Are COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES the same?

"Yes, I study in this COLLEGE to be a dentist. How did you know?" 

Yes, they are, and no, they're not.
A COLLEGE is by definition a UNIVERSITY, but a UNIVERSITY is not a COLLEGE. 
COLLEGES are small universities that commonly receive fewer students and offer undergraduate degrees, that are the very first degrees you can obtain after finishing high school. COLLEGES also tend to be more "focused" and have fewer degree programs that are often related. Typically they do not offer graduate programs or programs leading to master's degrees or Ph D's. Places specialized in training or giving knowledge in one area are also called COLLEGES. There are secretarial colleges or law colleges, for example.
UNIVERSITIES are larger institutions, with a lot more students and a more diverse offer of degree programs that can grant you undergraduate and graduate degrees. Because UNIVERSITIES tend to be large and diverse they are divided into faculties, but there are universities where these smaller units are called COLLEGES such as Oxford university that contains Exeter college for example.  
For Spanish speakers who are English learners, the word UNIVERSITY does not cause any trouble, but the word COLLEGE often leads to confusion because of the similar spelling of COLLEGE and Colegio which in most cases means High School. 

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