Education Abroad - Blog Article

 It’s that time that you take a pen and a paper, open your laptop, go to Google and type ‘US top 25 universities’ and begin a wild goose chase of finding the right college for your higher education. You’ve just received your board’s report card, have a decent SAT score, have a will to do your higher studies in the US. But alas! With so many universities to choose from, you’re often bogged down with the need to make a final decision. It all comes down to choose one out of nearly 5000 colleges, offering you graduation programs of three years or more. However, before you spilt your hairs into two, you must know which college serves your study interests, in the best way. Don’t let the faulty ranking fool you.Each college has its strengths and weaknesses. You must be prudent in matching your skill sets with the programs your desired college has to offer. In order to do that correctly, you must read the following pointers, which aid you in making an informed decision.
Consider the Key Factors
You must take into account several key aspects that play vital roles in your decision. The main task for you is to match your skills to the college’s courses. College ranking do not focus on key important elements such as:
Curriculum: check if your desired college is well equipped to support your desired course. If you opt for science, make sure that their labs are updated with the latest gadgets. If you prefer to study art..... Read More >>

 It’s that time that you take a pen and a paper, open your laptop, go to Google and type ‘US top 25 universities’ and begin a wild goose chase of finding the right college for your higher education. You’ve just received your board’s report card, have a decent SAT score, have a will to do your higher studies in the US. But alas! With so many universities to choose from, you’re often bogged down with the need to make a final decision. It all comes down to choose one out of nearly 5000 colleges, offering you graduation programs of three years or more. However, before you spilt your hairs into two, you must know which college serves your study interests, in the best way. Don’t let the faulty ranking fool you.Each college has its strengths and weaknesses. You must be prudent in matching your skill sets with the programs your desired college has to offer. In order to do that correctly, you must read the following pointers, which aid you in making an informed decision.
Consider the Key Factors
You must take into account several key aspects that play vital roles in your decision. The main task for you is to match your skills to the college’s courses. College ranking do not focus on key important elements such as:
Curriculum: check if your desired college is well equipped to support your desired course. If you opt for science, make sure that their labs are updated with the latest gadgets. If you prefer to study arts, choose colleges with a vast base of liberal arts programs.

The STEM Orientation: otherwise known as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, it is a meta discipline, covering equal aspects of the four branches of science.

The amount of graduates of a college prepared to work for STEM, directly reflects the said college’s desirability.
Completion Rates: a key indicator of a college’s performance is their completion rates. Are students taking four years to pass their two-year degree course? If so, close the Google tab that you opened for that college.
College Aids: often times, colleges offer some financial aids to international students, based on merits or simply as a general rule. Since living in the US can become expensive, it is suggested that you consider this factor while choosing.
 
Do your Background Research
You can always connect with the present and past alumni of your desired college. Ranking of colleges gives a small picture of the bigger canvass. Plus, the course coordinator and counsellor that you meet at college fairs, give you the best aspects of their institutions. However, you have to step of your comfort zones and look for students who are presently studying under your desired college. Their inputs can give you an insight about college life, academic standards, teaching quality and satisfaction quotient. They can tell you whether their educational degree helped them to bag the right kind of jobs or were a boon to their careers.
 
 Say no to ‘Peer Assessment’
A lot of colleges would triumphantly showcase their ‘Peer Assessment’ section on their website. In this section, they try to convince you why their courses are far better than those offered in other colleges. However, here’s the fun fact – the college administrators analyse the shortage of other colleges, without even stepping put on the latter’s campuses. That’s right! Peer Assessment, like the ones done by US News, is just an unfounded propaganda. If you consider such an assessment, you might just end up paying high for a college that doesn’t get you the right deal.
Ranking Mechanisms are Hugely Biased
The ranking mechanism can be assumed a little, one might say, rigged. The ranking is postulated based on selectivity. They create a concoction of acceptance rates and standardized scores to choose their candidates. What they don’t consider is affordability, grants or scholarship. So a relatively less wealthy student with higher standardized score and high school result who fits the standard of a college course, may not secure a seat if he can’t pay the tuition fees. He can take a loan of course. However, since the last 30 years college tuitions have seen a rise of more than a 1000%. That means, paying back the loan would throw him in eternal debt. Therefore, it is rather recommended to choose a college that caters to your subject needs and is affordable rather than settle for one, which sucks the last penny out of you.
Always ask yourself the Three ‘Whys’
Ranking of colleges can cloud your judgement. We are addicted to articles that start with ‘Top 10 U.S. Colleges’ or ’25 Ranked Colleges for International Students’. If you look closely, all these articles rank almost the same names, close to each other. It’s always a competition between Yale, Harvard, Caltech or Princeton. However, try analysing these rankings based on three ‘whys’:
 
Why should I trust the rankings?Ranking colleges simplifies matter to you. They narrow that gazillion of data into a list of 10 or 25 choices. The allure of that convenience is hard to ignore. We immediately shift our trust on such a ranking. What we fail to realise that they stakes are high. In fact, pretty high. Whatever college you choose for your career will decide what kind of education and training you will receive to shape your professional life. In such an endeavour, a simple webpage of a list of college won’t help you much. You have to reach further and dig for more info.   
 
 
 
 
Why they could be unreliable?The dark truth about rankings is that they are highly influenced by media players like US News and World Report. In order to stay relevant, these media houses purposefully rank down excellent colleges with lower tuition fees that perhaps suit your goals better. Hence, you must be more subjective and realistic while making one of the literally expensive decisions of your life.
 
 
 
Why they could be negative?

 
 
Rankings operate and feed upon your general notion that the name of your college will define the person that you are and will be, in the future. They cram your brain with the myth that doors or employment and opportunities will just be opened wide that moment they hear you hail from a Harvard or a Purdue. In reality, you will get opportunities in both the top and below ranked colleges. It is up to you to make maximum use of the given opportunities. Skills, persistence and personality are the hallmarks of a successful student. Your Alma Matter reflects little of your true persona.
Now that you know how to carefully analyse your college pick, it’s time you move on the final decision. Make no mistake that the road to your career goals is paved with luring publicity, which can sway your decision towards the wrong way. It’s only through sheer judgement and insightful perception that you can position yourself flawlessly in your career path. Therefore, choose wisely, dispassionately and affirmatively.