If you are looking to pursue your higher education in another country, shortlisting universities is often a time-consuming task. There are many options to choose from and various higher tier countries that you could potentially choose to study in.
As a student, you may often resort to check the University rankings and perhaps take it from there. Some of the common websites and guides used by an international student to check university rankings are QS World University Ranking, Times Higher Education and Academic Ranking of World University.
These websites offer an exclusive insight where students can filter universities country-wise, country-wise rank or global ranking. There are many other parameters used, such as the number of citations, research impact, international students, student gender ratio, students experience and satisfaction, employability or university support for Sustainable Development Goals.
The most well-known university ranking website, QS World University Ranking, for instance, uses six parameters, namely academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio, international faculty, and international students. These all high end and good parameters that can be used while shortlisting international universities to study in. However, each student may have different criteria as per their individual situations.
The best course of action that you as a student can take as a first step to develop some criteria according to your specific situation. The criteria for University selection may vary between students. Some may have a bigger budget, some with smaller budgets, some may want to study in specific countries where friends or family reside in or may even have a specific timeline where they can travel to start the course. Once you prepare a criterion that is specific to your needs and requirements, it will help you to narrow down the list during University selection.
Studying abroad comes with its perks and opens up opportunities. However, you also have to consider the financial aspect during decision making. This is where the checklist criteria come into play. Once you’ve narrowed down a few Universities, go through the course tuition fees as the bulk of the financial load goes for fees.
Based on our past experience, one of the main factors that we’ve witnessed to have an influence on a student’s decision in selecting a University is the availability of Scholarships. Therefore, limiting oneself to university rankings alone will not necessarily guarantee that the shortlisted universities will offer financial aid.
Aspiring students should focus more on the discipline or field of study ranking rather than university ranking alone. Some universities are more specialized in a particular field despite their rankings. Let’s take a simple example of Harvard. Harvard is known worldwide and ranks at the top for a wide parameter of assessment. However, it may not be a good option for agriculture landscaping, GMO Food Engineering or other food science. So if you are a student looking to specialize in these particular areas, by choosing Harvard purely based on ranking and reputation, you may be missing out on other Universities that offer far more superior programs than Harvard.
Another critical aspect that students often overlook is the employability ranking and placement ratio. In other words, after graduating, the success rate of landing a job or how far universities assist in helping you get placed. There numerous universities that have not made to the top 200 global rankings but they rank highly on the employability and placement criteria. This ultimately means, your chance of success in landing a job is higher if you graduate from these universities even though their global rank index is low.
In conclusion, there is no one formula that suits all. Planning your higher education abroad requires a lot of careful planning as it helps shape your career and prospects in finding a dream job. We at WizdomEd are experts in guidance and consultation to help you find the best University. Get in touch with us to talk to our Academic experts and jump-start your study abroad plan today!
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