categories used?
Janey UK
Senior Member
Norfolk, England
British English
- May 27, 2023
- #9
In the UK it's commonplace in formal(ish) situations to hear: What is your level of educational attainment?
JulianStuart
Senior Member
Sonoma County CA
English (UK then US)
- May 27, 2023
- #10
The wiki article on that starts with
The educational attainment of the U.S. population refers to the highest level of education completed
I have seen the "highest level of education" version quite a few times on forms I have had to complete but no links, I'm afraid. Using checkboxes for "high school" "college" and "graduate degree" (or some such set, tailored to the country) is one way around the issue.
dojibear
Senior Member
Fresno CA
English (US - northeast)
- May 28, 2023
- #11
valus471 said:
Is there another way to ask the aforementioned question that sounds natural?
To me, in AE, the question sounds very natural. I've heard it a number of times:
What is your highest level of education?
Asking it this way deals with the problem Keith mentions:
Keith Bradford said:
That's very culture-specific. The words high school and college don't have the same meaning in Britain as in the USA.
It also deals with a variety of levels. Even in the US, I can think of 6 or 7 of them.
valus471
Member
Spanish
- May 28, 2023
- #12
dojibear said:
To me, in AE, the question sounds very natural. I've heard it a number of times:
I'm quite aware it is natural. Perhaps I phrased my question wrong. I was looking for an alternative way of asking that question, so to speak.
Janey UK said:
In the UK it's commonplace in formal(ish) situations to hear: What is your level of educational attainment?
Is this also the case for AE?
L
Language Hound
Senior Member
American English
- May 28, 2023
- #13
Janey UK said:
In the UK it's commonplace in formal(ish) situations to hear: What is your level of educational attainment?
valus471 said:
Is this also the case for AE?
No. The word "attainment" sounds totally strange and out-of-place here.
Kenny Chang
Senior Member
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Chinese(Traditional)
- May 28, 2023
- #14
To me, in AE, the question sounds very natural. I've heard it a number of times:
What is your highest level of education?
Hi, @dojibear,
Does this one also sound natural to you: What is your highest education level?
Thank you.
dojibear
Senior Member
Fresno CA
English (US - northeast)
- May 28, 2023
- #15
Yes. The phrases "education level" and "level of education" seem identical.
This "noun-noun" pattern is very common.
You must log in or register to reply here.
