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Dear all,
Enclosed.
Ahmad Syamil
Arkansas State University
http://www.linkedin.com/in/asyamil2
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Choosing a university - the viewpoint of an international student
By Athanasia Tsoukala, MA Marketing (Digital Media) graduate, University of Portsmouth, UK
http://www.anglohigher.com/magazines/magazine_detail/68/34
Undoubtedly, our choice of university is a very crucial decision and should be made after thorough consideration of the different available options based on facts. This decision will affect our future life in the short and the long term. There are several factors that can have a significant impact upon our decision; some key points are presented below. To begin with, a key issue is the availability of financial resources. This, among others, is linked with the reality of how expensive it is to study in a particular university. Leading universities with good reputations and high ranking scores, usually have higher fees. Additionally, big cities and especially capitals cities are much more expensive in which to live, in comparison to smaller cities or towns. The decision will be easier if you already have the necessary budget to fund your studies, either through personal income, your home country government scholarship, scholarship granted via your university, or other source of funding.
As a student, you should not believe that you would be able to fund your studies wholly through a possible job that you might get. First of all, there are some countries which place limits on the total number of hours a student may work. For example, in the UK, all students who are eligible to work are prohibited by law to work in excess of 20 hours per week during term time, while they can work full-time during holidays and working placements. Moreover, a student may not have the ability to work based on his/her visa situation which determines the eligibility to work and the total number of working hours (“Working in the UK during your studies”, n. d.). Finally, even if the law permits, at times it can be really difficult for someone to combine work and studies and although many people manage to do so, they end up being overtired or producing results of medium quality in both fields.
Speaking about job opportunities, it should be mentioned that you could check out employment during or immediately after your studies. Most UK universities offer two ways of the so-called “work experience placements”. One option could be between the second and the third year - in many cases as part of your degree, or between the third and the fourth year. This placement will last for a full academic year. A second option could be a six-month placement during your third year. This work experience can offer you real hands-on experience in the field you want to follow; necessary for when looking for jobs after graduation and actually to see if what you study is what you really want (“Before University”, 2005).
Needless to say, it could be a good idea to choose a subject matter in which you are more likely to find a good job after graduation, unless of course you have a particular interest in a field, no matter its prospects. Moreover, there are some courses that lead directly to employment such as military studies; while in some other fields it might be more difficult to find employment because of the competition. A student should think about these and other parameters before deciding in which field to study. In your effort to find a job during studies or after graduation, you could get help from the career office, alumni and maybe the student union of your university. A more organized career service offers a great wealth of information and training opportunities and also could offers career advice to help students and graduates find employment. A university will usually hold open days with local, national and international businesses to help its students with finding a job. In order for the university to show its achievements in this field, it will usually present tables with the percentage of students working within their studies or, for example, within six months after graduation. Therefore, you could also look through these tables - usually available online - before deciding whether or not a particular university is the best option in your case.
In addition, the university itself is a very important factor that can impact on the decision where to study. You could look at the reputation of the university, where the university is located in official rankings, what courses the university offers and if it offers the exact course that you want to study, what activities the student union offers, how strong the alumni is and the success rate of prior graduates, and so on. The importance of an active and influential student union is that students can feel that they play a more active part in the university, participating in the decision-making process. Moreover, this could help students to become more easily aware of different issues relating to their studies and the possible routes after graduation. Therefore, the students should become more motivated and stronger relationships among the members are being created. Student Unions and, in general, student groups are also important in persuading fellow students who are undecided of what to study (Owens, 2003, p. 3).
Additionally, students need more activities than just studying. They need to relax and have fun; they need to travel and participate in different social activities that can help them relax and socialize. Student unions usually play a major part in all students’ activities. Nowadays, these activities are announced via the university’s website; you can check online and compare different universities. However, this is only one factor of the university’s overall quality. Another important issue that could help with your future career is the development of your friends and professional network. One of the aims of the alumni association in a university is the maintenance of these relationships that were built during studies. It also has an emotional impact, since graduates were and always will be a member of the university no matter how many years have passed since their graduation. In addition, alumni play important roles in giving advice to prospective students and funding the university (Dolan, 2002).
By the same token, the links of the university with employers can play an important role, especially after graduation during the crucial time when most graduates are impatiently looking for their first graduate employment. When a university has strong relationships with companies, it should be able to help more effectively graduates to find employment. Moreover, in most cases, it should be possible to ensure that managers from different companies will give talks and guest lecturers offer real, everyday industrial tips, rather than the sometimes out-of-date examples presented in handbooks. Another factor to consider is the options within the study programmes and the entry requirements (“Choosing a University”, 2009).
Further prestigious universities might offer more demanding courses and it could be harder to secure a place because of the higher entry requirements. Lastly, you should check what accommodation and other facilities the university offers. If you are a person with a learning difficulty or some other special need, you should find out whether you will be provided with adequate support. Also, sometimes the presence of a relative or friend at a university could be the deciding factor influencing your choice to attend a particular university. While this could ensure that you will have a familiar face close by and therefore are less likely to feel alone or homesick, it might not be the best course of action for your future. In my case, I had chosen to study at the same university as my boyfriend and was lucky enough that the particular university offered what I wanted to study. Although I had doubts regarding my decision at the beginning, in time it proved that this decision was correct for me. Also, this made a lot of financial sense since we could share a lot of the expenses and managed to accomplish our studies on time and within budgets. However, this approach has been criticized by others that regard choosing a university under the influence of your personal life situation to be totally wrong (“Top ten rules for selecting a college or university”, n. d.).
Others argue that if you already have friends at your future university, it is possible that this will limit you from getting to know new people (“Before University”, 2005). Additionally, you have always to keep in mind that your friends’ commitments may stop them from spending time with you, especially if you enrol on a different course. On the other hand, if you do not know anyone at your new university but want to meet people attending courses from your home country, you can always check with the student union or university support services for opportunities to network with people from the same country as you. Also, friends and family could have a dated impression about a university or course based on old facts. Higher education is changing quickly and a lot of things could be different from the time that they were students at the university.
A visit to the university, including at the exact campus and school that you will attend, will give you the chance to evaluate the location and maybe speak to current students and staff. A visit could also help with application and admission issues, especially if you meet staff members. During that visit, you could submit the necessary documents directly and provide any clarification needed. Another issue for future students could be the fact of how easy it will be to obtain a visa from your home country to your destination country. However, the issue of visas does not exist in the cases of students’ movement within regional cooperation groups, such as between countries of the European Union. In that case, all you need is a passport, driver licence or a national identity card. Another important factor is the recognition of the particular degree in your home country and worldwide, including issues related with academic status and professional rights. For example, it is uncommon to train to become a primary or secondary school teacher in a country other than the one in which you wish to work. This is due to the significant differences in the educational systems and qualifications needed to be able to practice. In such cases, further studies, training and examinations might be necessary. As far as the location is concerned, you have also to think about how easy is to integrate within the culture of the country in which you wish to study. This is especially important for undergraduate and PhD students since they will have to stay abroad significantly longer.
So does the country of your choice have a completely different culture from the one you are used to? Will the particular environment give you the opportunities to explore your full potential? Can you stand the weather?
In addition, is the location of the university a nice place to live in, with a good reputation and low crime rates? What is the general reputation of the country and its educational system in comparison with other options? Is the university located in a big city or a small student town?
Other important issues could be the distance of the university to your home country, the language of the country, the duration of the course and the language in which the course will be taught. All the above can have significant financially-related consequences. Language knowledge is an important factor and it is a good idea to know the language of the country in which you want to study, even if the language of the course will be an international language such as English. You need to know the local language at least at a basic level in order to be able to communicate in everyday basic situations, such as buying food, travel and so on.
Finally, one other fact that can affect your decision is the total duration of the studies. For example, Master courses in the UK usually last for one year – there are some 18 months Master courses - while for most of the universities in the USA and the rest of Europe, the duration is two years. The choice of the location will often depend on how quickly you must finish your studies and that is, in many cases, linked with your financial status. Likewise, you should also consider other general commitments that you might have. For example, you might have a family or a job you do not want to leave behind. This automatically may limit your choice of places and mode of study. You could be limited only to distance learning courses or countries nearby, or those providing services, facilities and support for couples or young families. Besides all these, what can influence the opinion students create about a university is the overall impression of the university website. If a university’s website looks old or is difficult for a viewer to navigate, search and find the information, it is most likely that potential students will develop a negative first impression of the university and search for alternative options. Thus, while the reality can be far away from what the website shows, we are living in the internet age and the first impression is very important for all universities. International students are particularly limited to finding the majority of information online. As a result, universities should put great effort into creating a website of good quality, representative of the image they want to promote about themselves and the actual reality of the everyday life that their current students experience. Summing up, there are a variety of different factors that can influence a person looking for higher education courses. Therefore, prospective students ought to consider all possible options and potential issues before deciding upon the university they will attend. This will be a decision that will have a short-term affect on your life for the next one to five years, and could also be a long-term influence on your entire future life.
Remember there are choices out there for you!
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