Ranking criteria for Global Universities
After going through the university selection process myself, I realise how important it is to decipher the criteria behind QS World rankings or the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings (and others) for grading the Universities. How would you choose your perfect University? Wouldn’t you define criteria other than just these university rankings, both before applications and after you have options among the received approvals? If so which ones? So, this article is about these various criteria we need to look at while selecting a university.
In this age of non-comprehendible competition, we cannot rely on university applications to just one country. Students choose their best options for universities based on their general know-how and risk getting rejected. Online communities such as Yocket, Quora help us in getting important suggestions like various cut-off’s, profile requirements, GRE/TOEFL scores, etc. for specific programs, but there is no authenticity to such information. So we turn to QS and THE World rankings. But it’s important to understand how the rankings are evolved if we are to choose wisely.
These parameters can be a bit tricky. Like the most important part for selecting any university- placement/job prospects, are not considered by any of the global ranking systems; as the progress level of the country, the said university is located at defines the job market. It’s left upon us to understand the wages for the kind of job your degree identifies with, or if the country has a requirement of working professionals to satisfy their technical needs! Actually calculate how many years you would require to repay your education loan, for the kind of expected wages after completion of your graduation! All this to confirm a bright future at least in terms of the monetary benefits of the education after graduating out of that specific university.
According to me, the most crucial factor in consideration while university selection is the syllabus offered, which is university specific. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the programs, we need to ensure if the program is suited to our background and interests: not just for selection but for thriving at the studies later. For example, the Architecture and Built Environment departments in German and European universities offer a Geo-Information Technology (GIS) course which is more suited if you have a computer programming (IT), calculus and probability level mathematics orientation; as they are linked with satellite data analysis. How are these courses enlisted in particular departments? Well, that’s the interdisciplinary nature of education!
Secondly, you would like to consider your odds of getting a scholarship and not just being accepted into the program. For this, many students divide their choices into three categories: dream universities (less but fair chances of acceptance), practical universities (fair chances of getting a scholarship) and absolute universities (strong chances for admission and scholarships or grants- TA/RA/GA). We all know how costly our education could be, starting from GRE/ToEFL classes, other language classes (German, French..) and also the application fees which range from INR 10000 (Ivy league US) to nil application fees (EU). Do not assign any consultancy for application purposes, it’s a definite waste of your money and even time! It is this process that builds us for the challenges ahead, assigns that perspective to make the right choices. Read a lot, perhaps watch you-tube videos, understand all the facts and apply. It is impractical to apply for universities which might be out of our league. Many students from IIT’s choose universities where they get scholarships because they realise that it’s not just the university that decides your fate, but your insistence and hard-work for that bright future!
If you check the universities with a higher number of students, they are usually ranked high. This is because of the higher weightage assigned to this parameter by these ranking systems. Higher the number of students, higher is your funding from fees, higher is the research (better in quantity rather than its quality), higher is the number of teachers, the infrastructure, number of applications and admits, etc. Are these parameters important to you? If not, you might consider making your own assessment. This is why about 70% of the universities in the top 200 rankings are in the USA. This is why universities which offer the best of education (quality), high standard teachers, have even Nobel Laureate researchers and provide steadfast job securities from other countries are overlooked by most potential applicants. Doing all this research yourself makes all the difference.
Lastly, after you have applied for these universities and then have a choice, go through all those important criteria again. Ask questions and get suggestions from as many related people, especially students of those universities that you can contact. Appearing for GRE/TOEFL exams is where almost 50% of students get stuck. Many others are unable to choose universities correctly, let alone apply and get admission. It’s just 25% of all of these students that you are competing against, for the right university, for the scholarships and for a bright future that awaits you. Remember, persistence is the key to every challenge. Miles to go before we sleep…Make the best of the opportunities that you have been presented. After all, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger!
