Does University Ranking Really Matter?

In recent years, studying abroad has returned to rationality. For most families, studying abroad is more like an investment. Considering the cost of studying abroad and the rate of return on money, choosing a school and choosing a major has become more complicated.

However, for most students, there is a lack of understanding of foreign schools, and relying on rankings to screen colleges and universities has become a common way.

According to the QS 2019 International Student Survey, 44% of British students think university ranking is very important, especially for graduate students. Another 32% of prospective international students said that university ranking is an important reference factor when choosing a school.

However, in the process of looking at the ranking, how many people carefully read the ranking algorithm, observe the focus of each ranking, and compare and analyze the weight ratio of each factor. How many of them are the most important influencing factors?

Take the ranking of the world’s three universities as an example: U.S.News ranks the largest proportion of literature; QS comprehensive ranking focuses on comprehensive indicators such as academic reputation, teacher-student ratio, employer satisfaction, etc.; Times higher education algorithm teaching and scientific research attach equal importance.

Although, the top-ranked institutions represent high-quality teachers and good reputation to a certain extent. However, each ranking has its own characteristics, and it needs to be considered based on which ranking.

It is undeniable that the ranking enables applicants to quickly understand institution information and industry positioning in the most intuitive way. These institutions and institutions can’t compare with how many adjectives they use. However, it cannot be ignored that there are many factors to consider in the process of school selection, such as curriculum setting, research direction, admission score, geographical environment, economic situation, etc.

Especially for postgraduate applications, undergraduates need to consider the after-sales value of their postgraduate education after having certain social experience, and consider the school’s academic reputation and employment opportunities.

It is worth noting that ranking is not a globally unified concept. In the QS survey, 47% of Chinese students surveyed listed university ranking as the reason for choosing colleges; this proportion was 19% of Filipino students.

In the process of school selection, the direction of school selection is determined in combination with self-goal, and the comprehensive professional ranking, geographical conditions, college type, school reputation and other aspects of university life.

Often times when students are looking for a university to pursue their higher education, they stress too much about international rankings. Ranking can be used as a reference, but it is not a decisive factor! The ranking of each American university has a different basis, so the university ranking will be diverse and change every year. Take the paper citations in the basis of the world university ranking as an example, which refers to the number of citations of papers by the university, which is completely unrelated to university education.

In the process of studying abroad and choosing universities, it is more important to choose professional and university resources than ranking!

In terms of studying abroad, STEM is more popular from the perspective of development and practice. Because Americans are better at liberal arts and sciences, they leave more room for many international students to develop in the field of STEM. STEM majors are better at finding a job and have up to 36 months of OPT time, which means that they are more likely to apply for a work visa. Employers can apply for a work visa for OPT holders every year, and STEM has three opportunities to participate). If international students want to work in the United States, they should consider applying for STEM majors.

University resources include not only internships and employment opportunities, but also alumni resources. Universities have career center, which have the most internship and employment resources. In addition, the better the university has more powerful alumni resources; these resources can help you develop more when you enter the workplace.

In the UK, for example, the ranking information is The Times, The Guardian and The Independent. In addition to Oxford and Cambridge, which have basically occupied the top two positions, the rankings and major rankings of other universities are different. Moreover, there will be such a problem in many institutions. The comprehensive strength of the colleges and universities ranks high, while the professional level set up by the university is very low; some institutions do not have a very famous reputation, and some of them do rank first.

This problem needs to be analyzed according to the factors of the ranking of institutions and majors. Among them, the ranking of majors of colleges and universities can better reflect the teaching level of a certain major in a university, the comprehensive quality of students and the prospects after graduation. Really professional enterprises have a deep understanding of the advantageous majors of different universities, and most of them will refer to the university’s professional ranking when recruiting. Therefore, when students have a high ranking of their favorite colleges and majors before studying abroad, they only need to prepare application materials at ease. If the contrast between the institution and the major is relatively large, it is recommended to refer to the ranking of majors.

Therefore, you must make more comparisons when referring to the university ranking, not the only ranking list!

For students who plan to return to their home country for employment, the comprehensive ranking of graduate colleges is particularly important. Domestic HR’s understanding of foreign institutions is limited. Referring to the comprehensive ranking of universities is almost the most direct and efficient way for them to judge the academic background of candidates. Many enterprises’ HR will directly take college ranking as an important basis for judging academic content.

For students who want to stay abroad for employment, although the comprehensive ranking has a certain reference significance, the professional nature, the difficulty of obtaining work visas in the country where the university is located, the employment resources of the university, the local reputation of the university and other factors are equally important – for example, if you study abroad, it is relatively difficult to obtain a work visa in your country. If it is larger, even if you graduate from a high-ranking university, you are likely to face the dilemma of not finding a job and have to go home.

Therefore, when choosing a university, don’t keep an eye on the university ranking, but consider personal factors and other external factors.

Take your personal purpose of studying abroad as an example, as mentioned above–

• If it is to enhance the employment competitiveness after returning to Their home country, it will indeed be more advantageous to choose high-known and high-ranked universities (at least in HR screening resumes, it can improve a certain “survival probability”);
• If it is for permanent residence or immigration, priority can be given to which employment-rich or more unpopular immigration professions, such as education, social work and nursing majors in Australia;
• If it is to study and take the academic path in a professional field, it is more worth referring to whether the university’s professional level in a specific field is sufficient compared with the comprehensive ranking of the university.

In a word, although the ranking is important, you can’t be blindfolded by it and miss a good university that suits you!